Shotgun 442 Posted January 20, 2012 this really just begs the question is SOPA even necessary? I had thought, but wasn't sure until I saw this, that the Government could already shut a site down and take action for egregious violations (according to this Washington Post article, "Megaupload's executives made more than $175 million through subscription fees and online ads while robbing authors, movie producers, musicians and other copyright holders of more than $500 million.") if SOPA is aimed at giving the feds a mechanism for enforcement, doesn't this show that the mechanism is already there? Look at how long it took to do it though. The government won't do anything unless it's a big site like this. Not having to deal with the bureaucracy and saving money that would otherwise be spent to arrest people is probably a big reason why they want it passed. It would allow the companies to target even small websites as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BucD+ 648 Posted January 20, 2012 Here's a great read on the bill and the situation as a whole... http://maddox.xmission.com/ Don't just read the title and shrug it off...it's not what you'd think just reading the title. Just read it when you have a chance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NaTaS+ 958 Posted January 20, 2012 Here's a great read on the bill and the situation as a whole... http://maddox.xmission.com/ Don't just read the title and shrug it off...it's not what you'd think just reading the title. Just read it when you have a chance. Meh. This guy has changed and edited his page several times during the protest. He is a polesmoker. Originally he said the black outs and protests would do nothing. His tune has changed. Boycotting the companies will be hard, voting in congresspersons that support Internet innovation is what we need. Fact is, these protests and big site support have caused an unprecedented amount of back pedaling by those supporters of these bills. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos 2,847 Posted January 20, 2012 (edited) The gov't shut down Megaupload as a retaliatory attack for the blackout on Wednesday, just to show they still can shut sites down. Honestly, the only thing I care about someone stealing a copyright from is someone who can't afford the loss, like a small game or movie making company. Taking from celebrities? I could care less. Ditto major movie makers. And that goes double for big video game companies. They have shown that they want to treat us all as criminals by putting archaic CD restrictions on games, up to and including what is essentially making you rent the game, and only getting 3-5 activations. So screw 'em. Edited January 20, 2012 by Thanatos19 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos 2,847 Posted January 20, 2012 (edited) I sure hope you guys can start a rebellion. I believe it's in your constitution to start one if the Government is unjust. The rednecks were right. This is why we need our guns, man. Here's a great read on the bill and the situation as a whole... http://maddox.xmission.com/ Don't just read the title and shrug it off...it's not what you'd think just reading the title. Just read it when you have a chance. This guy's a defeatist. First it was: you won't be able to stop SOPA. Now its: Well, big deal. It is a big deal if we can use it to springboard the average American's interest in legislation that affects our rights. Signing an online petition, or changing the front page of your website to protest SOPA will fix anything. Obviously, it did fix one thing. And I don't get why signing an online petition is any different than signing a pen and paper petition. I do like him pointing out that the MPAA flat out lied on their letter to Congress, saying that 2 million people have jobs in the motion picture industry by taking a statistic from the Bureau of Labor that said that roughly 2 million people have jobs under the Arts and Recreation category- but this includes park rangers, amusement park workers, etc. The actual figure for people with jobs in the motion picture industry, (of which 25% are simply ushers or fast food vendors), is about 360k, or 1/6 of what the MPAA reported as fact. Edited January 20, 2012 by Thanatos19 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RANGA+ 1,210 Posted January 21, 2012 this really just begs the question is SOPA even necessary? I had thought, but wasn't sure until I saw this, that the Government could already shut a site down and take action for egregious violations (according to this Washington Post article, "Megaupload's executives made more than $175 million through subscription fees and online ads while robbing authors, movie producers, musicians and other copyright holders of more than $500 million.") if SOPA is aimed at giving the feds a mechanism for enforcement, doesn't this show that the mechanism is already there? Yeah the Government can shut down sites temporarily and put them under a copyright review. But SOPA would give them the right to not only permanently take down the site without a review, but also come after and physically arrest ANYONE who had downloaded, posted or taken part in any sort of activity on that site. BREAKING NEWS: The SOPA (and accompanying PIPA) bill were pulled from the US Senate only a few hours ago. The douchebag extraordinaire behind the bill, Lamar Smith, said that consideration of a similar House bill would be postponed "until there is wider agreement on a solution." A small win here for humanity, but the fight isn't over yet... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
