Wikipedia blackout on January 18

When the retooled bill comes in and Apple and Google and Microsoft sign on and the bill passes and the Internet is still in a fury over the unfairness of protecting copyrights, we'll see how much power the people have. Remember, regardless of the masses, the mega-companies are behind this idea -- Apple was a big supporter until December when the actual language came in.

 

Didn't Obama also say he wasn't in support of the National Defense Act, and yet sign it into law? Am I remembering that correctly?

 

Google is really the linchpin of life, but I do find myself more hampered than I thought I would have been by Wikipedia blackout today.

 

I haven't checked myself, but I saw mention on FB today that Wikipedia is fully available on mobile devices, in addition to the previously mentioned Firefox or Java work-around.

Kind of a light-gray-out more than a blackout.

 

I'm on Safari and have no problem viewing it.

 

Solidarność!

 

OK, I was wrong ... it brings up the desired page momentarily and then goes black. I didn't give it long enough to change the first couple of times I looked it at it today.

 

This is just the beginning. I quote from a reddit comment that is currently blacked out:

http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/old7e/sopa_is_back_it_has_not_been_shelved_and_its/c3i9fqe

It's not a troll, either. This thing is real.
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-07-29/news/29848111_1_house-panel-isps-bill
http://www.aclu.org/blog/tag/HR%201981

 

I found it strange that a lot of these politicians backed off so quickly. I mean, since when did they listen to anything resembling dissent from the public?

The companies definitely had some sway here, but the cynical side of me thinks those who are familiar with technology are scared to death of pissing off the wrong people with the ability to get at sensitive digital information (hackers).

 

Welllll ... yes and no, when speaking about Wikipedia.

I know better than to use information culled from Wikipedia in publication. But it's awfully handy, if only to a) double-check what you already think is correct, and then to b) find a link to somewhere that the information can be definitively sourced.

And that's easier than a Google search, because I know what information I can expect if I go to the Chris Mullin page on Wiki. Or if I want to check Aston Villa's current roster. Or if I want a pretty good rundown on some prescription drug.

 

I don't trust the Wikipedia page about Wikipedia.

 

You could be right about that. Anonymous is a frightening bunch.

But I think when it became clear Obama was going to veto it, many of these politicians took the politically expedient route of coming out against it and probably with the tacit approval of their corporate overlords for the time being. It was always going to be a battle to get a majority, but the veto override was impossible, so not really a hill worth dying on.

Trooper's post is some scary stuff, and it's entirely foreseeable that that will happen. Just think of the Fox News shriek-o-sphere about Nancy Pelosi as a purveyor of kiddie porn.