11 ms·

I know there's a lot of cynicism about whether SOPA law is really being abandoned, or whether it's just being temporarily shelved, but I'm really excited about

I know there's a lot of cynicism about whether SOPA law is really being abandoned, or whether it's just being temporarily shelved, but I'm really excited about how opponents have banded together, and how organizations like Reddit and Wikipedia have been willing to sacrifice page views and revenue to show their support and to increase public awareness. In the future, when someone advocates opposing an unjust law and someone else responds that opposition is futile, the anti-SOPA efforts will serve as a compelling and encouraging counterargument.

vaksel 15y ago
They should capitalize on the momentum and create an organization that can get everyone mobilized quickly in the future. Politicians kiss up to tiny groups just because they are somewhat influential...think of billions going to subsidies for farmers or even tiny 1 issue groups. Surely together, the tech community is much more influential than them.
- sequoia 15y ago
  I think you're describing moveon.org. EDIT: I was unclear. "create an organization that can get everyone mobilized quickly in the future." From the wiki page of moveon.org: "They started by passing around a petition asking Congress to 'censure President Clinton and move on', as opposed to impeaching him." It was a single-issue online activism group that grew into an organization known for quickly mobilizing lots of people for political causes. I should have been more specific! :)
  - nicksergeant 15y ago
    There's not a single mention of PIPA/SOPA on that site.
  - LeafStorm 15y ago
    MoveOn.org is a blatantly left-wing organization, whereas supporters of a free Internet come from the left, the right, the center, and the north (Libertarians, if you're using the Nolan scale). Even if MoveOn.org were to embrace the tech community and Internet freedom, they support a whole boatload of other causes that many Internet freedom supporters, myself included, disagree with, and use rather tactless advertising strategies. If we are going to start an organization dedicated to Internet freedom, it needs to be focused solely on that issue, or at least similar issues such as freedom of speech in the general sense, and not get into the other controversial topics like health care and foreign policy that have the potential to divide us.
    - nextparadigms 15y ago
      You may joke, but I find the Internet to be more libertarian than anything else, and by that I don't necessarily mean the people on it, but how the Internet works.
  - vaksel 15y ago
    not exactly, I'm talking more about a group like the NRA or AIPAC or NCAAP...something powerful enough where every presidential candidate has to come in and kiss up to get the group's approval. Something where a candidate getting rated a C or D or F by the group, means the kiss of death in politics. And something, with the following to get mobilized quickly to knee cap any bad legislation before it can even get out of committee. The tech industry makes up a huge part of the GDP...but there is very little unified influence for people to respect it.
- wtracy 15y ago
  I've been on the mailing list for "savetheinternet.com" (run by "freepress.net") for a while now--they pre-date SOPA/PIPA. Confusingly enough, they're sending out messages now reading "end the SOPA blackout!" that actually refer to the lack of media coverage of SOPA.
- kevinpet 15y ago
  This organization is the EFF. If it can't do what you dream of, it's just an indicator that internet freedom is not a hot button issue for a large enough percentage of the electorate.
  - vaksel 15y ago
    EFF is powerless, it needs the big tech companies to be it's muscle
kiba 15y ago
Page views and revenues would keep to exists if SOPA snuff their site in the future. It's about looking for the long term.
16s 15y ago
The politicians will claim it is dead, then name it something else or not name it anything at all and just tack it onto the end of some other legislation and pass it when no one is watching. In the USA, they're bought and paid for.
- cwe 15y ago
  they may be able to keep the people from knowing about it until it happens, but with all this outrage it seems unlikely they'll be able to keep it quiet after the fact. Then they'll have to answer to this behavior come election time.
  - 16s 15y ago
    They don't care. They honor those who buy the lobster dinners and give them 30 dollar cigars. When you vote them out, they'll have several six or seven figure cushy job offers to pick from. --- From wikipedia: In February 2011, despite "repeatedly and categorically insisting that he would not work as a lobbyist,"[22][23] [senator Chris] Dodd was identified by The New York Times as the likely replacement for Dan Glickman as chairman and chief lobbyist for the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).[24] The hiring was officially announced on March 1, 2011.[25]
    - bad_user 15y ago
      The individuals may end up with six/seven figure cushy jobs, but the party may still suffer long-term consequences. When you're in politics, money is only good for one thing: buying votes. However, if a force stronger than free t-shirts and pens makes itself noticed, like mass-media reminding people how they got screwed, then interesting things can happen. I think the main issue here with these people is that the Internet is not controlled so tightly as traditional media. And we are just starting to see the social effects.
      - tonio09 15y ago
        The internet might not be as tightly controlled but think of the Great Firewall of China. In addition, it's an excellent tool for surveillance. People periodically realize that they are being screwed over, yet most of the time after the initial outrage nothing happens. There may be some scandals but wait 6 months and it's all forgotten.
thezilch 15y ago
SOPA can be left to die on the vine, which was less of a concern than the supporting industries and politicians having such powerful draw on our livelihoods. Whether SOPA, PIPA, etc are alive or not, acts like these -- Wikipedia, Reddit, etc blackouts -- or tech pundits -- Dan Kaminsky (DNS hacker) and Alexis Ohanian (Reddit.com co-founder) on national TV -- still need to happen; the general public needs to know of the grievous acts, passed or not, of industry and their politicians. Otherwise, as we continue to echo, these same groups will create a separate set of laws under another guise and continue to push their ideals.
ErrantX 15y ago
It's not being abandoned. They are just using the same tactics as always. * Push a dodgy law to the brink of a vote * Get the opposers to bluster into obscurity * Sneak the same legislation in under other laws/names later in the year. (* Profit????) They do this all the time.

vaksel 15y ago

They should capitalize on the momentum and create an organization that can get everyone mobilized quickly in the future. Politicians kiss up to tiny groups just because they are somewhat influential...think of billions going to subsidies for farmers or even tiny 1 issue groups. Surely together, the tech community is much more influential than them.

sequoia 15y ago
I think you're describing moveon.org. EDIT: I was unclear. "create an organization that can get everyone mobilized quickly in the future." From the wiki page of moveon.org: "They started by passing around a petition asking Congress to 'censure President Clinton and move on', as opposed to impeaching him." It was a single-issue online activism group that grew into an organization known for quickly mobilizing lots of people for political causes. I should have been more specific! :)
- nicksergeant 15y ago
  There's not a single mention of PIPA/SOPA on that site.
- LeafStorm 15y ago
  MoveOn.org is a blatantly left-wing organization, whereas supporters of a free Internet come from the left, the right, the center, and the north (Libertarians, if you're using the Nolan scale). Even if MoveOn.org were to embrace the tech community and Internet freedom, they support a whole boatload of other causes that many Internet freedom supporters, myself included, disagree with, and use rather tactless advertising strategies. If we are going to start an organization dedicated to Internet freedom, it needs to be focused solely on that issue, or at least similar issues such as freedom of speech in the general sense, and not get into the other controversial topics like health care and foreign policy that have the potential to divide us.
  - nextparadigms 15y ago
    You may joke, but I find the Internet to be more libertarian than anything else, and by that I don't necessarily mean the people on it, but how the Internet works.
- vaksel 15y ago
  not exactly, I'm talking more about a group like the NRA or AIPAC or NCAAP...something powerful enough where every presidential candidate has to come in and kiss up to get the group's approval. Something where a candidate getting rated a C or D or F by the group, means the kiss of death in politics. And something, with the following to get mobilized quickly to knee cap any bad legislation before it can even get out of committee. The tech industry makes up a huge part of the GDP...but there is very little unified influence for people to respect it.
wtracy 15y ago
I've been on the mailing list for "savetheinternet.com" (run by "freepress.net") for a while now--they pre-date SOPA/PIPA. Confusingly enough, they're sending out messages now reading "end the SOPA blackout!" that actually refer to the lack of media coverage of SOPA.
kevinpet 15y ago
This organization is the EFF. If it can't do what you dream of, it's just an indicator that internet freedom is not a hot button issue for a large enough percentage of the electorate.
- vaksel 15y ago
  EFF is powerless, it needs the big tech companies to be it's muscle

kiba 15y ago

Page views and revenues would keep to exists if SOPA snuff their site in the future. It's about looking for the long term.

16s 15y ago

The politicians will claim it is dead, then name it something else or not name it anything at all and just tack it onto the end of some other legislation and pass it when no one is watching. In the USA, they're bought and paid for.

cwe 15y ago
they may be able to keep the people from knowing about it until it happens, but with all this outrage it seems unlikely they'll be able to keep it quiet after the fact. Then they'll have to answer to this behavior come election time.
- 16s 15y ago
  They don't care. They honor those who buy the lobster dinners and give them 30 dollar cigars. When you vote them out, they'll have several six or seven figure cushy job offers to pick from. --- From wikipedia: In February 2011, despite "repeatedly and categorically insisting that he would not work as a lobbyist,"[22][23] [senator Chris] Dodd was identified by The New York Times as the likely replacement for Dan Glickman as chairman and chief lobbyist for the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).[24] The hiring was officially announced on March 1, 2011.[25]
  - bad_user 15y ago
    The individuals may end up with six/seven figure cushy jobs, but the party may still suffer long-term consequences. When you're in politics, money is only good for one thing: buying votes. However, if a force stronger than free t-shirts and pens makes itself noticed, like mass-media reminding people how they got screwed, then interesting things can happen. I think the main issue here with these people is that the Internet is not controlled so tightly as traditional media. And we are just starting to see the social effects.
    - tonio09 15y ago
      The internet might not be as tightly controlled but think of the Great Firewall of China. In addition, it's an excellent tool for surveillance. People periodically realize that they are being screwed over, yet most of the time after the initial outrage nothing happens. There may be some scandals but wait 6 months and it's all forgotten.

thezilch 15y ago

SOPA can be left to die on the vine, which was less of a concern than the supporting industries and politicians having such powerful draw on our livelihoods. Whether SOPA, PIPA, etc are alive or not, acts like these -- Wikipedia, Reddit, etc blackouts -- or tech pundits -- Dan Kaminsky (DNS hacker) and Alexis Ohanian (Reddit.com co-founder) on national TV -- still need to happen; the general public needs to know of the grievous acts, passed or not, of industry and their politicians. Otherwise, as we continue to echo, these same groups will create a separate set of laws under another guise and continue to push their ideals.

ErrantX 15y ago

It's not being abandoned. They are just using the same tactics as always. * Push a dodgy law to the brink of a vote * Get the opposers to bluster into obscurity * Sneak the same legislation in under other laws/names later in the year. (* Profit????) They do this all the time.