The USA wants to control and regulate the internet

your all missing the point. this goes to show that our gov't doesn't work in favor of the common man.
 
n9195v said:
the bill was a stunt to get money out of popular websites. Greedy political machine said " INTER NETS! Y U NO PAY/BUY ME LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!?"
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How does this bill being a fake stunt get money out of popular websites? If it passes, websites can be shut down, if it fails it's things as normal. Once the bill is in place it's not setup to ask the websites for money, it's setup to SHUT THEM DOWN.

I'm against the bill entirely, as you can see from the banner at the top of the page. It passing would mean an end to the fan or community websites that exist today. Instead they'd be replaced by one single website run by the content holder, as any mention or even an image posting of copyrighted works could be considered a violation and be shutdown remotely with no questions asked.

The bill is being masked as an anti-piracy measure, but in fact the cure for piracy is not a law but rather a change in the business model of the companies who are most effected by piracy. They clearly need to think outside of their box to change how customers access their information in the future.

This bill especially worries me because Warner Bros. supports it, and they own the Mortal Kombat IP. Warner Legal has been fairly active on YouTube blocking videos they don't agree with and having videos taken down from E3, PAX, etc. Given this power for our websites they could in-effect have TRMK shut down for posting information that leaks that would in the past be a news story. They could even have us shutdown if a forum member posts a link to an arcade ROM, without even having to ask us to take the posting down first. It gives a site owner no protection or rights to fair use.

If SOPA or PIPA passes, I will likely step down from TRMK as I'd no longer see a way to legitimately run the site without being in constant fear from being shut down. It's future will have to be determined when/if that happens. I hope it doesn't come to that, but I personally would have no other choice.

Read more about it at the links below, and sign up to contact your representatives if you are against the bills and what it means for the internet as we know it:

http://blacklist.eff.org/
https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:CongressLookup

My favorite, is the Oatmeal's comic on it:
http://theoatmeal.com/
 
Patrick McCarron said:
How does this bill being a fake stunt get money out of popular websites? If it passes, websites can be shut down, if it fails it's things as normal. Once the bill is in place it's not setup to ask the websites for money, it's setup to SHUT THEM DOWN.

I'm against the bill entirely, as you can see from the banner at the top of the page. It passing would mean an end to the fan or community websites that exist today. Instead they'd be replaced by one single website run by the content holder, as any mention or even an image posting of copyrighted works could be considered a violation and be shutdown remotely with no questions asked.

The bill is being masked as an anti-piracy measure, but in fact the cure for piracy is not a law but rather a change in the business model of the companies who are most effected by piracy. They clearly need to think outside of their box to change how customers access their information in the future.

This bill especially worries me because Warner Bros. supports it, and they own the Mortal Kombat IP. Warner Legal has been fairly active on YouTube blocking videos they don't agree with and having videos taken down from E3, PAX, etc. Given this power for our websites they could in-effect have TRMK shut down for posting information that leaks that would in the past be a news story. They could even have us shutdown if a forum member posts a link to an arcade ROM, without even having to ask us to take the posting down first. It gives a site owner no protection or rights to fair use.

If SOPA or PIPA passes, I will likely step down from TRMK as I'd no longer see a way to legitimately run the site without being in constant fear from being shut down. It's future will have to be determined when/if that happens. I hope it doesn't come to that, but I personally would have no other choice.

Read more about it at the links below, and sign up to contact your representatives if you are against the bills and what it means for the internet as we know it:

http://blacklist.eff.org/
https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:CongressLookup

My favorite, is the Oatmeal's comic on it:
http://theoatmeal.com/
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All true.

Besides, there are tons of legal experts who have said that SOPA wouldn't work to curb piracy. This brief write-up explains it fairly succinctly.

The other big problem is that like Pat said, the major studios haven't changed their business model in any significant way in about 20 years. For TV shows, they still make use of the Neilsen rating system--which doesn't count iTunes Store digital downloads, paid Hulu subscriptions, Netflix streams, or when cable customers DVR/TiVo a show--to determine viewership. They only want to offer product in ways they want (movie tickets, whole CD/album sales, DVD/Blu-Ray sales), instead of paid digital downloads, streams, one-day rentals, etc. That market is still limited, and people are far less willing in the current economic climate to spend money as frivolously as they may have before. I sure as hell won't dish out $30 for a BluRay of a movie that wasn't worth the $15 to watch in theaters. I'll wait till it's in the bargin bin for $10 and wait until I have a coupon. Not because I'm cheap, but because that's what it's worth to me.

The companies promoting SOPA and lobbying hard for its passage are only concerned about regaining the margins they had 10-15 years ago, without regard for what their customers want. The industry has become industry-driven, and not customer driven. Any first-semester economics or business management student will tell you that is a recipe for failure.

And remember, even if SOPA and PIPA are defeated now, it's only because voters instilled enough fear in enough congressmen that they'd be voted out of their jobs if it went through, NOT because they had our best interests in mind.
 
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Freyith said:
All true.

Besides, there are tons of legal experts who have said that SOPA wouldn't work to curb piracy. This brief write-up explains it fairly succinctly.

The other big problem is that like Pat said, the major studios haven't changed their business model in any significant way in about 20 years. For TV shows, they still make use of the Neilsen rating system--which doesn't count iTunes Store digital downloads, paid Hulu subscriptions, Netflix streams, or when cable customers DVR/TiVo a show--to determine viewership. They only want to offer product in ways they want (movie tickets, whole CD/album sales, DVD/Blu-Ray sales), instead of paid digital downloads, streams, one-day rentals, etc. That market is still limited, and people are far less willing in the current economic climate to spend money as frivolously as they may have before. I sure as hell won't dish out $30 for a BluRay of a movie that wasn't worth the $15 to watch in theaters. I'll wait till it's in the bargin bin for $10 and wait until I have a coupon. Not because I'm cheap, but because that's what it's worth to me.

The companies promoting SOPA and lobbying hard for its passage are only concerned about regaining the margins they had 10-15 years ago, without regard for what their customers want. The industry has become industry-driven, and not customer driven. Any first-semester economics or business management student will tell you that is a recipe for failure.

And remember, even if SOPA and PIPA are defeated now, it's only because voters instilled enough fear in enough congressmen that they'd be voted out of their jobs if it went through, NOT because they had our best interests in mind.
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wait this thing will make companies wealthier? All my buddies and family said we wont get internet or internet driven devices if it passes. I would expect a loss. my folks said they will cut their internet and store the computer since theres no pont on having it.


It will be bull! if they go after gaming industry next.
 
http://maddox.xmission.com

If you're actually concerned about this and pretty much anything the American government does, you'd benefit from reading this whole article. This is bigger than just internet censorship. The government thinks that can do/pass pretty much whatever they want, and simply *****ing about it isn't gonna do anything worth a damn.
 
Patrick McCarron said:
If SOPA or PIPA passes, I will likely step down from TRMK as I'd no longer see a way to legitimately run the site without being in constant fear from being shut down. It's future will have to be determined when/if that happens. I hope it doesn't come to that, but I personally would have no other choice.
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And if that happens, it would also have devastating effects on my own project, as I need sites like TRMK for research purposes.
 
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Freyith said:
And remember, even if SOPA and PIPA are defeated now, it's only because voters instilled enough fear in enough congressmen that they'd be voted out of their jobs if it went through, NOT because they had our best interests in mind.
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^^^
Agreed with everything you said Freyith, but this couldn't be any truer.
Politicians have never had the best interest of "the people" in mind.
The whole "We the people..." bull**** has always been a facade for politicians pushing their ulterior agenda.
I vote every election term because it's my given right, and I'd like to think that it makes a difference, but it doesn't.
The Patriots, although fictional in game lore, are probably more of an accurate representation of how the government REALLY is being run.
 
I'd like to know if anyone here lives in the 21st Congressional District of Texas. That district is represented by the same douchebag who wrote SOPA....it also happens to be the district I live in. All I know is, I sure as hell will be voting against him this November, regardless of whether SOPA or PIPA passes or not. But even then, it won't change the fact that our supposed "elected officials" are bought off by corporate interests, even the rookie Congressmen. Nothing short of a revolution will change any of this. Last I checked, the Declaration of Independence clearly says it is the right of the people to change or abolish their government.
 
Eks said:
http://maddox.xmission.com

If you're actually concerned about this and pretty much anything the American government does, you'd benefit from reading this whole article. This is bigger than just internet censorship. The government thinks that can do/pass pretty much whatever they want, and simply *****ing about it isn't gonna do anything worth a damn.
Click to expand...


I was so glad that you posted this as well. Maddox can always say it in a manner that is offensive and intelligent. Kudos to him.

Indeed this bill is backed by the same people that tried to have to VCR outlawed when it first came out. The major movie corporations need to adapt or die. THAT is the basis of the American free market; Figure out how to do it better or become the next Plymouth, Oldsmobile, Midway Games, Compaq, MCI, etc.

As for the Anonymous activity today, big deal. They took down a picture (http://xkcd.com/932/). I appreciate the thought, but I don't think that these kinds of attacks will get much done - In regards to Megaupload or otherwise.
 
A lowly rank-and-file voice actor younger than myself yesterday referred to the SOPA/PIPA situation as "first world problems", a recurring phrase I've grown to loathe lately, ever since it started becoming in vogue with the Apple Inc. sycophant arthouse hipsters who think they know everything about the world.

I hate that kind of thinking. Hardly a first world problem. If free enterprise and free speech, and fair use aren't protected vigorously, the U.S. will rapidly wind up in the third world, which I know for a fact this guy hasn't so much as stepped in, and which I have a lot of experience with--it's not pretty. Kids. :/
 
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