American Censorship Day

[Hyro-Sama]

If we have learned anything, it's that our governments act when we do not want them to.

 

[gameandmatch]

Dear US government,
How come you guys always do things that you know will get many people to rage like crazy and possibly cause many revolts?

 

[Gahars]

Seriously, this is still going?

People, seriously, stop with the knew jerk reactions. I know it's fun to complain about how this is the end of freedom and the beginning of an Orwellian-like society, but that just isn't happening here.

A) To people like gameandmatch who ask why the government does stuff like this... it hasn't done anything. People submitted a bill which they believe will help the United States, and it will go through the normal legislative process. Sometimes bills are created that a lot of people dislike, but every one has the same right to be considered. B) People thinking Congress will back this is beyond me. Our congress right now is so disagreeable that we almost defaulted; do you really think these very same people will form enough of a coalition to get an unpopular bill like this passed? C) Lobbyists funded by the companies against this (which is a shit ton) are probably going nuts over this proposed law; they have a lot of money to swing around. D) Even if by some miracle it passes through both houses of Congress, it goes to the President (you know, the guy with veto powers), the same guy who has vocally opposed the bill in the past. If the bill gets passed, it certainly won't be by a wide enough majority to get 2/3 of the members of the House and the Senate to sign back into law.

Have a problem with this bill? Then call or email your local representative and politely state that if he wants your vote, he better vote this down. Ask the people around you to do the same. Otherwise, bitching on an internet forum will get you nowhere.

 

[Deleted User]

Seriously, this is still going?

People, seriously, stop with the knew jerk reactions. I know it's fun to complain about how this is the end of freedom and the beginning of an Orwellian-like society, but that just isn't happening here.

A) To people like gameandmatch who ask why the government does stuff like this... it hasn't done anything. People submitted a bill which they believe will help the United States, and it will go through the normal legislative process. Sometimes bills are created that a lot of people dislike, but every one has the same right to be considered. B) People thinking Congress will back this is beyond me. Our congress right now is so disagreeable that we almost defaulted; do you really think these very same people will form enough of a coalition to get an unpopular bill like this passed? C) Lobbyists funded by the companies against this (which is a shit ton) are probably going nuts over this proposed law; they have a lot of money to swing around. D) Even if by some miracle it passes through both houses of Congress, it goes to the President (you know, the guy with veto powers), the same guy who has vocally opposed the bill in the past. If the bill gets passed, it certainly won't be by a wide enough majority to get 2/3 of the members of the House and the Senate to sign back into law.

Have a problem with this bill? Then call or email your local representative and politely state that if he wants your vote, he better vote this down. Ask the people around you to do the same. Otherwise, bitching on an internet forum will get you nowhere.

This is a forum, we can discuss things, you discuss things on forums, there's no violence. Only words.

Worst case the more people post, the bigger this thread becomes, and more people are aware of this.

If the bill wasn't a big deal, then it wouldn't be a big issue posted on MANY sites.

 

[chartube12]

Sorry supergamer your half wrong. They don't need to force down the big companies' sites. All they have to do is block them like China as done. Else where, the websites will still be viewable. There is a difference between taking down websites and blocking them.

 

[the_randomizer]

Now, I just need to remind myself to use a decent VPN if/when this asinine bill passes. DNS blocking? Gimme a freakin' break. People got passed the Great Firewall of China, so people can do the same in the US.

 

[Gahars]

*snip*

This is a forum, we can discuss things, you discuss things on forums, there's no violence. Only words.

Worst case the more people post, the bigger this thread becomes, and more people are aware of this.

If the bill wasn't a big deal, then it wouldn't be a big issue posted on MANY sites.

I love that as soon as you point out that people are bitching over nothing, they will immediately flock to the "We have a right to discuss things!" argument. Of course you do, but I also have the right to point out how stupid you are for overreacting.

As for your last point... you obviously don't understand the concept of a "knee jerk reaction" or "blind panic".

 

[Supreme Dirt]

I was initially going to post "lol America".

Then I thought about it.

And realized that a large amount of websites I browse are based in America.

Which means this WILL affect me. Drastically.

God help us.

 

[the_randomizer]

I hope someone kicks Lamar Smith really hard in the *censored* and rips his *censored* off. I hope he burns for this.

 

[Gahars]

I hope someone kicks Lamar Smith really hard in the *censored* and rips his *censored* off. I hope he burns for this.

Because that is a totally calm and reasonable response to someone supporting legislation, created through entirely legitimate means, meant to protect the claims of copyright holders (however misguided it may be).

Oh wait...

 

[the_randomizer]

So what if I express it that way? Who's to say I'm denied that right? It is a misguided pile of s**t that needs to be eradicated. Sodding idiots.

 

[gameandmatch]

Seriously, this is still going?

People, seriously, stop with the knew jerk reactions. I know it's fun to complain about how this is the end of freedom and the beginning of an Orwellian-like society, but that just isn't happening here.

A) To people like gameandmatch who ask why the government does stuff like this... it hasn't done anything. People submitted a bill which they believe will help the United States, and it will go through the normal legislative process. Sometimes bills are created that a lot of people dislike, but every one has the same right to be considered. B) People thinking Congress will back this is beyond me. Our congress right now is so disagreeable that we almost defaulted; do you really think these very same people will form enough of a coalition to get an unpopular bill like this passed? C) Lobbyists funded by the companies against this (which is a shit ton) are probably going nuts over this proposed law; they have a lot of money to swing around. D) Even if by some miracle it passes through both houses of Congress, it goes to the President (you know, the guy with veto powers), the same guy who has vocally opposed the bill in the past. If the bill gets passed, it certainly won't be by a wide enough majority to get 2/3 of the members of the House and the Senate to sign back into law.

Have a problem with this bill? Then call or email your local representative and politely state that if he wants your vote, he better vote this down. Ask the people around you to do the same. Otherwise, bitching on an internet forum will get you nowhere.

You are right that they haven't done anything but they still come up with ideas that will get many people to dislike it. "Bitching" on the internet forum calms me down so I won't be yelling at my local representative and speak with them in a calm voice.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Sorry supergamer your half wrong. They don't need to force down the big companies' sites. All they have to do is block them like China as done. Else where, the websites will still be viewable. There is a difference between taking down websites and blocking them.

First off, these companies are based in America, meaning others wouldn't be able to view the censored material. Secondly, these companies rely rather a bit on their sites. Not 100% obviously, but they still rely on them. Censoring their sites makes them lose money. Losing money means you can't pay your workers. Being unable to pay your workers means layoffs. Layoffs mean less jobs. Less jobs mean worse economy. You get the picture? Sure it's not likely to happen, but it could and it would just be all around bad. I'd rather not take the chance of having this happen as it would only make everything worse.

 

[the_randomizer]

They should call it "SOD - Stopping Online Douchebags"

 

[chyyran]

Should the same people who declared that Pizza is a vegetable really be discussing the future of the Internet, and by extension the world?

These people have the potential to cause the collapse of the DNS (and by extension, cause alot of all around bad things to happen), and yet they said that Pizza is a vegetable.

 

[Vulpes Abnocto]

If you really want to point fingers, take a look at the biggest supporters of the SOPA bill.
Many of them are old friends of ours, and people we discuss quite extensively here.
Nintendo
Sony
Electronic Arts
Capcom
Konami
Epic Games
SEGA
NVIDIA
Microsoft
Ubisoft
And more

It's not just the US Congress to blame here.

 

[WolfSpider]

If you really want to point fingers, take a look at the biggest supporters of the SOPA bill.
Many of them are old friends of ours, and people we discuss quite extensively here.
Nintendo
Sony
Electronic Arts
Capcom
Konami
Epic Games
SEGA
NVIDIA
Microsoft
Ubisoft
And more

It's not just the US Congress to blame here.

I doubt this law would stop piracy at all since people will still use proxies.

 

[the_randomizer]

And VPNs.

 

[Gahars]

So what if I express it that way? Who's to say I'm denied that right? It is a misguided pile of s**t that needs to be eradicated. Sodding idiots.

Again, you have the right to say that, just as I have the right to call you an asshole for saying you want a fellow human being "eradicated" for his beliefs. The fact that you call him an "it" certainly isn't helping your cause either.

 

[the_randomizer]

I digress, and to be honest, the whole SOPA thing is freaking me out big time and didn't know how else to react. I don't want to get fined and/or go to jail for uploading walkthroughs on youtube.