Internet Blackout to Protest SOPA

[Nephew Twiddleton]

But cain.... Hollywood delenda est!!!!!!

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

https://twitter.com/herpderpedia 

an index of people who are PISSED OFF THAT WIKIPEDIA'S DOWN

This is awesome, and the funniest part is how many of them are college students who apparently were planning on using Wikipedia as a source, AND YET are also apparently unable to read the splash page, are confused about why it's down and how long it will be down for.

FUTURE OF AMERICA!

I don't know what they're worried about. Conservapedia is still up and kicking

[Phox]

But cain.... Hollywood delenda est!!!!!!

Oh come on Twid. You know better than that.
It is "Hollywoodia delenda sunt."

Hollywoodia being a collective second declension neuter plural word (always plural), first coined by Cicero circa 64 BCE in his treatise De Domo Cinemae, in which he discussed in great detail the scandalous nature of the film industry, and the corruption found amongst the higher ups. He was particularly critical of George Clooney, and famously said that he is a quadrantariam Clytaemestram. That is, of course, a rather strong statement that he would later reuse in his defense of M. Caelius Rufus to attack the infamous Clodia.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

But cain.... Hollywood delenda est!!!!!!

Oh come on Twid. You know better than that.
It is "Hollywoodia delenda sunt."

Hollywoodia being a collective second declension neuter plural word (always plural), first coined by Cicero circa 64 BCE in his treatise De Domo Cinemae, in which he discussed in great detail the scandalous nature of the film industry, and the corruption found amongst the higher ups. He was particularly critical of George Clooney, and famously said that he is a quadrantariam Clytaemestram. That is, of course, a rather strong statement that he would later reuse in his defense of M. Caelius Rufus to attack the infamous Clodia.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

IT WAS SCIPIO NOT CICERO!!!

[Triple Zero]

huh....
that's interesting.  so, the more tech savvy (who are likely already aware of, and decided on the issue) can avoid any inconvenience while they still foist the message upon those less likely to be up on it.

"The more tech savvy" can do whatever the fuck they want on the Internet every day because code is fucking magic.

It has the additional benefit of teaching the masses that they can enable and disable javascript on a per-website basis. And that a webpage is actually something you can have control *over* because it's *your* computer that decides how to display it, not Wikipedia's.

Just don't allow Wikimedia to run Javascript via your browser, and you can still use Wikipedia.

Yeah, I'm pretty disappointed in their half-assed "blackout".

Whaaaat? There's just no pleasing you ever, is there? How the fuck is this a "half-assed" blackout? Because you can circumvent it by disabling javascript? What does it matter?

Imagine it wasn't JS, they just served the black page, no content. What would you do? You'd run off to Google Cache, then Archive.org, then try one of the various mirrors of Wikipedia (about.com) that are all over the Internet. I have a year-old text-only local copy on my external HD, even. Figure it's a good thing to have in case the whole Internet actually blacks out somehow. (English/German/Dutch, about 10 gigabytes together, without the pics).

So the content would be available anyway. I think a bigger reason actually is that there's hundreds of volunteers working on Wikipedia, fixing spellings, updating info, etc. And if they'd just block WP's content, those people couldn't do their thing, while everybody else just runs off to the nearest WP cache or mirror. It's also some online communities with the user pages as some sort of forum.

I really don't see how this would have been more effective somehow if they had blocked out all WP's content with no easy JS disabling trick to circumvent it.

[Cramulus]

http://maddox.xmission.com/

Maddox, of the best page in the universe. Remember this dude? Well he's got something to say about SOPA:





Because that's exactly what we need to wake up from this slumbering, do-nothing, "occupy everything," stagnant, non-action slump we Americans are in.

"Protest schemes that don't cost the participants any inconvenience, hardship or money remain the most popular, despite their ineffectiveness."

We're a country where people think that...

• Boycotting gas for a day makes a difference. It doesn't. Delaying when you buy gas by a day only broadcasts your intentions to oil speculators so they can profit. And the oil still gets purchased a day before or after anyway.


• Painstakingly recycling every single shred of garbage in your home makes a difference. It doesn't. Even if you, your neighbors, and everyone you've ever met recycled everything and reduced your waste output to zero, it wouldn't even make an observable impact on overall waste production in the world. Household waste and garden residue account for less than 3% of all waste produced in the US. That's less than the average statistical margin of error, and most people don't even come close to producing zero waste.


• Changing your profile picture on Facebook will get people to: A) stop abusing kids B) stop molesting kids C) stop killing kids and D) do anything.


• Signing an online petition, or changing the front page of your website to protest SOPA will fix anything.

SOPA is the "Stop Online Piracy Act." It's a shitty piece of legislation put together by puppetmaster lobbyists and politician puppets who don't know IP addresses from their assholes. My problem with this huge online protest against SOPA, and the reason I rarely take part in such protests, is because it doesn't address any problems, only the symptom. The problem isn't this shitty bill, it's the people who sponsored it. So we protest this bill today, bang enough pots and pans to shame a few backers into not letting this bill pass, then what? Those same dipshits who wrote this legislation still have jobs. They're going to try again, and again, and again until some mutation of this legislation passes. They'll sneak it into an appropriation bill while nobody's looking during recess, because there's too much lobbyist money at stake for them not to. We defeat SOPA today, only to face it again tomorrow. It's like trying to stop a cold by blowing your nose. It's time we go after the virus.

There have been many bills attempted (and some passed) like SOPA before it. There's the DMCA act of 1998, PRO-IP Act of 2008, the 2011 Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, and now the PROTECT IP Act of 2012. Think this victory means anything? A new bill gets introduced every year or two like clockwork. Check back in a few years, and there'll be another SOPA or Protect IP Act being squeezed down the lower intestinal tracts of congress. And then what? We black out our websites again like a merry band of idiots?

Raising awareness is a great way of feeling good about yourself without actually doing anything. Be honest with yourself:

How much do you care about SOPA?

Would you be willing to:

• Take time off work to go down to Washington DC?


• Boycott companies that supported it?


• Knock on this dickhead's door and ask him why he introduced such shitty legislation?

• Make sure none of these losers get elected ever again?

Harry Reid (D-NV)
Howard Berman (D-CA)
Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
Mary Bono Mack (R-CA)
Steve Chabot (R-OH)
John Conyers (D-MI)
Ted Deutch (D-FL)
Elton Gallegly (R-CA)
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
Timothy Griffin (R-AR)
Dennis A. Ross (R-FL)
Adam Schiff (D-CA)
Lee Terry (R-NE)

[/list]

Because until or unless you do, all the loud clamoring isn't going to change shit. If you think it's too severe a punishment to fire these jackasses over this bill, then consider the fact that politicians who supported this piece of legislation either:

1. Supported it knowing its full implications, despite the fact that it would introduce security risks, hurt the economy, innovation and jobs and would lead to censorship.

2. Or that they supported the bill not knowing the full implications of this legislation, which means that they're ignorant, and they shouldn't have their jobs anyway.


As of this writing, enough of you whined and got your way. Great, you stopped SOPA.



It needs to get worse before it gets better. We need a really shitty piece of legislation like SOPA in this country to be the spark that ignites the lazy, idle tinders of protest. It's not uncommon or even controversial to say that Washington is corrupt. It doesn't cause anyone to bat an eye when you say it in public, with Republicans, Democrats or "other." That's a problem. We need SOPA to wake the sleeping giant in this country. It could have been our generation's Rodney King verdict. Instead of blacking out our websites, what we need to do is dismantle the system that created this bullshit. Enough is enough.

Instead of changing your Facebook icon to an anti-SOPA image for a day or two, here's something you can do that might make a real difference: boycott the companies that supported this legislation. There are too many to boycott all of them effectively, so I propose we pick two or three, hit them, and hit them hard. Punish them for putting their interests above ours. Hitting them in the wallet should send a message. I've highlighted the most difficult ones to boycott in red. The companies with the biggest return for our boycott are in yellow. The more we inconvenience ourselves, the more impact the boycott will have:

1-800 Contacts, Inc. - 801-924-9800 (contact)
1-800-PetMeds - 954-979-5995 (contact)
3M - 1-888-364-3577 (contact)
ABC (contact)
ABRO Industries, Inc. (automotive supplies) - (574) 232-8289 (contact)
Acushnet Company (Titleist and Footjoy golf) - (800)225-8500 (contact)
Adidas America - (800) 448-1796 (contact)
AstraZeneca plc - 1-800-236-9933 (contact)
Autodesk, Inc. - 415-507-5000 (contact)
Beachbody, LLC - 310-883-9000 (P90X, Insanity Videos) (contact)
Bose Coporation - (508) 879-7330 (contact)
Burberry - 800 284 8480 (contact)
Business Software Alliance Members:
Adobe - 408-536-6000 (contact)
Apple - 408.996.1010 Tim Cook, CEO (contact)
Autodesk - See individual listing.
AVEVA - Houston Office: 713-977-1225 (contact)
AVG - 978-319-4460 (contact)
Bentley Systems - 1-800-236-8539 (contact)
Cadence Design Systems - 408-943-1234 (contact)
CNC Software Mastercam - 800-228-2877 (contact)
Compuware - 313-227-7300 (contact)
Corel - 613-728-0826 (contact)
Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corporation - France +33 1 61 62 61 62 (contact)
Dell - 512-338-4400 (contact)
Intel - 408-765-8080 (contact)
Intuit - 650-944-6000 (contact)
Mastercard (contact)
McAfee - 408-988-3832 (contact)
Microsoft - 425-882-8080 (contact)
Minitab - 814-238-3280 (contact)
Progress Software - 781-280-4000 (contact)
PTC - 781-370-5000 (contact)
Quark - 303-894-8888 (contact)
Quest - 800-306-9329 (contact)
Siemens PLM Software, Inc. - 800-498-5351 (contact)
Sybase - 1-800-792-2735 (contact)
Symantec - 650-527-8000 (contact)
TechSmith - 517-381-2300 (contact)
The MathWorks - 508-647-7000 (contact)
Callaway Golf Company - 800-588-9836 (contact)
Caterpillar Inc. - 309-675-1000 (contact)
CBS Corporation - 1-212-975-4321 (contact)
Chanel USA - 1.800.550.0005 (contact)
Coach - 1-800-444-3611 (contact)
Columbia Sportswear Company - (800) 622-6953 (contact)
Comcast Corporation - 215-286-1700 (contact)
Coty Inc. - 212-479-4300 (contact)
CVS Caremark - 401-765-1500 (contact)
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. - 415-558-0200 (contact)
Dolce & Gabbana USA, Inc. (contact)
Electronic Arts, Inc. - (650) 628-1500 (they open at 8am PT)
ESPN (contact)
Fender Musical Instrument Company - 480.596.9690 (contact)
Ford Motor Company - 800-392-3673 (contact)
Gibson Guitar Corp. - 1-800-444-2766 (contact)
Harley-Davidson Motor Company - 1-800-258-2464 (contact)
Johnson & Johnson - (732) 524-0400 (contact)
Juicy Couture, Inc - 1-888-908-1160 (contact)
Lacoste USA - 1-800-452-2678 (contact)
Leatherman Tool Group, Inc. - (800) 847-8665 (contact)
Lexmark International, Inc. - 1-859-232-2000 (contact)
Liz Claiborne, Inc - (212) 354-4900 (contact)
L'Oreal USA - 1-212-818-1500 (contact)
Lucky Brand Jeans - 1-866-975-5825 (contact)
Marvel (contact)
Major League Baseball - 212-485-3444 (contact)
Marmot - (707) 544-4590 (contact)
Monster Cable Products, Inc. - 415 840-2000 (contact)
National Basketball Association (NBA) (contact)
National Football League (NFL) (contact)
NBCUniversal - 212-664-4444 (contact)
Nervous Tattoo Inc., dba Ed Hardy - 323-785-4460 (contact)
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. - (636) 326-1024 (contact)
New Era Cap Co Inc - 1-877-632-5950 (contact)
NHL Enterprises, L.P. - 212-789-2000 (contact)
Nike, Inc. - 1-503-671-6453 (contact)
Oakley, Inc. - (800) 431-1439 (contact)
Peavey Electronics Corporation - 601-483-5365 (contact)
Perry Ellis International - 1-800-994-0073 (contact)
Petzl America - 801-926-1310 (contact)
Pfizer Inc. - 1-212-733-2323 (contact)
PGA of America - (561) 624-8400 (contact)
Philip Morris International - 804-274-2000 or 800-343-0975 (contact)
PING - 1.800.474.6434 (contact)
Ralph Lauren Corporation - 888-475-7674 (contact)
Red Wing Shoe Company - 1-800-733-9464 (contact)
Reebok International Ltd. - 781-401-5000 (contact)
Revlon - 1-800-473-8566 (contact)
Rite Aid - Home Office: (717) 761-2633 (contact)
Rolex Watch USA Inc. - 665 5th Ave, New York, NY10022 - Tel: (212) 758-7700 - Fax: (212) 223-7443
Rosetta Stone Inc. - 1.800.280.8172? (contact)
Shure Incorporated - (847) 600-2000 (contact)
Sony Electronics Inc. (try 1-800-222-7669) (contact)
Sony Music Entertainment - (212) 833-8000 (contact)
Sony Pictures Entertainment - 310-244-4000 (contact)
Spyder Active Sports, Inc - 303-544-4000 (contact)
Taylor Guitars - 619-258-1207 (contact)
Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. - 1.866.530.8624 (contact)
The Dow Chemical Company - 800-258-2436 (contact)
The Estee Lauder Companies - 877-311-3883 (contact)
The Timberland Company - 603-772-9500 (contact)
The Walt Disney Company - 818-560-1000 (contact)
Tiffany & Co. - 1-800-843-3269 (contact)
Time Warner Inc. - 212.484.8000 (contact)
Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc. - Corporate Offices (949) 583-3000 (contact)
True Religion Jeans (contact)
UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship - (702) 221-4780 (contact)
Visa (contact)
Viacom - (212) 258-6000 (contact)
Wal-Mart - 479-273-4000 (contact)
Warner Music Group - (212) 275-2000 (contact)
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. 203-352-8600 (see bottom of their link for corporate) (contact)
Xerox Corporation - 1-800-275-9376 (contact)
Zippo Manufacturing Company - 888.442.1932 (contact)

***Note: if there are any inaccuracies on this list (companies that don't support SOPA that were included, or companies that weren't included, email me).

The companies in red aren't impossible to boycott, (*copy and paster's note: I didn't color code the list -Cram) just a lot more difficult because of their size. For example, you'd probably have to spend an hour of research every week just to make sure you weren't supporting a Viacom property if you chose to boycott them, and a boycott fewer than a few million strong probably won't matter to a company as large as Viacom. The companies in yellow stand a chance of getting some significant fallout from a boycott. There are a number of publishers on this list, including my own publisher. If the consensus I get from readers is that we should boycott publishers, I'll support the boycott even though it hurts me. However, publishing companies traditionally haven't gone after piracy as blindly and bone-headedly as the MPAA and RIAA, so there are more deserving targets.

Which companies do you think deserve the boycott for SOPA? How would you propose we solve the problem that doesn't involve changing your Facebook profile picture? Email me. I'll update this site with a list. Keep it to the list of supporters. Updates soon.

[Eater of Clowns]

Saying protesting SOPA is stupid because there are worse things to protest is Dawkins Fallacy.  I agree that engagement should be significantly better in protesting all the shitty fucking things that happen, but putting some effort into just one of them is still better than nothing.

[Cramulus]

I called my congressional representatives and senators yesterday. And the thing which prompted me to actually do it was a friend's post on FB about slacktivism. Lots of people are going to change their FB avatar, post some status updates about SOPA, make a show of "support", but this micro-activism is invisible to the people calling the shots. It helps create a RAH RAH environment, but that's still a somewhat shallow way of protesting the law. So I think Maddox has a good message.

[Eater of Clowns]

I called my congressional representatives and senators yesterday. And the thing which prompted me to actually do it was a friend's post on FB about slacktivism. Lots of people are going to change their FB avatar, post some status updates about SOPA, make a show of "support", but this micro-activism is invisible to the people calling the shots. It helps create a RAH RAH environment, but that's still a somewhat shallow way of protesting the law. So I think Maddox has a good message.

I agree, he does.  The majority of people who "protest" these bills probably tweeted some shit and then changed their profile photos.  It's super convenient because you can look like you did something and NOT ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING.  I don't disagree that these are pointless tactics, but condemning those who did something (and this isn't just Maddox (who I'm surprised is still active)) about SOPA and not about any of the other fuck-us-over-regularly bills that go through Congress is just saying that something isn't good because it isn't good enough.

[Cramulus]

well said

[kingyak]

Maddox makes some good points, but I still blow my nose when I have a cold because I don't like snot running into my mouth. Also, his comment about how people need to be inconvenienced in order to take action seems blithely unaware that for those (admittedly, way too few) sites that truly shut down yesterday the point was, to, um, inconvenience people into taking action.* Either that, or he's just being (counterproductively) contrarian because that's his schtick.

I am all for the boycott, though.

*Granted it would have been more effective if more sites had really shut down (even Wikipedia could still be accessed if you bothered to look for a way, in my understanding). A true Google shut down, for instance, would have been huge, since so many people rely on things like gmail and google docs.

[Q. G. Pennyworth]

My daughter came and told me she couldn't do the research for her penguin paper yesterday because there was something wrong with Wikipedia. So I had to sit her down and explain what was going on and why this was important, and especially why this was important enough for Wikipedia to go down. And now she has to do her penguin research tonight and over the weekend.

I would like to think that there were other parents out there that were forced into the same conversation, whether they knew about SOPA before the blackout or not.

[kingyak]

And just for the record, I was bitching about Slactivism before it was cool:

http://goatheadgumbo.blogspot.com/2011/03/giving-green-on-fridays-will-help.html

I even had a Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/SlactivismDaily

Also, draconian piracy laws: http://goatheadgumbo.blogspot.com/2011/01/file-sharing-terrorism.html

[Epimetheus]

So apparently