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DC going offline to protest SOPA on Jan 18
app103:
That would be like opposing a war by signing up to join the military. Or showing your disapproval of McDonald's by having everybody buy a Big Mac with fries and a shake. It just doesn't make sense to me.
-Deozaan (January 17, 2012, 08:18 PM)
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No, it's not like that at all.
It's like blacking out your website to display your opposition to a war.
It's like blacking out your website to display your disapproval of McDonalds.
It's a form of civil disobedience, a way to make your point and be heard, a way to make sure every visitor to your website is made aware of the issue.
Why do workers picket in front of a business when they go on strike? Isn't the act of not working good enough to make their point? Why carry signs and chant?
What tools does the internet offer as the most powerful way that a webmaster, blogger, or online community can use to protest and make others aware of their position on an issue? What is the equivalent to a picket line in the online world? What has the maximum impact, can't be overlooked like a banner across the top, can't be missed like a forum post, can't be deleted like an email, can't be ignored?
Yesterday, it was black picket signs that blocked visitors from accessing the content.
40hz:
That would be like opposing a war by signing up to join the military. Or showing your disapproval of McDonald's by having everybody buy a Big Mac with fries and a shake. It just doesn't make sense to me.
-Deozaan (January 17, 2012, 08:18 PM)
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No, it's not like that at all.
-app103 (January 19, 2012, 03:05 PM)
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@Deo -Try thinking of it as an illustration presented to people who lack the ability to imagine what the internet might be like if something like SOPA/PIPA became the law - first in the USA - and then in the rest of the world as US politicians endeavored, through various strong arm tactics, to impose their self-righteous (and fully paid-for) attitudes and beliefs on the rest of the world.
:)
Try watching the Clay Shirky TEDTalk video Carol posted above if you haven't already. And maybe even visit his blog here.
I think a little watching, reading, and reflection will at least clarify what some of us are worried and talking about - even if you still don't agree with us afterwards. It's not a problem if you don't since most of us don't agree 100% with each other on this topic anyway.
;D
wraith808:
Yesterday, it was black picket signs that blocked visitors from accessing the content.
-app103 (January 19, 2012, 03:05 PM)
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And the Feds have spoken their word...
At least *I* don't think it was coincidence.
Deozaan:
That would be like opposing a war by signing up to join the military. Or showing your disapproval of McDonald's by having everybody buy a Big Mac with fries and a shake. It just doesn't make sense to me.
-Deozaan (January 17, 2012, 08:18 PM)
--- End quote ---
No, it's not like that at all.
[snip]
It's a form of civil disobedience, a way to make your point and be heard, a way to make sure every visitor to your website is made aware of the issue.
Why do workers picket in front of a business when they go on strike? Isn't the act of not working good enough to make their point? Why carry signs and chant?-app103 (January 19, 2012, 03:05 PM)
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At the time I expressed my disapproval, I thought sites were essentially going to 404 (or 503) rather than post information about SOPA/PIPA. So it didn't seem a useful form of protest to me. It would have been, to use your example, like the workers just not showing up to work. Or actually, it would have been more like workers showing up and working for free to protest potential future pay reductions.
TaoPhoenix:
Deozaan that would have been a clever image for a protest to mimic, but a true 404/etc in protest would have been "too thin of a message" and even savvy users wouldn't know it's not just one more site that didn't keep their site up.
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