SOPA Strike?

[Fatalmasterpiece]

Anyone seen this?

 

File sharing website shut down

 

The Megaupload.com page is not loading for me, so I guess that report may well be correct.

 

So they can already use the current laws to do that.

Seen it. I've been reading the indictment posted on this law blog. http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/01/19/sopa-who-fbi-charges-seven-with-online-piracy/

 

wow... just wow, I can't believe this :facepalm:

[nosisab]

Reading something stated many posts ago makes me wonder why "tech people are wholly unqualified to give legal opinions". What's implicit in that statement? that tech people is only qualified to understand clear, correct and unequivocally stated propositions and then unable to understand the fine points of deceiving? maybe that claim is tainted with truth.

 

And them I ask myself, if tech people is unqualified to give legal opinions, what is the hope the common user will have to ever understand the "nuances and subterfuges" of most legal statements?

 

I feel sorry for the day "justice" was relegated to background in favor of "rights" for this last lost the meaning of "correct" to reinforce the meaning of "property" above all. From this date the property became more important than the "how it was achieved", a large avenue was opened to justify the pawky, to encourage ambiguity and to support deception.

Edited January 20, 2012 by nosisab

[Vagrant0]

The difference between Nexus and Megaupload of course is that everything at Nexus is upfront and public, and there is a clear anti piracy policy, whereas at Megaupload files could be uploaded privately and therefore there probably was a lot of dodgy stuff up at Mega.

We can have any policy we want, it doesn't mean that it will necessarily be honored. Files can be uploaded here too and made hidden to all except those who have a direct link to the file or were given access to that file. In all cases, unless that file is reported, we usually don't know of any of the illegal content which might be uploaded here. In many cases it's stolen assets from another game which are taken in whole or in part. Unless we were to manually check each and every upload, and hold every user guilty until proven innocent, there is no way for us to maintain a 100% certainty of legal content on this site. As is there are atleast several dozen mods floating around which probably violate IPs, but we don't have enough clear proof that the content was stolen (often because we don't have the game or can't research how the assets were ripped from an encrypted format).

 

Regardless, even one lawsuit by one of these companies would mean the end for this site, founded or not. Legal fees alone would be enough to bankrupt this site. Having to pay tens of thousands of dollars for every instance of copyright infringement (good luck explaining re-use of altered vanilla assets in the same game to a 60 year old judge who can barely use their e-mail) would spell doom for the site even if an emergency fund raiser was held by members to try and keep the site up. Like it or not, all this stuff still affects us, despite our tough anti-piracy stance.

 

 

@nosisab

http://www.wimp.com/lawyerscongress/

 

Pretty much what it boils down to. Rightness and Justice are secondary to who wins the argument.

[Luminiari]

Two things:

 

1. SOPA was vetoed.

 

2. The taking-down of MU was not caused by SOPA or PIPA. It was caused by a two-year FBI investigation that is not related to SOPA or PIPA. As in, this was happening before both bills were even drafted. The timing of it is incredibly unfortunate, so it's understandable why people are making the distinction.

[Jeoshua]

Yes, and this is why I love Barak Obama: He understands Free Speech. I mean come on. Constitutional Law professor.

 

And MegaUpload sucked, but it's still sad to see people pushing this. Albeit, through the channels they should have tried to in the first place. Setting up a law to make everything more draconian was the wrong idea. Using the laws that already exist on the other hand? Possible. We don't need to change the Internet to make thieves accountable.

[nosisab]

Actually that is the very point, MissAniThrope. There is no need for something like SOPA or PIPA. Actually there was no need for DMCA too. All those outstanding pompous acronyms target not needing the long road of actually having to prove something is wrong or to prove the guilt before the legal action is taken.

 

All those acronyms share the (to me) accursed word "act" which brings painful memories of a time where the freedom to question the "regimen" behavior could (and normally) mean torture, death and oblivion. I beg you American to help to prevent happening to yourselves the same dictatorial practices we, the elder ones in our recent history, still feel vividly, for it still hurts. Coincidentally all motions to restrict/censor the people while broadening the "rights" to abuse, torture and kill anyone/anything they deemed "dangerous" to the regimen" were called acts, the only real difference is ours were numbered (Institutional act number #) instead displaying glamorous acronyms. Least you find yourselves in a self accepted dictatorship.

 

PS: Our dictatorship was imposed over us (with a little help from US), we did not asked and we had no word in it's implantation. you still have voice, use it.

That military dictatorship is officially gone here by now, but it did not "return" the "democracy" until being sure we (as people) was tamed and lethargically apathetic enough to be handled and managed at will.

 

The actual picture is someway worse than the darkest hour in the dictatorship itself; for at least in those times many still voiced against the violation, by using the art as vehicle and many paid the price to openly oppose it. But now... the depicted situation may help you to understand a tad better when you see news from my country (Brazil) telling about so incredible cases of corruption without the perpetrators suffering even a minor scratch. Impunity became rule here... as people we just look at it and say it is our fate, we can't do anything to prevent it. In this I can't say I'm proud of my nationality anymore.

 

Lose you your freedom to look and see, to voice your indignation, then this fate will not be far from you too.

Edited January 20, 2012 by nosisab

[FlyingHigh10000000]

Fear not, nosisab. There are plenty of us in this country that would fight for our right to (party!) keep the internet a place free from total government control. I mean, at one point there was an "internet killswitch" discussed. Then Egypt's government actually went and did it, and suddenly it was not a great idea. Wherever injustice like this pops up, there will be people to fight back, and send the government dogs back into their homes.

[Arthmoor]

Yes, and this is why I love Barak Obama: He understands Free Speech. I mean come on. Constitutional Law professor.

I am seriously on the floor laughing right now. You have NO IDEA.

 

As for Megaupload: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/why-the-feds-smashed-megaupload.ars

They had it coming, in spades, and then some.

[TheVampireDante]

Wherever injustice like this pops up, there will be people to fight back, and send the government dogs back into their homes.

 

In basic terms - one government cannot fight a worldwide resource.

 

They can try. But it's not going to happen... There will be casualties, but in the end it's a futile effort and does nothing cause anger, fear and distrust.

 

I'm not for piracy, I dislike illegal activity. That much I know of myself - but all these 'acts' and provisions made by legal bodies does is harm the legimate users, webhosts and providers will become paranoid, content restrictions far above what is needed could be put in place (and know the world, will be) - online 'life' for many will suffer as the places they once knew and frequented will change and become unfamiliar ground.

 

This world has created another, the online world. A place that sets it's own rules. Until it figures that out, there will always be problem here, I mean here as in online. The 'real' world is fractured, it's always been like that.

 

The internet, this online world is different, it's got it's differing areas, but it's still one thing. No jurisiction from state or country - it's based on site to site. One place has rules, another may not. Of course theft and such should be dealt with, I'm not saying it shouldn't. There has to be an intersection somewhere between the online world and the real world. The problem is, where should that connection be made?

With a bunch of political suits scattered across the world that, in truth, have no idea how and why the online world works? No, ignorance from the top only makes matters worse... these 'bills' only prove that to an extent... punish the many for the acts of the few (who, in fact don't care, and will find another method in time) - that doesn't work. Never has.

 

No societly works without rules and regulation. It's clear that something must be done - but it must be something that can be agreed on. Both off and on line. Until that happens, chaos, paranoia and mistrust will always lie under the foundations anyone sets.

 

A system does need put in place, but one that understands the why and how of online life, the reasons behind what people do online. It is a different world, it should be trreated like one. I just wonder when that will begin.

[nosisab]

Actually my fear is not exactly the Internet under government control (although this fear exists). The major fear is the losing of government as you know it, for these acts are putting too much power in the hands of corporations. One should not expect corporations to legislate to favor the people, best is to believe it will do it first and foremost for their own interests.

 

Of course is a long way until that scenery of a corporation dictatorship, if such would even happen, is not so?