Spread the word-SOPA will destroy the Internet as we know it

[Michigan Railfan]

I figured I'd alert everyone about another bill the government is passing. They're threatening to take down any site that may host copyrighted material. This includes Facebook, YouTube, Myspace, etc. Sorry if government issues don't fit here, but this act could affect Railroadfan too.

More information on the topic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhwuXNv8fJM

[Jochs]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70554.html

[redside20]

A Saudi prince just bought a share of twitter...Coincidence?
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/saudis-pr ... 40529.html

[J T]

You mean we might have to go back to what life was like about 15 years ago? OH, THE HUMANITY!!

[Michigan Railfan]

You mean we might have to go back to what life was like about 15 years ago? OH, THE HUMANITY!!

Haha. Yes, we (possibly) would. But back then we never knew what we were missing!

[J T]

You mean we might have to go back to what life was like about 15 years ago? OH, THE HUMANITY!!

Haha. Yes, we (possibly) would. But back then we never knew what we were missing!

Yeah, because we were actually being productive doing stuff.

[conrailmike]

No, it WILL destroy the internet as we know it.

If this passes, it will basically give the U.S. Govt. unprecedented censure of the internet. It will give the govt. the control to shut down any website at any given time, due to the fact they will be breaking DNS.

The bill is so broad that it basically says if you piss anyone off, they could shut your site down with no reason.

This bill is ONLY because of the MPAA (Motion Picture Assoc. of America) and RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) continually telling us that piracy is making them go broke and from them lining the pockets of Congress. I don't agree that piracy is right, but this law will NOT stop the pirates out there from copying stuff. It may not be right (piracy) but I don't see how it's taking money from them.....the MPAA posted record profits this past year.

We live in the US and this will only become the Great Firewall of China if this passes.

Congress is SO ignorant of how the internet actually works. If this bill passes, lots of legitimate websites will be shut down and not because of the copyrighted material.

This is neither a democrat or a republican issue, it's both and if you want to keep the internet open and free I suggest you contact your congress critter.

[Michigan Railfan]

As of right now, this bill is FORCEFULLY being passed through congress. 25,000 signatures are needed for this bill to actually be allowed to be vetoed. You can sign here: https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#! ... n/g3W1BscR
2,000 signatures are still needed, and are due by January 17th, 2011

[J T]

I'll believe it when I see it.

Unfortunately the government doesn't realize that with sites like youtube being shut down, there are going to be millions of teenagers suddenly stripped of their ability to gain acceptance in this world, thus leading to huge riots everywhere across the country.

[conrailmike]

It's very close to passing, there's been some delay this past week but it's closer to passing then you think.

[Racer]

74 are currently needed as of 8:52pm on 12/19/2011.

[osomething]

I just signed it, and it's over 25,000 signatures within one day.
FYI, sites like railroadfan.com could easily be affected. If we link too much to videos/photos, or other websites that have violated copyright laws, the DNS record for here could be removed. I very much hope SOPA gets turned down.

[J T]

I just signed it, and it's over 25,000 signatures within one day.
FYI, sites like railroadfan.com could easily be affected. If we link too much to videos/photos, or other websites that have violated copyright laws, the DNS record for here could be removed. I very much hope SOPA gets turned down.

I'm sure there is a way that Zack could fix it so no links would be allowed.

[J T]

By the way, why isn't this the top story in the news every night? Why have I not read anything about this on other forums? RRFan is the only place (aside from the links posted above) that I've heard anything about this. It would seem like, with something of this magnitude, it would be the #1 talk in the country. Hmm...

[~Z~]

It's mainly because the media in general is FOR SOPA, since it protects what they write online and the videos that they show of their own. It's bound to pass unless a decent stopping force is assembled, and if the media creates an awareness to it, they are shooting their own foot.

[GTW6401]

Congress was within 27 hours of a government shutdown, and yet there screwing around with items like SOPA. No wonder I don't vote for incumbents anymore.

[J T]

It's mainly because the media in general is FOR SOPA, since it protects what they write online and the videos that they show of their own. It's bound to pass unless a decent stopping force is assembled, and if the media creates an awareness to it, they are shooting their own foot.

That's too convenient. "SOPA will destroy the internet as we know it" would be too big of a story for every media outlet to ignore. Why am I not seeing a collective outcry on facebook and youtube? No discussion on talk radio? Surely not everyone in the media has been silenced over discussing this.

[Saturnalia]

Pretty Good chance this site (and Zack) could be in a world of hurt if this passes:
http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf ... 203261.pdf

Go tell your political leaders to kill the bill!
If this bill passes, me typing: [..CSX..] How Tomorrow Moves could land Zack in jail if he dosn't delete it
KILL THE BILL! KILL THE BILL! KILL THE BILL!
KILL THE BILL! KILL THE BILL! KILL THE BILL!
KILL THE BILL! KILL THE BILL! KILL THE BILL!
KILL THE BILL! KILL THE BILL! KILL THE BILL!
KILL THE BILL! KILL THE BILL! KILL THE BILL!

[ns8401]

The stop online piracy act (SOPA) has nothing to do with anything in on or around the site and makes no mention of typing trademarked stuff. It is simply designed to reduce the online piracy (stealing) of movies, books and music that are copyrighted and sold at profit without agreement with the copyright holder. There is even a provision for the first amendment which applies to this site. Don't sweat this bill MQT ----- unless you are selling copyrighted works without permission for your own profit..

[Saturnalia]

The stop online piracy act (SOPA) has nothing to do with anything in on or around the site and makes no mention of typing trademarked stuff. It is simply designed to reduce the online piracy (stealing) of movies, books and music that are copyrighted and sold at profit without agreement with the copyright holder. There is even a provision for the first amendment which applies to this site. Don't sweat this bill MQT ----- unless you are selling copyrighted works without permission for your own profit..

I've never participated in piracy. The motion picture Assoc. needs to calm down, as the internet accounts for a good percentage of movie and other production sales. For example: some studios put props and stuff up on Ebay, and get huge profits from what might be a worthless piece of crap to them. Also, the internet's LEGAL sales are FAR, FAR GREATER than what companies lose from piracy. Try to stop piracy, but this bill won't: itll kill other sites, soome of which display ads to sites where internet commerce takes place. Save a little but lose a lot: thats what this bill would do. It'd be a losing venture for all.