Stop SOPA From Becoming Law

[Hamma]

Congress is currently pushing forward a bill that they do not understand and will not make an attempt to understand. (sound familiar) The SOPA Act will create Internet blacklists and allow the government control over what is easily one of the greatest inventions of the modern age.

Many companies including Google, Facebook and more have rallied against this bill as well as many of the original architects of the internet.

My day to day job and entire livelihood has everything to do with the internet and this bill will create quagmires for hosting companies and stifle Internet innovation, is that really something we need in this current economy?

The bill even means that websites like PlanetSide Universe could shut down. How you ask?

Simple really, if one of you was to post an offending link (who knows what that means) and it links to copyrighted content I could be sued on the spot and PSU added to the blacklist. This could become a reality of the internet and it effects each and every one of you who browse it.

I urge everyone to contact their local congressmen either by phone or e-mail to show your opposition to this bill. Don't let the Recording Industries dictate what you can view on the Internet.

Contact your Congressmen.
https://wfc2.wiredforchange.com/o/90...ction_KEY=8336
http://americancensorship.org/
http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa

Outside the USA? No problem.. petition the state department.
http://americancensorship.org/modal/...ion/index.html

A good article on the bill as it would relate to PlanetSide Universe.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertco...-ruin-my-life/

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/31100268?byline=0&amp;portrait=0" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/31100268">PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/fightforthefuture">Fight for the Future</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

[Crator]

Yup, already did this a while back when I originally posted about in the the Political Debate section...

[Hamma]

Yea me too - but it's getting even more traction and is even worse than it was then :\ Wanted to make sure everyone who browses knows about it.

[Shogun]

WTF?

is america the new china?

that´s why i think a maximum age for politicians should be in place!
those old idiots just don´t know what they are talking about!
and nobody who has no idea what he is doing, should be allowed to pull off new laws!

[Hamma]

Exactly.

[Graywolves]

I'm very scared of it passing no matter what we say. They'll see a bunch of people sayin no and more corporations making more money. Hopefully they'll think of how many people gain income from these sites that would be jeopardized with this act.

[TacosWLove]

Done. You have my pen!

[Hamma]

Originally Posted by Graywolves

I'm very scared of it passing no matter what we say. They'll see a bunch of people sayin no and more corporations making more money. Hopefully they'll think of how many people gain income from these sites that would be jeopardized with this act.

Yea it will likely pass regardless, the Government is no longer for the people. They are not fearing the people as they should be.

I don't make a living off this site - but this great community could be put in jeopardy from this epic failure.

[SniperSteve]

Young or Old, these people forget what America is.

Sent an email to my congress rep since didn't want to call.

Thanks for posting this, Hamma.

P.S. Hamma for president?

[Trolltaxi]

I don't know the details (though I have read an article about google's and facebook's lobby being somewhat successful and the act is way less strict than it was in the first draft), but how about moving the site somewhere outside of the States?

[SniperSteve]

They are not fearing the people as they should be.

Second Amendment:

A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.

[LostSoul]

Glad I don't live in the land of the " free "

Though something simular is going on in Europe now, but more towards restricting people who abuse the internet to pirate materials from using the internet instead of blacklisting sites.

[Captain1nsaneo]

I know a bit more about congress than the average bear so let me try to offer some pointers. (and some ramblings)

-If you're not in the congressman's district don't write them.

-Don't use those generic mail formats. Write your own. Mass generics will be ignored.

-It is important to contact your congressman as your message has a multiplier effect. People have opinions but don't voice them often so its assumed that when someone does contact they speak for a larger group. Emails have a small multiplier while Phone calls do slightly better. Hand written letters have a massive multiplier.

-Don't want to give strange sites your contact info?

No problem, everything they have is public info that you can easily get. If you don't know what district you are in or who represents you here's a site that will provide and isn't an advocacy group: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/findyourreps.xpd
It will also give you links to their sites. But if you already know who represents you they can be found here and here:
House http://house.gov/representatives/
Senate http://www.senate.gov/general/contac...nators_cfm.cfm

-What to include in a letter:

But if you are going to write, how do you do it? Visit your representative's website and look for a "Contact" page. You'll always find either an email address or, more commonly, a form to fill out. Congressional staffers say the following things are important to making your message influential: including your name, address, and ZIP code so the staff can verify you are a constituent of the Member of Congress, referencing specific legislation rather than a general issue by bill number and title, talking about the impact of the bill on the district or state, and your own reason for supporting or opposing the bill. While 90 percent of Congressional staff thought these items were helpful, less than 68 percent of staff thought personal stories were helpful. One well-respected organization recommends being: personalized, short, targeted, and informative.

(Source) (Sauce)

-Q:What is the bill's number? A: SOPA: H.R.3261 IP: S.968

-Q: Where can I track it and find its text/summaries?
A: SOPA http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:h.r.03261:
Protect IP http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:SN00968:

-Q: Why does congress suck so much?
A: It doesn't, you've just been raised to believe it does because a lot of people overworked for the public good doesn't make good news. Common perception is due to a case of a rotten apple spoiling the bunch.

-Q: Why doesn't Congress do do anything? A: Because the system was designed to stop people in power from getting things done. It's one of the core ideas behind Congress. And it works.

Hope some of that is useful.

[xSlideShow]

http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/...0HR%203261.pdf

I feel it's important to have the bill. Link to a copy of it.

[Hamma]

Awesome pointers thanks Captain!

Originally Posted by SniperSteve

P.S. Hamma for president?

Originally Posted by Trolltaxi

I don't know the details (though I have read an article about google's and facebook's lobby being somewhat successful and the act is way less strict than it was in the first draft), but how about moving the site somewhere outside of the States?

They are seeking to use DNS blacklisting of some sort, so your ISP would blacklist a domain and then you would not be able to resolve it correctly. This could certainly be bypassed by using an offshore DNS server or something. That's one of the more amusing things - it doesn't totally bring it down it just breaks DNS. You could still access the site via IP address for example if you knew it.

Originally Posted by SniperSteve

Second Amendment:

Agreed and I exercise that right myself but Congress just ignores the people and is controlled by $$$$