This article is in gratitude to Wikipedia, wordpress and millions of other websites that went on black-out on Jan Wed 18th 2012. Millions of people have become aware of the risk that is being posed to their freedom BUT...
The articles explaining the risks PIPA and SOPA posses appeals to people on an intellectual rather than on an intellectual and emotional level that is needed to rally a mass movement behind those who are against those double egged ACTS.
There is a small percentage of people who get emotional while reading the current articles - hackers (gray, black, white) because they have been in the fight against closed source and copyright systems for a very long time and already have information (through experience) the effects of restrictive communications.
To ganer the support that is needed to shelve these demonic IP laws permanently, there is need to sell the effects of these acts properly.
The articles so far only talk scantily about china - let stories about how it feels to be browsing from behind china's firewall fill these protests.
Let people know that blocking of copywrited contents is only the first step.
The same facilities that can be used to block access to certain sites can be used to track everyone. People would no longer be free to talk about the wrong of those in power just like in china. Peole can be arrested jailled or even executed simply for complaining about Obama or any other president... Don't believe me - look at china.
Let people learn stories of how bad things could get from books like "The elephant and the Tiger".
The anti SOPA-PIPA campaings are targeted at Americans and it is not really a good idea. If these acts are passed into law, billions of people from other countries would be affected as well.
Don't believe me? Look at the different countries that have been bullied by the American governement for passing laws againsts gay, lesbian marriages - there have even been cases where the Obama administration has threatened to remove aids to countires who oppose gay and lesbian marriages.
The internet is bigger than Americans and concerned individuals should be given the chance to join the protests as well.
I commend Google for rallying around and educting people, I'm going to try to bully Microsoft and Apple into joining the cause. The reason Linux has not gained as much traction as it could have is because there has been no need - yet.
Neccessity is the mother of invention right? If needs be, off-shoots of linux that would be intuitive, easy to use by a 3 year old, secure and free of copyright claims would take a large bite out of your market. This means that you stand to lose the most by supporting SOPA and PIPA.
To everyone including me, silence equals support for those acts. For all we care, you might as well be the brains and brawns behind them. The puppeteers behind the scene, come out and tell people where you stand.
It does not make sense for any of you to blackout because communication fuels revolution BUT... You should at least put some little notice on your homepages that helps spreads the awareness.
This is not a threat but people are using your sites right now because of the convineice. If these acts pass into law, your sites would lose the attractiveness it has at the moment because the governments of the world would be monitoring everything that you do. You might even be mandated to pass every thing generated on your sites through their own filters before being allowed to be posted. (India has already requested this right?)
Do you think at that point people would stop communicating HELL NO! They'll just use your website to schedule meeting points somewhere else where they can talk in safety. Private Bulletin boards would once again become popular (a regression though) but it would happen.
Free Japanese cartoons are 1000 times better than most crappy movies you pay for.
Check out Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, Hitman Reborn, Gun Grave, Blood+, Sekirei... If more people move to watching free stuff, the movie creators would have less money to lobby at the white house.
It is safe to assume that the SOPA and PIPA authors are constantly pestering the law makers and as a result, please consider a system that would allow business to run normally while still spreading the word to the world.
God Bless us all.
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