The reason these bills have appeared is because the world of media and content is changing, and big, 20th century institutions (like the MPAA, but really any giant content provider) are having trouble adapting. And instead of trying to adapt, they're scared, and fighting.
Exactly.
They notice they can't win as it is now and try to change the game. Well, guess what. They shouldn't win until they come up with rules everyone can agree on. People will always find ways to download songs and movies, stream shows. Hell, I hope they do. The task is to come up with ideas how everyone can benefit from it (for example flat rates). Turning millions of people who download illegally into major criminals is not the way. The European pirate parties know this, but they are still few and not loud enough.
This isn't a particularly revolutionary statement. When was the last time you went to the movies? Or bought a movie? For me, between TiVo, Netflix, and streaming content online (from official sources), the answer is almost never.
I fear that is so. While that is not true for me, the fact remains: habits have changed and it'll stay that way, the law has to catch up without turning everyone into a criminal.
It's an economic issue. It's like a pager manufacturer trying to introduce some desperate legislation against cell phones.
hehe
*MySmiley*
You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.
You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.
English Wikipedia Anti-SOPA Blackout
- 17/01/2012 08:31:46 AM
2305 Views
Yeah, man, because currently copyright holders have no recourse, am I right?
- 17/01/2012 11:47:35 AM
1132 Views
"altering the infrastructure of the Internet so as to render RAFO virtually inaccessible"? 
- 17/01/2012 08:12:27 PM
1225 Views
- 17/01/2012 08:12:27 PM
1225 Views
I'll go ahead and ask before I get my panties in a bunch: do you understand these bills?
- 17/01/2012 09:09:22 PM
1331 Views
I admit I have not looked into it much
- 17/01/2012 11:42:30 PM
1193 Views
And yet you're still arguing the matter. 
- 18/01/2012 02:34:04 AM
1285 Views
- 18/01/2012 02:34:04 AM
1285 Views
I love you. *NM*
- 18/01/2012 03:41:03 AM
712 Views
heh, thanks. I usually find myself pushing minority opinions. Nice to be "appreciated" for once. 
*NM*
- 18/01/2012 04:01:10 AM
693 Views
*NM*
- 18/01/2012 04:01:10 AM
693 Views
Can i second the adulation?
- 18/01/2012 04:07:17 AM
990 Views
I too (three?) appreciate the common sense and reasonable explanations. *NM*
- 18/01/2012 04:12:59 AM
687 Views
Right, because the argument is not just over THIS bill but, apparently, over ANY bill.
- 18/01/2012 11:09:13 AM
1177 Views
Alternatives to SOPA/PIPA have been proposed for months now. Please stop arguing this.
- 18/01/2012 05:42:10 PM
1095 Views
Also, in the case of the OPEN Act, it has not "been proposed for months."
- 18/01/2012 07:28:15 PM
1603 Views
"sensitive federal content"? Provide a source justifying this claim and it's relevance, please.
- 18/01/2012 05:59:47 PM
1203 Views
I would not have thought a source necessary.
- 18/01/2012 06:24:44 PM
1197 Views
Okay, I'm with Aemon now.
- 18/01/2012 07:36:21 PM
1195 Views
OK.
- 18/01/2012 10:16:16 PM
1227 Views
should be interesting
- 17/01/2012 12:41:47 PM
1060 Views
Could be; depends on a lot of factors.
- 17/01/2012 07:38:55 PM
1123 Views
See, that's one of the biggest problems that people aren't understanding.
- 17/01/2012 09:31:38 PM
1136 Views
So tell them that.
- 17/01/2012 11:54:19 PM
1290 Views
Joel, I think I'm done with this unless you want to do some research.
- 18/01/2012 02:53:19 AM
1098 Views
Research would tell me what is wrong with these bills and how a good bill should look.
- 18/01/2012 11:22:46 AM
1200 Views
Could've done without the snide rejoinder, but, good.
- 17/01/2012 02:20:08 PM
1042 Views
I love the black banner, like some kind of internet Holocaust.
- 17/01/2012 08:03:27 PM
1192 Views
Are you aware that SOPA/PIPA has nothing to do with hackers and everything to do with copyright?
- 18/01/2012 02:08:56 AM
1039 Views
There seems to be some overlap.
- 18/01/2012 01:08:22 PM
1161 Views
Re: There seems to be some overlap.
- 18/01/2012 08:13:15 PM
1057 Views
Re: There still seems to be some overlap.
- 18/01/2012 10:27:32 PM
1322 Views
Re: There still seems to be some overlap.
- 18/01/2012 11:30:39 PM
1147 Views
Just because the news does not mention something does not automatically make it non-applicable.
- 19/01/2012 04:08:58 PM
1179 Views
Re: Just because the news does not mention something does not automatically make it non-applicable.
- 19/01/2012 10:39:40 PM
1164 Views
If you re-read your last sentence it should be clear why this law is being pushed.
- 20/01/2012 09:12:29 PM
1445 Views
Re: If you re-read your last sentence it should be clear why this law is being pushed.
- 21/01/2012 03:19:49 AM
1046 Views
Er, what Ghav said.
- 18/01/2012 02:30:37 AM
1084 Views
Sorry, protecting Pirate Bay and offshore gambling are not compelling counterarguments.
- 18/01/2012 11:38:08 AM
1112 Views
Okay, another analogy:
- 18/01/2012 02:04:12 PM
1082 Views
The devil is always in the details, and it seems clear the details need great revision.
- 18/01/2012 03:31:20 PM
1119 Views
what they SHOULD do is stop taking money from proponents of sopa/pipa
- 18/01/2012 03:51:09 PM
1165 Views
Yes, they should, but, once again, that approach will not prevent a new law.
- 18/01/2012 04:05:02 PM
1183 Views
Re: The devil is always in the details, and it seems clear the details need great revision.
- 18/01/2012 04:27:30 PM
1134 Views
If the US government wants to summarily block sites within the US, it already can and will.
- 18/01/2012 06:15:53 PM
1094 Views
You know all this anti-SOPA bullshit is making me hope the bill passes.
- 18/01/2012 04:00:17 AM
1142 Views
I would not go THAT far; it seems clear these bills have many objectionable provisions.
- 18/01/2012 11:41:23 AM
1168 Views
Re: I would not go THAT far; it seems clear these bills have many objectionable provisions.
- 19/01/2012 01:57:46 AM
990 Views
Yeah, the extreme bias on both sides is why the bills will likely pass more or less as written.
- 19/01/2012 03:31:52 PM
1182 Views
joel, you need to consider three things
- 18/01/2012 06:06:16 AM
1157 Views
You need to consider that they WILL pass some legislation, and what you want it to contain.
- 18/01/2012 12:15:38 PM
1197 Views
again, it's not about piracy, it's about protecting the mpaa/riaa business model at our expense
- 18/01/2012 03:34:32 PM
1267 Views
Yeah, see, that is the problem: "it's not about piracy."
- 18/01/2012 03:57:55 PM
1087 Views
if piracy is such a problem then the mpaa/riaa need to PROVE their losses
- 19/01/2012 02:43:31 AM
1084 Views
How do you expect anyone to prove what people WOULD HAVE bought if they could not just take it?
- 19/01/2012 03:57:24 PM
1406 Views
A technical examination of SOPA and PROTECT IP
- 18/01/2012 08:32:44 AM
1079 Views
"As a disclaimer, I am not a lawyer, I'm a sysadmin."
- 18/01/2012 12:47:16 PM
1326 Views
Wikipedia has already convinced me
- 18/01/2012 03:26:01 PM
951 Views
Trying to stop this legislation without proposing an alternative is trying to stop ANY legislation.
- 18/01/2012 03:44:18 PM
1158 Views
It isn't their job to propose legislation
- 18/01/2012 04:12:53 PM
1080 Views
No, but they have as much RIGHT to do so as anyone else.
- 18/01/2012 05:31:55 PM
1062 Views
Strike three.
- 18/01/2012 05:37:55 PM
1146 Views
That is fine; that is what people SHOULD be doing.
- 18/01/2012 06:03:59 PM
943 Views
Things being better now than they would be under SOPA seems like a legitimate argument to me
- 18/01/2012 09:04:18 PM
1206 Views
Against SOPA, sure; against ANY new law, no.
- 18/01/2012 10:46:48 PM
1071 Views
About "proposing new legislation"
- 18/01/2012 04:45:08 PM
1197 Views
So true
- 18/01/2012 05:08:45 PM
1146 Views
Re: About "proposing new legislation"
- 18/01/2012 05:59:55 PM
1296 Views
Hm, you should read my post one above about combatting online piracy.
- 18/01/2012 06:20:16 PM
1224 Views
I would not recommend photocopying a book and handing it out on street corners.
- 18/01/2012 06:45:52 PM
1159 Views
Not to blame, neccessarily. But you have to live in the real world.
- 18/01/2012 07:31:18 PM
1100 Views
Re: Not to blame, neccessarily. But you have to live in the real world.
- 18/01/2012 08:55:59 PM
1162 Views
I always liked the codewheels SSI provided with copies of their Gold Box AD&D games.
- 18/01/2012 10:07:40 PM
1312 Views
These are really different arguments
- 19/01/2012 12:05:10 AM
1057 Views
TV is slightly different, because regional availability becomes a factor.
- 19/01/2012 04:18:58 PM
1067 Views
Yeah, so I use Russian wikipedia for a day. Or German wikipedia, or French, or Italian... *NM*
- 18/01/2012 06:23:36 PM
748 Views
Or just hit stop right before the script runs. *NM*
- 18/01/2012 06:52:40 PM
731 Views
Or just disable Java. *NM*
- 19/01/2012 01:58:03 AM
597 Views
That's not as much fun though. *NM*
- 19/01/2012 02:13:44 AM
723 Views
Exactly, this way its kind of a game. *NM*
- 19/01/2012 02:20:37 AM
534 Views
I really don't see the fun in that. Wikipedia is just a tool, not a game. *NM*
- 19/01/2012 04:59:14 AM
640 Views
I don't know about those (except French), but none of the ones I ever used are remotely as good. *NM*
- 18/01/2012 08:13:47 PM
722 Views
Russian wikipedia is very good if you're not checking some obscure Western cultural phenomena.
- 19/01/2012 01:57:43 AM
1248 Views
Or Answers.com, or even the actual sources that are often copy/pasted into Wikipedia...
- 19/01/2012 01:07:38 AM
1160 Views
Re: Or Answers.com, or even the actual sources that are often copy/pasted into Wikipedia... *NM*
- 19/01/2012 01:34:46 AM
761 Views
Oh, no; now Congress will be inundated with complaints from lazy college students! 
- 19/01/2012 04:40:12 PM
1208 Views
- 19/01/2012 04:40:12 PM
1208 Views
13 previously unopposed senators now do not support SOPA.
- 19/01/2012 11:36:15 PM
1186 Views
How does that "rebutt" what was a facetious post in the first place?
- 20/01/2012 09:24:27 PM
1271 Views