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defrogWednesday was the big SOPA/PIPA blackout, in which lots of major sites went dark in protest, as did many blogs and Facebook pages, etc.
This LJ did not participate – not because I’m in favor of SOPA/PIPA (I’m not), or because I thought the overall protest was a waste of time, but because c’mon, less than 40 people read this thing and Lamar Smith isn't one of them.
I also didn’t bother posting one of the hundreds of GIFs and other graphics protesting (and if yr on FB at all, you’ve probably seen most of them) because I’ve already said what I have to say about it, and that hasn’t changed. Also, I believe the topic deserves a little more than the web equivalent of bumper-sticker sloganeering.
At any rate, the good news is that even before SOPA/PIPA Blackout Day, SOPA already appeared to be doomed. And while PIPA is still in play, House reps have indicated they’re unlikely to back PIPA if it passes in the Senate.
However, as other people have pointed out, it’s quite possible SOPA/PIPA will come back in a different form. Certainly the MPAA and RIAA are very unlikely to take the failure of SOPA/PIPA as a hint.
More to the point, it’s crucial to remember that SOPA/PIPA got as far as it did because (1) the MPAA/RIAA lobby has deep pockets and infinite resolve, and (2) Congressmen not only have no understanding of the technology they’re trying to regulate, they have no interest in learning about it. It says a lot when you actively resist bringing in experts to testify against a bill, and then when Vint Cerf – the guy credited for actually helping invent the Internet as we know it – comes in and tells you just how bad yr bill is, yr response is, "I'm no technology nerd, but I don't believe it."
Well, of course. Why take Vint’s word for it just because he understands the technology better than you?
Then again, it’s always possible, as Dan Gillmour posits, that such Congressmen are playing dumb and know exactly what SOPA/PIPA will do, and that’s fine with them because what this is really all about is making the Internet easier to police and regulate in the same way the govt already polices and regulates other forms of media.
Either way, I’m sure SOPA/PIPA will be back. Rep. Lamar Smith, SOPA’s chief sponsor, has already said he isn’t letting this drop. The good news, such as it is, is he’ll have his work cut out for him – a whole lotta House reps and Senators have backed off supporting both bills because of the public backlash, which has also increased public awareness considerably.
You can’t cure stupid,
This is dF
==============================
UPDATE [21 JAN 2012]: Lamar Smith is letting it drop after all. Or at least to the point where he can come up with a new bill to defeat you stinking pirates.
This LJ did not participate – not because I’m in favor of SOPA/PIPA (I’m not), or because I thought the overall protest was a waste of time, but because c’mon, less than 40 people read this thing and Lamar Smith isn't one of them.
I also didn’t bother posting one of the hundreds of GIFs and other graphics protesting (and if yr on FB at all, you’ve probably seen most of them) because I’ve already said what I have to say about it, and that hasn’t changed. Also, I believe the topic deserves a little more than the web equivalent of bumper-sticker sloganeering.
At any rate, the good news is that even before SOPA/PIPA Blackout Day, SOPA already appeared to be doomed. And while PIPA is still in play, House reps have indicated they’re unlikely to back PIPA if it passes in the Senate.
However, as other people have pointed out, it’s quite possible SOPA/PIPA will come back in a different form. Certainly the MPAA and RIAA are very unlikely to take the failure of SOPA/PIPA as a hint.
More to the point, it’s crucial to remember that SOPA/PIPA got as far as it did because (1) the MPAA/RIAA lobby has deep pockets and infinite resolve, and (2) Congressmen not only have no understanding of the technology they’re trying to regulate, they have no interest in learning about it. It says a lot when you actively resist bringing in experts to testify against a bill, and then when Vint Cerf – the guy credited for actually helping invent the Internet as we know it – comes in and tells you just how bad yr bill is, yr response is, "I'm no technology nerd, but I don't believe it."
Well, of course. Why take Vint’s word for it just because he understands the technology better than you?
Then again, it’s always possible, as Dan Gillmour posits, that such Congressmen are playing dumb and know exactly what SOPA/PIPA will do, and that’s fine with them because what this is really all about is making the Internet easier to police and regulate in the same way the govt already polices and regulates other forms of media.
Either way, I’m sure SOPA/PIPA will be back. Rep. Lamar Smith, SOPA’s chief sponsor, has already said he isn’t letting this drop. The good news, such as it is, is he’ll have his work cut out for him – a whole lotta House reps and Senators have backed off supporting both bills because of the public backlash, which has also increased public awareness considerably.
You can’t cure stupid,
This is dF
==============================
UPDATE [21 JAN 2012]: Lamar Smith is letting it drop after all. Or at least to the point where he can come up with a new bill to defeat you stinking pirates.
