Thread: So have the powers that be at DI thought about SOPA and PIPA

How do you guys think it would affect forums like this?

Originally Posted by friendorfoe

How do you guys think it would affect forums like this?

And what exactly are SOPA and PIPA?

Originally Posted by Ted Heiks

And what exactly are SOPA and PIPA?

SOPA - soup
PIPA - pipe = soup pipe

Abner

I understand the need for copyright and intellectual property protection, but the potential abuses of the law are FAR too vast. Sal Khan, at Khanacademy.com, has put together a great video that breaks down why so many internet companies feel that this is dangerous.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzqMoOk9NWc

Many, many people within the interwebs community are anti-SOPA

Originally Posted by mcjon77

I understand the need for copyright and intellectual property protection, but the potential abuses of the law are FAR too vast. Sal Khan, at Khanacademy.com, has put together a great video that breaks down why so many internet companies feel that this is dangerous.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzqMoOk9NWc

Thanks for posting this link to the Khan Academy video about SOPA and PIPA. It is the clearest explanation of the concerns shared by many in the online community. I wish the traditional news media was able to explain these concerns as thoroughly as Sal Khan.

Thanks to Wikipedia's blackout yesterday, some congressional sponsors of SOPA (in the House) and PIPA (in the Senate) are withdrawing their support or asking for changes to the bill in their chamber of congress. Although, some members of Congress remain steadfast in their support. For example, Sen. Barbara Boxer, of California, issued a statement reaffirming her sponsorship of PIPA.

Lamar S. Smith (GOP Texas) decided to take SOPA back to the drawing board only after defending it publicly and loudly for months. It looks like yesterday's blackout and actions taken by Google (4.5 million signatures on a petition in 1 day) worked...for now.

Basically the highlights as it would concern a forum like this would be to make the site owners responsible for 100% of the content. And since this site allows end users to post, could theoretically be deigned to be advocating or at least enabling copyright infringement just by the nature of discussion forums. SOPA = Stop Online Piracy Act and PIPA = Protect IP Act. Both are bad news for any and all social media from Facebook to Vbulletin boards.

	Lamar University Lamar University Lamar offers the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree completion program. The program gives flexibility, and prepares students for a professional career of their interest The Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences degree completion program at Lamar University has one of the lowest tuition rates in the country, costing only $450 per course for Texas residents and $495 per course for out-of-state students. This degree is ideal for students who have earned 45 or more academic credit hours but never finished their bachelor's degree. Credits can also be granted for qualifying work experience or military service and training. 120 credits will be needed to graduate. The school is regionally accredited, the most widely recognized accreditation. Click Here to receive FREE information on this school.

So now people who care about freedom and liberty are coming out of the woodwork when their internet gets taken away? Where were all these freedom fighters when the evil government wanted to use its largess to compel people to purchase something that they don’t want to purchase, or to hire someone they might not want to hire?

	Liberty University Liberty University Liberty offers online degrees in the following subject areas: a huge selection of programs in Religious Studies (Associate's, Bachelor's, and Master's), a Master's Degree in Human Services, Master of Science in Nursing, Business (Associate's, Bachelor's, and MBA), Education and Teaching (Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate), Liberal Arts (Associate's, Bachelor's, and Master's), and Counseling (Associate's, Bachelor's, and Master's). Liberty has an outstanding reputation for the quality of its education and scholarship, though the strong Christian affiliation may be objectionable to some. The school is regionally accredited, the most widely recognized accreditation. Click Here to receive FREE information on this school.

Originally Posted by 03310151

So now people who care about freedom and liberty are coming out of the woodwork when their internet gets taken away? Where were all these freedom fighters when the evil government wanted to use its largess to compel people to purchase something that they don’t want to purchase, or to hire someone they might not want to hire?

Well, they likely have varying opinions on healthcare and employment law. Also, only a minority of people willingly choose not to have health insurance, and only a minority make hiring decisions. The vast majority of us use the internet.

Originally Posted by StefanM

Well, they likely have varying opinions on healthcare and employment law. Also, only a minority of people willingly choose not to have health insurance, and only a minority make hiring decisions. The vast majority of us use the internet.

True. Your reply begs the question though: Does the majority rule?

Originally Posted by Ted Heiks

And what exactly are SOPA and PIPA?

Two major, highly controversial, life-altering bills in congress that the mainstream media have done a great job of covering up.

As written, it would make toast of DegreeInfo as well as nearly every other forum on the internet.

Originally Posted by 03310151

True. Your reply begs the question though: Does the majority rule?

The social majority, yes. The numerical majority, usually not.

I for one wasn't here yesterday to comment on this thread because I was too busy campaigning against the illegitimate legislative abortions known as SOPA and PIPA.

Originally Posted by 03310151

So now people who care about freedom and liberty are coming out of the woodwork when their internet gets taken away? Where were all these freedom fighters when the evil government wanted to use its largess to compel people to purchase something that they don’t want to purchase, or to hire someone they might not want to hire?

As I recall people were coming out of the woodwork for Obamacare too. Remember all the Congressional and Senatorial town halls where people's representatives required police escorts...shouting crowds, people being ignored by their representatives right in front of the news cameras. I remember one Congresswoman in Houston, TX actually answered her cell phone in the middle of taking a question from a member of the crowd who was a cancer survivor, the video was shocking but not as shocking as that critter getting re-elected after that.

Obamacare was rammed down the throats of the American public despite vocal and present protests to the counter. That's the catalyst behind the 2010 House swing to the Right IMHO.

Originally Posted by Maniac Craniac

Two major, highly controversial, life-altering bills in congress that the mainstream media have done a great job of covering up.

As written, it would make toast of DegreeInfo as well as nearly every other forum on the internet.

Degreeinfo and all like forums, Facebook, Wikipedia heck maybe even Ebay gone or at least severely mutated. It would have crippled the U.S. technlogy sector and likely put us at a strategic global disadvantage from which we would never have recovered. And why? Because the record and movie industry don't like people copying their stuff. Nice.

Originally Posted by friendorfoe

Degreeinfo and all like forums, Facebook, Wikipedia heck maybe even Ebay gone or at least severely mutated. It would have crippled the U.S. technlogy sector and likely put us at a strategic global disadvantage from which we would never have recovered. And why? Because the record and movie industry don't like people copying their stuff. Nice.

I've read in passing (without doing the substantial amount of research usually demanded by this community) that the movie and record industries have a huge political lobby while social media barely have any. Cenk Uygur, the paranoid ultra-liberal whose videos I at times post here, suggested that SOPA and PIPA may have been a ploy from congress to force social media to create a political lobby, which would in turn become another funnel for bribery. It's just crazy enough to fit the MO of Washington in the year 2012.