Seems one of the largest protests directed at US Congress has had an effect. Many Congressman and Senators have withdrawn their support for the PIPA AND SOPA bills. But they are not totally dead yet.

If these bills had be put into law, I as this Forum's Administrator would have most likely had to made changes the format of this Forum.

As it is now the members can make a post freely without prior approval from myself. In the years of running this Forum, I have only had to intervene twice to moderate a user's post. And that was only after other members had made a compliant.

But under the proposed legislation of PIPA ans SOPA, I would have had to monitor postings to make sure a user had not inadvertently post some copyrighted material, else I could be held accountable. Google could have been made to pull the Adsense postings from the Forum. The Server Host for the Forum (Bluehost) could have been forced to delete the Forums account. All this with out any prior notification to me.

And the decision to have this done would not be by some bureaucrat, but by some unknown entity in the entertainment industry.

There have been in the past some copyrighted material posted on the Forum. Once I had been properly notified and I have checked the post and it is legit, I duly removed the material.

The PIPA and SOPA bills are badly drafted and it seems where written not by lawmakers, but by lawyers from the, you guessed it, the entertainment business.

The answer to online piracy is NOT legislation, but innovation. Trying to legislate the behavior of the masses does not work. Just look at Prohibition from the 1920's to learn that lesson.

Please read this from Wikipedia  and watch this video PIPA/SOPA and it's possible ramifications 

John

 

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Thank you for joining in on the blackout John. You are absolutely correct in what you say. Between this site and the others that joined in to do the blackout it actually did make people aware of what is going on and the individual Senator websites are getting slammed by unhappy constituents.
Oh, and thank you for the upkeep of this forum - we really appreciate it!


Richard

 

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John, I was very surprised to see one of my favorite Forums "dark" yesterday. While it is easy to understand why large operators would object to the legislation, it surprised me that this forum went dark. Whether I agree with the legislation or not, I applaud you for taking a stand. I was not going to contact my congressmen (one Illinois Senator is listed as supporting the bills), but if you can risk shutting down this forum, I think I can at least risk sending letters (sorry, I don't think they read emails) to my legislators.

 

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The legislation is especially dangerous to small companies as they do not have the funds or resources to monitor copyright infringements that might occur on their websites nor fight against the lawsuits that would be levied against them if the big boys decide to come after them.

I don't like the scum that permeates the internet but a free and open internet is best for everyone.

Time to get off my soapbox, eh? :)



Richard

 

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I have written to both of my Senators. The Democrat supported the bill and I have expressed my disappointment with his position. The Republican does not support the bills and I thanked him. They each received a copy of the other Senators letter. Hopefully, the Democrat will get the hint. Unfortunately, the Republican suffered a stroke (before he got my letter).

 

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Keep the air waves free !
I can only hope we don't see this again disguised and hidden in another Bill.

 

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As a citizen of the UK I can only applaud your actions in sinking this action on the part of your legislature. It never ceases to amaze me, both here and in the USA, how politicians occupy themselves with matters of little importance while there are world shaking events going on. Well done, and if I had a Congressman I would write to him or her too! Jonathan.

 

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I just received a 2 page letter from my Senator, the one who supported PIPA. First he explained why we need the laws. Then he said:
"However, I have heard from many constituents...", "I will keep your concerns in mind as the Senate continues to consider these matters". It sounds like it is not over. I am not sure if this is good news or bad news. But at least he responded.

 

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