I suck at discussing this. :/ But it's a bad thing. look up the Stop Online Piracy Act. If you're american, vote against it. If you're not - IT STILL AFFECTS YOU.
Hearing what it's supposed to do (and what it's named after) makes it not seem bad. Yet look deeper; it's a frightening bill. It cannot pass and that means everyone doing what they can to deny the bill.
Go to wikipedia to learn more.
Going to wikipedia won't do much today, it's locked in probably the biggest protest imaginable on the internet against SOPA. The problem with this bill is that it's written by people who either don't care or understand what it'll do to the internet, and it's written for people who are too scared of the internet to think that it has feelings.
This bill will affect 2 BILLION PEOPLE ACROSS THE WHOLE WORLD. Everybody should do their part in stopping idiots in Washington who don't realize what they're doing to the world. Sign petitions, talk to your local government guy if you're in America, send death threats to senators, whatever it takes to stop SOPA or PIPA.
Quote from: AngryPacman on January 18, 2012, 01:56:50 am
Going to wikipedia won't do much today, it's locked in probably the biggest protest imaginable on the internet against SOPA.
That's actually why I told people to go to Wikipedia. I believe it's a far bigger impact to be like "eh, Sopa? - wait, WIKIPEDIA IS PROTESTING?! AND SO IS OTHER SITES?! AND THEY WANT ME TO CONTACT MY SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES?!"
I agree. SOPA is the worst idea ever. One thing is the battle against online piracy, but it's something completely different to censor the WHOLE Internet. Technically, if SOPA passes, you can sue half of the Internet which includes sites like Wikipedia, Google, Facebook and others if they have any piece of material that it copyrighted by you. This is just wrong.
Fuuuuuuck, this is horrible. Hmm...supposing the bill passes...how'll we screw it up so it's no longer effective?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2012/01/16/obama-says-so-long-sopa-killing-controversial-internet-piracy-legislation/ (http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2012/01/16/obama-says-so-long-sopa-killing-controversial-internet-piracy-legislation/)
^ This.
Even if he doesn't support it, there's still the chance that it could be passed anyway. There's also Protect IP as well.
Yeah, PIPA is a similar problem like SOPA: :/
EDIT: If you're a US citizen, vote again SOPA and PIPA! https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction
If I understand correctly, other countries won't have any problems with SOPA and PIPA, granted that the websitehost isn't situated in America? Still, it's an awful bill. I don't think it'll past, although that might be wishful thinking.
Wrong. All search engines are run by companies registered in the US. The US government can force a search engine to filter out a site and effectively removing it from the Internet. You would be able to still access the site through its IP address, but that's almost the same as removing it for the average user. That means that because we all use Google, the US can basically block our search results as well. It may be a US-only law, but that law would affect the entire Internet, not just the US.
EXACTLY. It's really retarded. I once thought about starting my own technical company and going to school for management, C.I.S and the works. But if congress is going to pull retarded shit like this, then all of my credit-earning efforts will go in vain. :/
Why can't Google move to Europe, then O.o?
They can. And probably will. If the US doesn't use the framework SOPA and PIPA creates to prevent them from doing so.
I can see this leading to one of two possibilities:
One: The national barriers the internet has broken down will be thrown back up as segments of the internet start belonging to countries.
Two: The protests work or the bill is passed then scrapped because of violent internet revolutions, etc, leading to people realising they don't own the internet and therefore total freedom.
The primary issue is it gives more power to big entertainment companies. Look up information on the Megaupload song, you'll eventually get back to SOPA. (and PIPA)
I'm going against it. Calling my senators, etc, soon as Ig et home today.
Interestingly, a lot of supporters are those big name entertainment companies - for instance, the Motion Picture Association of America. They're particularly those companies that are very self-conscious over this whole piracy matter, but this is really the wrong way to punch it in.
Alas, alas. I've done my voicing last month, so that's nice, but perhaps I should find the time to continue contributing ~
I usually have http://americancensorship.org as my go-to place for voicing out opposition and whatnot, so 'tis a nice place to go to as well. Let's hope our Internet voices are for the better!
Ive yet to talk to a single person who supports SOPA. If our reps take any of the voices of their people seriously regarding this issue, it has no chance of passing.
well people don't support it. Companies support it. You would think that companies wouldn't have that kind of overriding power, but there are so many examples of it occurring over the past few years that we must consider the possibility. No matter how much people want regulations on wall street or oil companies, it will not happen very easily. Just the same, if companies want to regulate individual people's internet use, we must put up our own defense.
I'm appalled not only by the act itself, but by how far reaching it is. I don't live in America but I know this will affect me just as much as it will affect the average US citizen. It does seem to be that the powers-that-be in the US respond to percieved threats by barging in, taking what they want, restricting what they don't like and then throwing an expensive party with the rich and famous.
Ok, that last part was slightly exxagerated. But the point stands. Capitalism and Democracy are two parts of the same machine, but they shouldn't be so deep in each others pockets that you can't see where one ends and the other begins. Because that probably means that companies are having too much say in what laws get passed and how the Government operates.
Looking at my post... If this were any other day, I'd think that I'd taken an overdose of conspiritheorum. It's a sad, sad thing that my imaginary drug has nothing to do with this.
http://newsone.com/nation/casey-gane-mccalla/obama-stops-controversial-sopa-internet-piracy-bill/
Do some research on ACTA.
I think it's funny how the goverment of one country think they own the whole world. Altso they're forgetting one very important detail...
NOBODY owns the internet! :rulez:
They sure as hell think they do.
Did you guys read that article? President Obama doesn't support the bill, which means anything that even gets passed by congress will be veto'd by him. Unless its a much more direct, less wide-spread act.
Yes, I've seen it yesterday.
Theres still a chance for PIPA.
Not without america revolting against it, there's not
If it passes, it'll get declared unconstitutional, yes.
But the damage will already have been done before the bureaucracy gets it through.
Quote from: Blizzard on January 18, 2012, 10:23:51 am
Wrong. All search engines are run by companies registered in the US. The US government can force a search engine to filter out a site and effectively removing it from the Internet. You would be able to still access the site through its IP address, but that's almost the same as removing it for the average user. That means that because we all use Google, the US can basically block our search results as well. It may be a US-only law, but that law would affect the entire Internet, not just the US.
How about using a non-American search engine?
the bill is SPECIFICALLY aimed at "foreign" websites, btw.
Yep.
Yeah.
And can't the Americans just use proxies?
There are ways around DNS blocking, yes. However, to do so you have to know the IP of the program. Effectively, for the average citizen who's not well-versed in the internet, DNS blocking is going to prevent the access to a website. Moreover, it could possibly lead to the site completely shutting down.
You will be able to access all sites using their IP address, but domain names (such as www.something.com) won't work. It makes it much harder to access a site and most people don't understand IP addresses so the traffic will drop rapidly. This effectively actually removes the website from the Internet.
As a side note, advertisements and search engines will be obligated to stop supporting the website. Among other such things.
Quote from: mroedesigns on January 19, 2012, 04:37:20 am
Did you guys read that article? President Obama doesn't support the bill, which means anything that even gets passed by congress will be veto'd by him. Unless its a much more direct, less wide-spread act.
Congress can overrule a veto by a majority two-thirds vote, I believe.
Megaupload has been shut down and 7 people in charge of the service / website arrested as part of an ongoing legal battle with UMC.
they were arrested for a "legal" battle? :O.o:
By the way, what is UMC?
Quote from: Kett Shee on January 19, 2012, 05:17:28 pm
Quote from: mroedesigns on January 19, 2012, 04:37:20 am
Did you guys read that article? President Obama doesn't support the bill, which means anything that even gets passed by congress will be veto'd by him. Unless its a much more direct, less wide-spread act.
Congress can overrule a veto by a majority two-thirds vote, I believe.
He doesn't oppose it, he opposes it "in its current state".
That is not comforting to say the least.
Anonymous has caught wind. Anonymous is pissed. REALLY PISSED. And tell me class, what happens when Anonymous gets pissed?
DDoS. DDoS happens.
http://gizmodo.com/5877679/anonymous-kills-department-of-justice-site-in-megaupload-revenge-strike (http://gizmodo.com/5877679/anonymous-kills-department-of-justice-site-in-megaupload-revenge-strike)
QuoteUpdate: Anonymous says they've also knocked off the RIAA's site--looks down for us at the moment as well.
Update 2: Universal Music Group has also fallen off an e-cliff.
Update 3: Goodbye for now, MPAA.org.
Update 4: Affected sites are bouncing in and out of life, and are at the very least super slow to load. Anon agents are currently trying to coordinate their DDoS attacks in the same direction via IRC.
Update 5: The US Copyright Office joins the list.
Update 6: This Anon sums up the mood in their "official" chat room at the moment:
Danzu: STOP EVERYTHING, who are we DoSing right now?
Update 7: Russian news service RT claims this is the largest coordinated attack in Anonymous' history--over 5,600 DDoS zealots blasting at once.
Update 8: the Anonymous DDoS planning committee is chittering so quickly, it's making my laptop fan spin.
Update 9: Major record label EMI is down for the count.
Update 10: La résistance est international--French copyright authority HADOPI bites the dust under Anon pressure.
Update 11: The Federal Bureau of Investigation has fallen and can't get up.
But Anonymous can only do so much... Let your congressman know that a vote for SOPA is at least 50% votes for his opposition.
I believe Ulta meant UMG which is Universal Music Group.
Also I'd like people to not that ACTA is over and done with, the US and most of the negotiating countries have signed it. now as far as I know the latest copy of ACTA is no worse than the DMCA and as we have the DMCA nothing will change for the US but the DMCA is flawed and ACTA sets up an international precedent for it never being fixed so, still bad.
also I'm considering doing a series of audio blogs where I talk about the nature of the internet and my observations of it's effects on the world. interested?
as for Obama, he has not said he will veto it out right and only "expresses concern with it's current state"
a united front must be put up. freedom is fought for not guaranteed by words on paper. citizens have to be ever vigilant if they want to keep their freedom.
Quote from: Ryexalso I'm considering doing a series of audio blogs where I talk about the nature of the internet and my observations of it's effects on the world. interested?
I'd like to hear that :>
DDoS does close to nothing. It does about as much as ripping off a banner the government made.
Quote from: Ryexalso I'm considering doing a series of audio blogs where I talk about the nature of the internet and my observations of it's effects on the world. interested?
Also interesting, at least partially for the thrill of Ryex's sensuous voice.
@Sub: That's the wrong analogy. Ripping up a banner does quite a bit as far as symbolism goes.
Not if they just pick the banner back up from the floor and glue it back on every time you do it, within a few hours.
DDoS is then a bit more effective since they can't put it just back up when they want but when the attack stops. DDoS may not do much as far as damage is concerned, but it does draw attention. That is, anonymous DDoSing a site draws attention.
I don't think ACTA affects you much, as long as you use a proxy.
Oh HELL YEAH people own the internet. Look at Google, Wikipedia, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter,... they all have IMMENSE power through internet and without them, we would really be hopeless a LOT!
What I wanted to say here is all those international bussinesses and websites will also be affected by SOPA which means that Europe will also be affected!
We will eventually find ways to avoid this act, whether it is by using different websites, proxies or whatever other ways we will come up with. Heck, there is a plug-in that allows a foreign site to "host" a site of your country, so you can access it although it is prohibited by your government. This is done often to help people in totalitarian countries. The real problem is that America is even considering passing a bill like this and that the FBI has the power to arrest people who have committed those 'crimes'. You and I won't notice that much of a difference, but the general image will surely change.
According to my newsletter, the two bills have just both been successfully defeated, at least this time around. They will emerge again with a different name in the future I am sure.
Taking away some freedom, okay. Taking away the freedom to do something in your private time, no. Taking away the freedom of truth, no. Taking away freedom to show people the real world, uncensored, no.
Fuck that shit
Quote from: ForeverZer0 on January 20, 2012, 05:28:20 pm
According to my newsletter, the two bills have just both been successfully defeated, at least this time around. They will emerge again with a different name in the future I am sure.
I wonder what's going to happen with MegaUpload, though. How could the FBI do that without the bills having passed yet?
Quote from: SBR* on January 20, 2012, 05:36:34 pm
Quote from: ForeverZer0 on January 20, 2012, 05:28:20 pm
According to my newsletter, the two bills have just both been successfully defeated, at least this time around. They will emerge again with a different name in the future I am sure.
I wonder what's going to happen with MegaUpload, though. How could the FBI do that without the bills having passed yet?
They closed the site because of copyright and authorasation. nothing to do with the rest. they could have closed the site ages ago but now it seems the perfect time.
I saw this quote earlier this week.
QuoteThose who are ready to pay with a bit of liberty for some security deserve neither liberty nor security.
I'm glad the crisis has been averted for now.
Paying with liberty is ok to a certain extend, I think. For example: if there's a lot of criminality, preventive searching of the body should be allowed in more cases.
This isn't paying with liberty. Liberty and freedom don't mean that you can go around and do what you want. It means that you won't be oppressed by somebody else. Having liberty and freedom includes not infringing the liberty and freedom of others. Anything beyond that is just anarchy and chaos (the bad kind of chaos, not LL's Chaos :V).
Hmmm, I see what you mean. I agree.
Damn, it looks like F0's misinterpreted the newsletter. :/ They have only been put on hold, waiting for a possible rewrite or completely start from scratch.
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/PIPA-SOPA-protect-ip-act-stop-piracy-online-act-senate,news-13954.html
But this is still ok. If a rewrite changes the problematic sections, this can become a useful law against piracy instead of a law that allows censoring of the Internet. See how they were able to take down MegaUpload with the current laws? Realistically, why would they need SOPA/PIPA anyway?
So that they can effectively do the same to sites not based in the U.S., like MegaUpload was. Obviously they will never be able to shut them down, but they can block them from us. I love how the Constitution, the basis for all our laws doesn't seem to be in the equation to these politicians, which it is clearly against censorship.
Even worse, these politicians forget who they work for. They are public servants, and are SUPPOSED to be the voice of the people they represent. Instead they choose to either follow their party, campaign contributors, or in this case companies with lots of money, which I can make the safe assumption that they are getting something out of it personally. It seems that personal agenda is the only thing they choose to follow, and they people they represent, who "hired" them, are just afterthoughts.
This a spreading problem in the U.S., unfortunately. I am happy to see that at least 35 (last I heard) senators publicly denounce the bill. It will only take 40 to have the bill killed in the Senate, so that is pretty close.
Yeah, politicians are all the same everywhere. :/ I don't even mind that much that they pursue some personal agenda, I mind that they would do it even if they had to fuck over the whole country to get what they want.
Quote from: ForeverZer0 on January 20, 2012, 08:13:28 pm
So that they can effectively do the same to sites not based in the U.S., like MegaUpload was.
The MageUpload employees/bosses who were arrested weren't all American. I know for a fact that some were Dutch.
I hope Safe Harbor will protect them...
Quote from: SBR* on January 21, 2012, 07:06:05 am
Quote from: ForeverZer0 on January 20, 2012, 08:13:28 pm
So that they can effectively do the same to sites not based in the U.S., like MegaUpload was.
The MageUpload employees/bosses who were arrested weren't all American. I know for a fact that some were Dutch.
I hope Safe Harbor will protect them...
There are also 2 belgian employees arrested --'\
They got arrested for publising copyrighted items.
Quote from: ForeverZer0 on January 20, 2012, 08:13:28 pm
So that they can effectively do the same to sites not based in the U.S., like MegaUpload was.
MegaUpload was based in Hong Kong. I don't know how the U.S. government took it down.
Perhaps they were hoping for SOPA to be passed?
Quote from: AngryPacman on January 21, 2012, 08:15:40 am
Quote from: ForeverZer0 on January 20, 2012, 08:13:28 pm
So that they can effectively do the same to sites not based in the U.S., like MegaUpload was.
MegaUpload was based in Hong Kong. I don't know how the U.S. government took it down.
I'm not sure if this counts, but they had quite a bit of servers in the U.S., right?
Quote from: AngryPacman on January 21, 2012, 08:15:40 am
Quote from: ForeverZer0 on January 20, 2012, 08:13:28 pm
So that they can effectively do the same to sites not based in the U.S., like MegaUpload was.
MegaUpload was based in Hong Kong. I don't know how the U.S. government took it down.
Their logics were: "It is used in the US, and it is a US site, so it is US." (I think ofc)
MegaUpload, which "officially" is from Hong Kong, did most of its business within US borders, including over 1000 servers, and they used PayPal, a US company, to do their transactions. That, along with the ambiguity of "where" the internet is, gave enough for some judge to issue their arrests.
I don't like that. D:<
Neither do I. The whole situation is such bullshit.
Regardless, they actually were pulling quite a lot of bullshits. It's a legitimate takedown, aside from where Megaupload was officially located.
So now that SOPA and PIPA have been successfully stalled, make room for the new label they chose to stick on it.
The OPEN Act.
http://keepthewebopen.com/
Oh great. >_>
The Megaupload shakedown is legitimate. There's emails from their servers showing that they were paying via the rewards program to people who they -knew- were uploading copyrighted content, and they themselves were mirroring it with dummy accounts. They're being given due process of the law, so this is perfectly fine with me. This is further proof that existing laws are more than enough to deal with legitimate piracy concerns.
Also I refuse to give up liberty for someone else's sake. Thinking it's ok to lose freedom for security of any sort is the sort of thing that gets us the PATRIOT act and similar legislation. As Ben Franklin said, those who would sacrifice liberty for safety deserve neither.
Quote from: NAMKCOR on January 22, 2012, 06:58:41 pm
As Ben Franklin said, those who would sacrifice liberty for safety deserve neither.
This really is the only possible conclusion to be drawn from this discussion. It's ironic, really. A room full of senators and congressmen who claim to be fit to lead can't understand a basic truth that one of their founders expressed when a bunch of nerds with no power can.
Until they figure out a version where they don't shoot themselves too badly they won't get something passed.
At least we can be sure no version which attacks DNSSEC will pass. (Well... where it's known that DNSSEC will be attackeds)
Quote from: ForeverZer0 on January 22, 2012, 05:17:32 pm
So now that SOPA and PIPA have been successfully stalled, make room for the new label they chose to stick on it.
The OPEN Act.
http://keepthewebopen.com/
now hold on there. the OPEN act have been around for a while and is actually the GOOD alternative to SOPA .OPEN keeps the web OPEN. you WANT OPEN
Did you read the bill?
I have read it but not in detail, it gives the power to take digital copywrite infringement cases that go outside the borders of the US to the Internationale Trade Commission which already handles patent cases in that area. and that's it. it accomplishes what SOPA was trying to do with forum websites and give copy-write holders the tools to fight them but it's doesn't make them any more powerful than they already are.
Thats my understanding. and Demand Progress supports that act so i'm inclined to believe I didn't miss any details that would spell disaster.
Piracy can't be stopped, due to the simple fact that this is digital: anything is possible.
Piracy can be reduced by quite a bit. How? By offering a decent, modern alternative.
Quote from: Subsonic_Noise on January 23, 2012, 04:49:18 pm
Piracy can be reduced by quite a bit. How? By offering a decent, modern alternative.
Aye, but ya'll always be left with some out and out cut-throat, peg-legged, parrot owning sea dogs.
ACTA explained (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmQN93NqqDM)
Quote from: Subsonic_Noise on January 23, 2012, 04:49:18 pm
Piracy can be reduced by quite a bit. How? By offering a decent, modern alternative.
Or by lowering the prices. e.g. $50 for a video game is way too much. 90% of that goes to the publishers anyway. :/ The developers can be happy if they get a chunk of all that money. :/
In Holland, there's an organization called BUMA, which fights for copyrights. They've taxed DVD-r(w)s and the money they earn from it goes straight to the people who have lost money due to piracy. This way, those people won't lose any money, as long as people actually use DVDs for pirated content.
We have something very similar here in Croatia. Except that it's not just for DVDs but for any device capable of memory storage.
Quote from: SBR* on January 24, 2012, 10:48:19 am
In Holland, there's an organization called BUMA, which fights for copyrights. They've taxed DVD-r(w)s and the money they earn from it goes straight to the people who have lost money due to piracy. This way, those people won't lose any money, as long as people actually use DVDs for pirated content.
.iso is so annoying... but I know that in holland DVD's are cheap, cheaper than in Belgium, I go to holland to buy like 1000 DVD-RWs because they are MUCH cheaper!
*cough* ... virtual drive... *cough*
I have a little media player I got on Amazon for like $30 that plays videos on my TV directly from a USB storage device, SD card, etc. I used to convert and burn them to DVDs, but now I don't even do that. So take that, stupid Holland tax.
Son of a mother whore! >:U http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.338546-SOPA-Storms-Back
wow... they're back already?
get the gun
Quote from: Blizzard on January 24, 2012, 01:24:11 pm
*cough* ... virtual drive... *cough*
Indeed, but I like to have DVDs and CDs around and install them whenever you need them instead of all that mounting shit.
I bet Steam has helped way more in reducing piracy than say DCMA
OnLive is also an interesting prospect
Quote from: game_guy on January 24, 2012, 09:07:09 pm
Son of a mother whore! >:U http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.338546-SOPA-Storms-Back
That was posted on the 17th, following the blackout, most of SOPA and PIPA's support was lost, and they were shelved indefinitely (http://www.prospectusnews.com/mobile/sopa-pipa-shelved-after-protests-1.2750744).
Is it back? Vote that it never comes back!
http://a.fightforthefuture.org/sign/obama-sopa/?akid=69.1696975.ItW_kF&rd=1&t=6
SOPA is back and it's time to fuck it up again. Luckily we all know how to deal with undead zombies. Get your axes out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fTt4K4Cae4
EDIT: All you US citizen should sign the petition here: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/stop-sopa-2013/LMzMVrQF
unfortunately because of the signup I think many will not sign it :( we might loose this omg stupid government
The important thing is that we spread the message. Even though some of us might not be able to sign up and sign the petition, we can still spread the message so it reaches other people who can.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. SOPA/PIPA/ACTA (or whatever it calls itself now) is back. Let's put it back into the grave. After decades of zombie films, we know how to handle the undying.
https://openmedia.org/censorship/fftf?utm_source=fftf&utm_medium=email&utm_content=nt&utm_campaign=apec
These types of laws are a product of the mindset of the oldest 60-70% of the population. SOPA and laws like it will not go away any time soon, and there is no possible 'quick win'. The strategy that we have to utilize is to stall their damage for as long as possible until eventually, the mindset will change and we can overturn any remnants of their damage.
We need to spike the liverwurst.
I'm starting to contemplate setting up my own private servers, connect with other people doing the same, and make our own little private network. Think Onion/Tor, but better. I just need to figure out the legalities and logistics of this, and cost of course...
Seriously though, does no one remember Benjamin Franklins quote: "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." Yep. That. A centuries old saying, that hits home right now. If we are to give up some of our own freedom/liberty to the government, in exchange for them saying we are safer for it, we are effectively opening the door to being trampled upon by both our own government, and our enemies.
Quote from: DigitalSoul on October 04, 2013, 05:01:00 pm
Seriously though, does no one remember Benjamin Franklins quote: "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both."
Wow that's a great quote that can apply to alot of things in the USA.
Quote from: Blizzard on October 04, 2013, 09:32:48 am
Tsk, tsk, tsk. SOPA/PIPA/ACTA (or whatever it calls itself now) is back. Let's put it back into the grave. After decades of zombie films, we know how to handle the undying.
what, beat the crap out if it with excessively brutal violence only to teabag the corpse as the final insult?
i'm surprised that the US is trying this crap again, don't they have anything better to do like i don't know, something about a debt ceiling being breached or the fact they've shut down the government? their almost like the RvB minions going "get the flag, get the flag, get the flag, get the flag, get the flag, get the flag" but are actully going "do SOPA, do PIPA, do ACTA, do SOPA, do PIPA, do ACTA", still, they may be doing this now cause everyone's learned that the NSA has been spying on everyone and now they need the powers to act on what they see