Project sites like ours are a product of, and are only possible in an open internet that promotes the free exchange of knowledge.
Legislation currently pending in the US congress–
H.R.3261 “Stop Online Piracy Act” and S.968 “PROTECT IP” — threaten, at a minimum, to significantly undermine our ability to encourage collaborative learning through linking to and direct sharing of resources and ideas. At worst, Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories could someday disappear from the web without warning, and without due process of law.
If you like our site, please take just a minute to contact your representatives in congress. For more information about what these bills could mean for the internet as a whole, there are more resources over at the EFF.
Hear, hear!
Oh, and if you have something pirated, please get rid of it. This is happening because of pirating.
No, it’s happening because big media conglomerates are afraid that they’ll go out of business if we can buy our books and music and videos anywhere else but them.
There’s actually no solid numbers for piracy, and there’s some evidence that people who buy stuff from the back of the truck, so to speak, have more money to spend.
Also, you need to read what these bills include: they make it possible for someone, *anyone*, to shut down a site completely, just by saying there’s copyrighted material posted without permission – without evidence, without warrant, and without recourse. Guilty until proven innocent.
Definitely have to emphasize "Someone, somewhere feels like screaming ‘PIRATE’!!!!" aspect.
You think kids making crank calls were annoying, wait until they get the government take down all of Facebook or Youtube because they’re angry at another kid who called them fat in school today in front of that girl they like. Shady political activists (of any affiliation) taking down discussion groups they don’t approve of instead of astroturfing them. Corporations taking the competition offline… until the competition retaliates.
I’m a Canadian, but unfortunately basically all of our net access has to go through the states.
I find it ironic that the very same big businesses who normally complain about government regulation ask for it when it is to their benefit.
Since internet piracy does not endanger the life and health of anyone, this is exactly the sort of thing that I believe the government should NOT be regulating.
There are already avenues through the court system for companies to seek justice and the mega-corporations pushing for this have much deeper pockets than the US government. Why should tax-payer’s money be used for unnecessary regulations when the real solution for internet piracy is technical innovation from the companies themselves?
Lorien Tersey