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[Criptfeind]

You don't even need to do that. add a .m. in between the en and the wikipedia and you end up at the normal mobile version.

That sounds like more work then just stopping it for redirecting.

[hermes]

Is anyone else looking at this whole thing through a warped looking-glass wondering how long they've been sleeping?

Having read some articles analysing PIPA and SOPA, they are so comedically draconian I can't believe people are taking this so seriously!  I'm really cynical about this kind of thing and to me a looks like a setup to make Google, Facebook, Twitter et al look like the heroes of the free world again.  The US State Department has been doing this for months (years?) now, most notably with the "Arab Spring" which was nothing more than a thinly veiled ad campaign to get as many people to sign up to Facebook as possible because, you know, Facebook servers are in the US *cough*policingprotestsfromadeskwithdonutscoffeeandalaptop*cough*.

Actually, following the events of last year, I read some article where political analysts were worried that the State Department had over-politicised social media thus running the risk of undermining their own policy in that area.  The current situation seems like the perfect antidote to that - stage a mock struggle for internet freedom in congress, have the internet win and credibility is restored.  There are so many positive repercussions that would stem from this scenario, not least increased awareness of "political freedom of the West" in countries like China and Iran that are firmly in the crosshairs of the US.

I will be quite red in the face if the bill passes.   

edit - I thought I'd try to back this up with evidence, and miraculously found the article from an old Foreign Policy magazine (don't worry, B12, I cancelled my subscription) ... here it is.  The key sentence I was thinking of is, "By aligning themselves with Internet companies and organizations, Clinton's digital diplomats have convinced their enemies abroad that Internet freedom is another Trojan horse for American imperialism."

This whole thing is, for me, interesting on another level, because here we have two of America's biggest "soft powers", Hollywood and the internet, ostensibly fighting it out.  Whichever way it goes, the result will be telling of where US foreign policy lies.

[Eagleon]

Spoiler: Googlebook conspiracy, etc. (click to show/hide)

Is anyone else looking at this whole thing through a warped looking-glass wondering how long they've been sleeping?

Having read some articles analysing PIPA and SOPA, they are so comedically draconian I can't believe people are taking this so seriously!  I'm really cynical about this kind of thing and to me a looks like a setup to make Google, Facebook, Twitter et al look like the heroes of the free world again.  The US State Department has been doing this for months (years?) now, most notably with the "Arab Spring" which was nothing more than a thinly veiled ad campaign to get as many people to sign up to Facebook as possible because, you know, Facebook servers are in the US *cough*policingprotestsfromadeskwithdonutscoffeeandalaptop*cough*.

Actually, following the events of last year, I read some article where political analysts were worried that the State Department had over-politicised social media thus running the risk of undermining their own policy in that area.  The current situation seems like the perfect antidote to that - stage a mock struggle for internet freedom in congress, have the internet win and credibility is restored.  There are so many positive repercussions that would stem from this scenario, not least increased awareness of "political freedom of the West" in countries like China and Iran that are firmly in the crosshairs of the US.

I will be quite red in the face if the bill passes.   

edit - I thought I'd try to back this up with evidence, and miraculously found the article from an old Foreign Policy magazine (don't worry, B12, I cancelled my subscription) ... here it is.  The key sentence I was thinking of is, "By aligning themselves with Internet companies and organizations, Clinton's digital diplomats have convinced their enemies abroad that Internet freedom is another Trojan horse for American imperialism."

This whole thing is, for me, interesting on another level, because here we have two of America's biggest "soft powers", Hollywood and the internet, ostensibly fighting it out.  Whichever way it goes, the result will be telling of where US foreign policy lies.

On the other hand, to me, occam's razor seems to cut towards rich politicians being funded to tinker with a system they know nothing about. Why would lobbyists from the entertainment industry be interested in Google and Wikipedia gaining popularity? Maybe Google has double-agents inside the RIAA, or less absurdly they don't want a bill to be passed that would force their (incredibly pricey) relocation to a friendlier country.

[Aqizzar]

Is anyone else looking at this whole thing through a warped looking-glass wondering how long they've been sleeping?

Having read some articles analysing PIPA and SOPA, they are so comedically draconian I can't believe people are taking this so seriously...

This whole thing is, for me, interesting on another level, because here we have two of America's biggest "soft powers", Hollywood and the internet, ostensibly fighting it out.  Whichever way it goes, the result will be telling of where US foreign policy lies.

Reading through some of the statements made by Senators and Representatives says a lot about how Congress really works when nobody's looking.  Which is to say, not much at all actually happens.  The most common phrase that comes up in these statements is that they're going to "review" or take a "second look" at the bill, which is to say read it for the first time.

On issues that don't hew to a common partisan dividing-line, most Congressmen don't feel the need to pay much attention, because they know voters and vote-activists aren't going to.  These are usually industry versus industry policy fights - the example I heard was one about a year ago of retailer-lobbyists versus banking-lobbyists fighting over federal rules on charge-card swiping fees.  That's usually were you get the ridiculously long and technical laws, which are essentially written by consultants and staffers, and Congressmen sign off based on which other Congressmen are supporting it as future bargaining power.

It's entirely likely that 90% of the Congress never even looked at SOPA/PIPA until the last couple days, when their phones started ringing off the hook like it was a tax-bill or something.  I think one Representative even admitted he didn't remember he'd been listed as a supporter until now.  It's certainly dismaying to watch, but I suppose you can take some solace in how many people in both parties basically said, "So I finally read that SOPA thing and yeah this is preposterous."

[Jacob/Lee]

Protesting SOPA via avatars woo

[Trapezohedron]

Protesting SOPA via avatars woo

No sig editing?


EDIT: Look at this. That might be old, but Monster Cable (as in the producers of Beats by Dre, a line of headphones) has been listing Craiglist, EBay and other similar sites as 'rogue sites'.

The bill isn't out yet, but you can see that the effects already manifest in some form. It only takes passing the bill in order for the idiots to perform the wretched deed of banning everything that isn't them.

[alway]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2012/01/google-anti-sopa-petition.html

And today, when Google asked its users to sign a petition protesting two anti-piracy laws circulating in Congress, millions responded.

A spokeswoman for Google confirmed that 4.5 million people added their names to the company's anti-SOPA petition today.

Sign here, if you haven't already: https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

[Trapezohedron]

I live in the Philippines, but I signed up anyway. SOPA/PIPA's effects have a significant negative impact to the whole infrastructure of the internet, both in the US and globally.

[Glowcat]

Protesting SOPA via avatars woo

If any SOPA supporter enters this forum, they shall quake at the sight of our image identifiers!

[Gatleos]

Copyrighted material removed. Bandwagons are fun!

[Trapezohedron]

I shall hop into this bandwagon too...

when I'm able to access my computer. D:

[mainiac]

Having read some articles analysing PIPA and SOPA, they are so comedically draconian I can't believe people are taking this so seriously!

The thing you need to realize about congress is that they will come right out and say exactly what their view is of anything that isn't actually classified.  They might coach it in language that makes it sound better but they say what they want.

[Angel Of Death]

If SOPA gets in, it will cause the death of the internet

[Pnx]

If SOPA gets in, it will cause the death of the internet

Ok, I know SOPA is really bad, but this kind of sentiment I keep hearing is really way to extreme. If it passes, the world will keep on turning, and the internet will keep on running, if in a very crippled form.

It won't be the first time people have lived under a great injustice. Think about drafting and the Vietnam war, or the whole "separate but equal" thing.

I'm confident that even if it does pass, one day (though it may be a while), it will be overturned.

[Criptfeind]

Actually, I am thinking it will not be crippling. Just... Stifling. With the bigger issue being the trend.