General Discussions

Do you guys think its gonna happen?

Some incarnation of it will eventually.

Funny username.

Sopa and Pipa... kinda sounds like 2 clowns or something.

Yes, I know what they are. And yes, I think it will eventually.

[Edited by Monkey007, 1/19/2012 12:52:10 AM]

I find it funny that people have blown this out of proportion.

They see one sentence in a law and think its the end of the internet.

SOPA and PIPA are formed for one reason, to minimise the amount of illegal content being distributed through sites on the net, it will give them the power to say to a site provider etc to remove the content at once without the need to get legal backing (warrant etc).

For some reason people on sites like 4chan etc think it means they can shut down any site... which is not true. "OMG ITS THE END OF GOOGLEZ" no... no it isn't. :P

Its about time something like this is passed, would mean all those kiddies out there will now HAVE to pay for stuff and that means more money into developers pockets which means developers will find the energy and enthusiasm to once again create excellent software instead of a quick fix for cash.

It becomes a lot more credible when Facebook, Google, Mozilla, and the WikiMedia Foundation say the same things that have been circulating those sites.

[Edited by Neo7, 1/19/2012 4:36:08 AM]

Both acts in their current incarnation are far from blown out of proportion. It would literally allow a major company to shut down or block US access to a site because they don't like them, or the owner of the site wrote something they didn't like. And say goodbye to Internet based video game journalism in its current form. You'll end up with review sites who only play to the company party line (coughGamespotIGNcough). CheatHappens certainly wouldn't exist as it does now, if at all.

It's far too open to abuse and manipulation by major companies and good lawyers.

If you think that's blown out of proportion then go look up some of the stuff they've pulled with current legislation.

Having said that though, SOPA and PIPA are the right direction for counteracting piracy... in theory, but in practice, in their current form, it's a load of hogwash.

Also, as Neo said, it gains a whole lot more credibility when big players like the ones he listed - and a whole lot more besides, including those not even based in the US - oppose both acts.

Wikipedia only did it to gather support from the masses, they are after all been itching for donations lately.

Under SOPA/PIPA laws it will take a site to provide a working link to any files that are copyrighted to have action taken against them. If for instance Wikipedia in their "the pirate bay" article links to the site they are safe under said laws as they are not providing the direct links.

Neither will google be closed for being able to search for meta tags etc.

Its all been blown out of proportion. And those "big players" as said are only doing this support and "going dark" because they can get something out of it all from the increased traffic they may get for the support.

[Edited by DABhand, 1/19/2012 6:21:36 AM]

Doesn't matter, the government is only doing that to get even more money in their pockets and not to actually stop piracy, since it can't be stopped and never will be stopped. No matter how small SOPA/PIPA's grip on the internet will be at start, it will only be a matter of time when it grows into something bigger.