SOPA - please help me understand

[raz]

I'm a reasonably bright person but all the jargon and debate surrounding SOPA has me confused. Please explain in basic terms what it is and why you support or oppose it. Thanks.

[joseph3]

uh... whats SOPA?

[joseph3]

okay after a search i found this odd (im sure biased)site.

mashable.com/2011/11/16/sopa-infographic/

[joseph3]

now if you could tell me what the #occupie thing is?? that i have no clue on.

[raz]

I thought I understood Occupy at first and I supported their efforts even though I wasn't inclined to jump on board. Now... I don't get it. Something simple and pure now has hand gestures and a budget.

[raz]

Wow, and that link completely made sense of it for me. Thanks.

[joseph3]

Wikipedia to Shut Down in Protest of Anti-Piracy Act
Mon, Jan 16 2012
Wikipedia will shut down for 24 hours Wednesday to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act, founder Jimmy Wales announced on Monday.

In doing so, Wikipedia joins a long list of web companies such as Reddit and Mozilla that are taking similar measures against the proposed legislation.

Wales used his Twitter account to spread the news, writing “Student warning! Do your homework early. Wikipedia protesting bad law on Wednesday! #sopa”

In place of Wikipedia, users will see instructions for how to reach local members of Congress, which Wales hopes "will melt phone systems in Washington."

He also noted that comScore estimates the English Wikipedia’s web traffic at 25 million daily visitors worldwide.

Also Read: MPAA: It's Time to Stop Obstruction on Anti-Piracy Legislation (Updated)

The White House issued a warning Saturday about SOPA, as well as related legislation such as the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) and the Online Protection and Digital Enforcement Act (OPEN), which would give the government and content companies more power to police the unlawful promulgation of their intellectual property.

It insisted any effort to combat online piracy “must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small.”

The Motion Picture Association of America was conciliatory -- but firm -- in its response to the White House's statement.

"We welcome the Administration's clear statement that legislation is needed to stop foreign based thieves from stealing the hard work and creativity of millions of American workers," the MPAA said, in a statement prepared by Michael O’Leary, Senior Executive Vice President for Global Policy and External Affairs for the MPAA.

www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/16/idUS178605270520120116

[joseph3]

if you cant live without wikipedia for a day just add "?banner=false" to the html and you can get in.

[joseph3]

i eavesdropped on a few occupy um "discussions" recently. im still completely lost on what it is

[raz]

I think it is people with a cause and no idea what they're doing. And hipsters.

[joseph3]

Apr 10, 2012 16:06:17 GMT -5 raz said:

I think it is people with a cause and no idea what they're doing. And hipsters.

hipsters? i was leaning more toward southsiders..