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I don't think it's gimmicky at all. There's a very real threat that SOPA or whatever comes after that will de juro or de facto allow old media to end the inter
by daniel-cussen 15y ago
I don't think it's gimmicky at all. There's a very real threat that SOPA or whatever comes after that will de juro or de facto allow old media to end the internet as we know it.
Blacking out sites ahead of that only helps illustrate to people the harm the law will do.
- stanleydrew 15y agoThat's only true if you illustrate the harm to people who aren't already aware of it. I contend that almost everyone who visits HN is already aware of said harm. Thus blacking out HN will have limited impact.
- Alex3917 15y agoThere are different types of awareness though. Having your homepage actually shut down for a day is completely different than understanding something at the intellectual level.
- mvanveen 15y agoI say come january 18th HN should either black out, or focus discussion on SOPA entirely in solidarity with reddit. HN is a niche community with members who have a much greater capacity to influence the outcome of SOPA than a general populace. In some sense, a black out would inhibit the community's ability to affect change with respect to the issue. If every active member of HN pledged to spend their available resources on the 18th towards working on SOPA, I suspect the outcome could have effects reaching further than even the championed reddit black out. It's mostly a matter of deciding to place our money where our mouths are and collaborating effectively.