The SOPA Bill [YOU MUST READ THIS! NOW! DONT IGNORE THIS!]

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VikingBoyBilly
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The SOPA Bill [YOU MUST READ THIS! NOW! DONT IGNORE THIS!]

Post by VikingBoyBilly »

This is nuts. The Stop Online Piracy Act will kill our priveledge to communicate freely on English-language websites. The PCKF could be destroyed if someone here so much as posts a link the American Government and the Entertainment Industry doesn't like. People can go to jail for 5 years just by streaming copywrighted material! It will give John Carmack the power to take down the bipship if he wants to!

Go to http://americancensorship.org/ and tell congress to vote NO on SOPA.
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Post by TerminILL »

Didn't this already not-happen a few days ago?

Also, John Carmack already had the power to take down The Bipship. DMCA and such.

Also also, lol America
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Post by kuliwil »

TerminILL wrote:Also also, lol America
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Keeper
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Post by Keeper »

I do believe that everyone should have free access to art, in all its forms. And yes, video games ARE a form of art (they actually combine several other forms of art into one).

But we live in a weird world. Woohoo :dopekeen
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Post by RoboBlue »

I never fill these things out (I don't like to give out my information or email), but I still filled this one out because of how important it is.
This law won't stop "internet piracy" or do anything helpful, but it's a great place to start discussing how most people feel alienated by current copyright laws, and why so many ignore and break them.
If the law passes, the rift between law and reality will widen, and only bad things can come of that.
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Post by tulip »

It will also be interesting to see how such a vote turns out. Because if you think about it: in a true democratic vote there's no way this could get through because copyright as of now benefits very few (company leaders of bmg, umg and the like) and cuts freedom of the majority of people. So if this gets voted yes, you'll know the outcome was rigged.

[EDIT]also opencongress.org states: "1% Users Support Bill
9 in favor / 905 opposed"
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Post by Grimson »

But the 1% are those who hold the power.

In my opinion this is a violation of the sovereignty of other countries. The US government should in no way be allowed to shut down websites that are based elsewhere, perhaps only restrict access to them from the US.
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Post by RoboBlue »

The US also shouldn't be allowed to invade other countries and occupy them for long periods without even voting on it beforehand.

Seriously, I know no one wants another world war, but I'm starting to think the other world powers are pussies for not putting us in our place.
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Post by KeenEmpire »

tulip wrote:It will also be interesting to see how such a vote turns out. Because if you think about it: in a true democratic vote there's no way this could get through because copyright as of now benefits very few (company leaders of bmg, umg and the like) and cuts freedom of the majority of people. So if this gets voted yes, you'll know the outcome was rigged.

[EDIT]also opencongress.org states: "1% Users Support Bill
9 in favor / 905 opposed"
I'm pretty sure very few of the populace already support most of the [highly oppressive + restrictive] copyright bills that have already been made, so this one would just be icing on the cake.

For example, illegal downloads and file sharing are endemic; it's doubtful that any bill making them illegal (or imposing further restrictions on them) would've been democratically passed, but lo and behold, they have been. This, to me, demonstrates a serious flaw in our democracy.


(In some ways, I am just regurgitating Stallman, so I'll link to his lecture about copyrights. It's very enlightening, but warning, one hour long. Because you are so used to them, chances are that the current copyright laws may not even seem oppressive to you, until he finally explains to you just how they are oppressive.)
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Post by Keeper »

Bill or no bill - you can't beat piracy. It will just evolve and return in some other form that exploits a loophole in the law.

People will always look for opportunities to get something for free. It's in our DNA :p

I remember a case in my own country - it was about an online library. In an age when young people read less and less, it is a great idea to put classic literary works online where they can be more accessible.

But noooo, a greedy publishing company had to make a lot of noise and accuse the library's creators of "mass theft."

This same publishing house is known for mercilessly attacking a blind person because the "evil criminal" (that's how they described him) dared to upload some books in audio format (making them accessible for other blind people). Naturally, there was a strongly negative public reaction, especially among younger people.

Keep one thing in mind - both the library and the blind guy uploaded classic works of literature, whose authors had been dead for more than 60 years.

In the end - the online library survived by moving to another server. And it's still alive :)
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Post by thehackercat »

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Last edited by thehackercat on Mon Jan 27, 2020 21:44, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by KeenEmpire »

thehackercat wrote:The US government needs to be put in its place. The citizens are the only ones who can do that. I'm only 16 now, but I can't wait until my vote counts for something.
That's funny, because even if we look at it most optimistically, your vote would still count for nothing. Unless you just happened into the most bizarre election, your vote will not actually change who wins (that is: if you'd just stayed home, the same person would've won).

What would count for something is the ability to sway multitudes of votes. But for that, you'd need money (and you'd probably be part of a special interest group).

Finally, all this assumes that one of the candidates from the de facto two party system is one whom you'd want to support. If you think both are undesirable, then you're out of luck, even if you do have money. Sheer inertia will, with very rare exceptions (e.g. boss senator from Vermont), lead to one of the two being elected anyway.

***
thehackercat wrote:On another note, I'm on board with the anti-illegal download stuff, and I'm not. For example, I don't think it's moral to download a recently released game for nothing. A lot of people worked for a long time to bring something like that to fruition. At the same time, I don't think a textbook company should claim intellectual ownership of a bunch of Bach chorales, or that a 20-year old abandonware DOS game with a cult following should be the intellectual property of a company that wants nothing to do with the series. :dead2

I certainly like having my copies of Keen, but I realize it's hypocritical of me to download those and yet decry music piracy and the like.
This is actually a fair position: reduce the length of copyright. Nowadays, games have more or less exhausted their market potential within a few years, to say nothing of a few decades, and there's no reason copyright should persist for 70 years after the death of the author.

And yet, good luck getting this changed, using just your vote. The current parties don't actually care about massive copyright reform; Hell, the Democrats are driven by special interests to strengthen and lengthen it!
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Post by Paramultart »

I received a letter from congress a few weeks ago regarding a petition I signed against the internet blacklist bill. They basically said "Thank you for sharing your opinion regarding this bill that will STOP CHILD PORNOGRAPHY! I will certainly keep your thoughts in mind when voting for this bill that will STOP CHILD PORNOGRAPHY. Thank you."

I guess it's meant to fight child pornography the same way the PATRIOT ACT fights terrorism, or China fights freedom of speech.
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Post by Grimson »

Paramultart wrote:"Thank you for sharing your opinion regarding this bill that will STOP CHILD PORNOGRAPHY! I will certainly keep your thoughts in mind when voting for this bill that will STOP CHILD PORNOGRAPHY. Thank you."
Are they serious? Way to make up excuses.
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Post by KeenEmpire »

Grimson wrote:Are they serious? Way to make up excuses.
I would not be surprised if most Congressional members are only able to understand buzzwords like that (nor if the only word they actually read of the Patriot Act was "Patriot").
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