“Imagine a world without free knowledge…” the Wikipedia blackout page begins.
In solidarity with the other protests, I will not be interacting online for the day of Wednesday, January 18, 2011. That means no e-mails, no Facebook, no Twitter — no contact at all. If I were better at this technology, I’d actually turn my page off for the day. But if I did that, I’m not entirely sure I could get the page right back up on the following day. So, this post acknowledging the protest will have to do. (Though it breaks my heart not to have a picture — which is part of the point — for my post today.) Edit: I’ve found a black out plugin. Hopefully, I can turn it back off, if it fails to do so itself.
Here’s a salient bit from Wikipedia about why this is being done:
“Although the bills have been amended since their introduction, they are still deeply problematic. Among other serious problems in the current draft of the bills, the requirement exists for US-based sites to actively police links to purported infringing sites. These kinds of self-policing activities are non-sustainable for large, global sites – including ones like Wikipedia. The legislative language is ambiguous and overly broad, even though it touches on protected speech. Congress says it’s trying to protect the rights of copyright owners, but the “cure” that SOPA and PIPA represent is worse than the disease.”
I suggest you click this link and get the full story.
Heck, you might join the protest and disconnect for a day yourself. (And those of you who really need me, you should know my phone number by now anyway.)
See you back online on Thursday.
