Finally! Somebody who understands what good this bill is going to do for the internet!
SOPA & PIPA - US Trainzers could be in trouble...
- Thread starter PJAMA
- Start date
So, government that exists to serve it self is SO much better than government that exists to serve at least some of it's constituency?
I really don't know where to begin pointing out what's wrong with this entire post and the theories behind it, except to say that it largely reaffirms what most of us already knew: That this is eventually going to be a part of a larger attempt to censor the internet.
First, I should point out that our government does a pretty lousy job of controlling anything; pretty much everything it touches turns to you-know-what. I can give dozens of examples off the top of my head. Since it's related, look at the wonderful Federal Communications Commission. Do-Not-Call, CAN-Spam, etc. were enacted to protect the public from irritating, often costly voice, SMS and other forms of solicitations. Do they enforce these consumer protections? Rarely - they're too busy telling consumers and electronic companies that they can't record TV shows they've paid to access. (EDIT: As I typed this, I got one of these telemarketing calls, which has been reported on numerous prior occasions to FCC and which FCC has made no effort whatsoever to stop. And, I'd like to point out that I spend about $100 in paper and FAX toner thanks to junk faxes which FCC is also to lazy to try to stop. Where is the government protecting consumers and businesspeople like me?)
As for Facebook, I couldn't care less if FB or Twitter went down in flames - the very concepts of both are asinine to the core. The problem is that, eventually, regulations like this invariably will affect something you DO care about - perhaps a train site, which are far more notorious for "borrowing" trademarked and copyrighted material. Then you're up the creek.
And you think for a second that PIPA and SOPA help the economy? I'd wager the vast, vast, vast majority (and I do know more than a little of what I'm talking about here) is content people never would have bought, so it's no economic loss. Easily 80% falls into this category. However, people spend money on computers, hard drives, faster internet services, remote backup solutions - all of this contributes to the economy and creates jobs, and, what's more, low-level jobs, not just making insanely-wealthy moguls and singers and TV stars even richer.
And, the reality is, none of this is going to stop even a single MP3 from being downloaded, because, if you're at all familiar with the nature of the networks commonly used for the distribution of pirated material, few of them are entirely web-based, and all can survive on an IP-address basis even if, some how, the DNS system was affected. The CoC prevents me from naming them or giving examples, but, IIRC, it wouldn't be news to a lot of folks here.
And groups like Anonymous have no bearing in this discussion. Regulations like this have no ability whatsoever to stop groups like that; until software and underlying systems are more secure, and people start using their brains and stop clicking on fake MS patches and Angelia Jolie videos they get in their email, groups like Anonymous will have no trouble whatsoever penetrating even the most well-defended networks.
Last edited:
If you don't want the internet or cell phone, don't buy them. No one is forcing you to have either.
I don't like facebook, twitter or myspace, therefore, I don't go there. You don't have to either.
Piracy is a problem. They need to be punished, not us law abiders who don't pirate. This law does nothing to them, just takes from us. No different than 12 people ran a stop sign today, take everyone's cars away.
I have no desire to be "controlled". I will decide who, what or where, not someone else. It's called personal choice and personal responsibility.
You confuse solicitation with advertising. Please learn the difference before backing something with false information. Both for your, and my good.
What IS out of hand are groups who think the way you do. You don't like it, shut it down. The only way you can get to facebook is if you navigate to it and sign up. You control your destiny with a mouse click. No amount of regulation can control your personal actions.
Dave.......
They have no other choice, the people who do it will not stop, and the court systems do not do anything to teach or punish them, dont blame congress, blame the judical system
Corporations are people my friends. whats wrong with you people
Only in the context that they enjoy the same protections from illegal seizure as ever American does. Please read the whole ruling.
Dave......
Again, since the judicial system can't stop them, just shut the internet down? If a thief holds up a store, do you shut all stores down?
Dave......
Um, the judicial system is part of the enforcement system; new laws cannot help because one of the key links in the chain is broken, as you acknowledge. Therefore SOPA and PIPA cannot do any good.
Also, do you realize you're essentially advocating the removal of a key check on the powers of government? Of course, that's what SOPA and PIPA are all about...
It doesn't surprise me. There's an epidemic in America of people who honestly thinks government actually can - let alone is actually trying to - protect them, to right every wrong, to wipe their nose when they sneeze, to nanny them. Hence the term NANNY STATE. They are more than willing to let the government micromanage their lives in return for the illusion of protection; don't try to point how just how false that illusion is.
Unfortunately, folks like that only MIGHT get a clue when the government comes after something they care about. Maybe. And, even more galling, they'll often act surprised when others (like me) won't stick up for them and the things they hold dear.
Interesting, the FBI just shut down Megaupload and charged the site's operators for copyright violations WITHOUT THE AID OF SOPA AND PIPA!
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/01/19/feds-shut-down-file-sharing-website/?test=latestnews
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/technology/indictment-charges-megaupload-site-with-piracy.html
So, we see SOPA and PIPA were never needed to do what the government claims they were needed for...
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/01/19/feds-shut-down-file-sharing-website/?test=latestnews
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/technology/indictment-charges-megaupload-site-with-piracy.html
So, we see SOPA and PIPA were never needed to do what the government claims they were needed for...
Last edited:
No stores are vital to all life, why? they sell FOOD, WATER, and other things we need! The internet is not vital to life, if so the case be that they shut the enitre show down, blame the people who are doing illegal things... And with the way you guys are talking.... You apparently have illegal material also, the internet is not private and never was....
That's literally the first thing that popped into my head when I heard about this...well, when I finally read up on what it was actually going to do. And i REALLY don't wanna go to the Ministry of Love.
P.S.For the people saying, "There's no other choice left, the pirates will not stop" etc. let me say this: there's a right way and a WRONG way to go about this. It's like the difference between Civil War and modern battlefield medicine. Today, if you get hit by a bullet in your arm or leg, the surgeon goes in and only takes out the problem, IE the bullet, leaving the healthy tissue intact. In the Civil War, however, if you got hit by a bullet in the arm or the leg, the surgeon just hacked the WHOLE thing off, taking with it all the healthy tissue and leaving a much bigger mess than there was in the first place. If you have something like this bill set up, you're more or less doing the job of a Civil War doctor, doing system wide damage (Like taking down the entire DLS because, say, there's material copyrighted by EMD--Electro Motive Division--on it) rather than surgically removing the problem (just take down the assets). That doesn't make any sense to me, nor should it to anyone else. There's no scenario under which that is right.
Apparently, the advocates of SOPA and PIPA are the ones doing illegal things:
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...ught-infringing-photographers-copyright.shtml
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...ught-infringing-photographers-copyright.shtml
Retro00064
New member
Without the Internet, how would we Trainzers communicate? What about the loads of knowledge that can be accessed on the Internet, such as on Wikipedia?
Do you really support huge companies with incredibly deep pockets so much that you would prefer that the world be deprived of tons of free, easily accessible knowledge? (And I'm talking about the legal knowledge, not the illegal copyright violations.)
As the blackout page on Wikipedia during their blackout yesterday: "Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge".
Why punish everyone just to stop some pirates?
Regards,
Zachary.
Yes wikipedia is free knowledge, but it can be edited by us trainzers to say what we want it to say... So is it really knowledge? The anwser is determinded by us... In fact, some things that are stated on wikipedia is in fact false!
Retro00064
New member
Yes, some things that are stated on Wikipedia are false. One of Wikipedia's Five Pillars is verifiability. Yes, Wikipedia has some unsourced rubbish, but it also has lots of stuff that is cited to reliable sources.