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Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge

PapPap Serres, Greece Posts: 29,242
edited February 2012 in A Moving Train
For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Learn_more
Athens 2006 / Milton Keynes 2014 / London 1&2 2022 / Seattle 1&2 2024 / Dublin 2024 / Manchester 2024
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Comments

  • your move nowyour move now Posts: 1,165
    playing devils advocate. which I seem to enjoy doing, actually think it's a very interesting concept.
    But surely Wikileaks showed those of us who weren't already aware of it that free knowledge is relative and restricted. Not related to Wikipedia I know but relavent to the idea
    I don't mean to offend anyone, a lot of what I say should be taken with a grain of salt... that said for most of you I'm a stranger on a computer on the other side of the world, don't give me that sort of power!
  • ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
    Most Chinese don't know free knowledge. Many people here don't have a clue about Tienanmen Square in 1989, or what's going in Tibet, e.t.c.
    Then again, it's hard to say how many people here do know about these things. I expect more people here use proxy's to bypass the great internet firewall of China than we imagine.
    There's nothing better guaranteed to make people want to read/hear/see something than the authorities putting a ban on it.
  • your move nowyour move now Posts: 1,165
    second time today I've agreed with you... who would care about Julian Assange and wikileaks if there was no uproar?
    I don't mean to offend anyone, a lot of what I say should be taken with a grain of salt... that said for most of you I'm a stranger on a computer on the other side of the world, don't give me that sort of power!
  • ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
    your move now wrote:
    second time today I've agreed with you...

    Don't make it sound like such a bad thing.
  • your move nowyour move now Posts: 1,165
    not bad; unexpected


    and please don't take that too personally or get offended!
    I don't mean to offend anyone, a lot of what I say should be taken with a grain of salt... that said for most of you I'm a stranger on a computer on the other side of the world, don't give me that sort of power!
  • ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
    your move now wrote:
    not bad; unexpected


    and please don't take that too personally or get offended!

    Don't worry. I don't do taking offence. I leave that for other people. ;)
  • your move nowyour move now Posts: 1,165
    yeah I know, was a terribly bitchy comment that should have been left unsaid,

    clearly you're actually functional enough to take jesting as just that
    I don't mean to offend anyone, a lot of what I say should be taken with a grain of salt... that said for most of you I'm a stranger on a computer on the other side of the world, don't give me that sort of power!
  • Thoughts_ArriveThoughts_Arrive Melbourne, Australia Posts: 15,165
    Deny a man knowledge and you weaken him.
    Adelaide 17/11/2009, Melbourne 20/11/2009, Sydney 22/11/2009, Melbourne (Big Day Out Festival) 24/01/2014
  • PapPap Serres, Greece Posts: 29,242
    Thoughts_Arrive wrote:
    Deny a man knowledge and you weaken him.
    :clap:
    Athens 2006 / Milton Keynes 2014 / London 1&2 2022 / Seattle 1&2 2024 / Dublin 2024 / Manchester 2024
  • JeanwahJeanwah Posts: 6,363
    This isn't just about Wikipedia, it's about internet censorship, and MANY sites are down in protest against SOPA and PIPA.


    This harmful legislation, called the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate, will be voted on as early as January 24th in the Senate. These two bills could undermine the open Internet and open the door to widespread censorship online. They must be stopped.
    If you live in the US, there's still time to help stop these bills from becoming law. Please visit mozilla.org/sopa for information on the bill, and on ways you can reach out to your senators.
    What makes this legislation so bad? Here's how it would change the Web:

    Communication platforms – from YouTube to Facebook to Amazon – could be shut down if a single rights holder alleges a violation.
    It would make the Web less stable and less secure.
    Social networking sites, like Twitter or Facebook, could be forced to track and control user behavior, stunting innovation and undermining free expression.
    Your Internet provider could be required to inspect all of your traffic and browsing.

    The Protect IP Act (S. 968) is the Senate companion bill to the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). If these bills pass, they could open the door to widespread censorship online.

    Please urge your senators to vote “no” on the Protect IP Act. Enter your zip code below to access your senators' contact information and make the call. If your senators support the bill or have not decided on a position, urge them to oppose the Protect IP Act. If they already oppose it, thank them for standing up for the open Internet.
    http://www.savetheinternet.com/pipa-whiplist
  • JeanwahJeanwah Posts: 6,363
    Just got off the phone with my senator's rep. It's a really easy phone call, just make the call if you care about freedom of the internet... which everyone here on the Train DOES!! Check out the link, it gives your your senator's phone number.

    http://www.savetheinternet.com/pipa-whiplist
  • JOEJOEJOEJOEJOEJOE Posts: 10,616
    Byrnzie wrote:
    Most Chinese don't know free knowledge. Many people here don't have a clue about Tienanmen Square in 1989, or what's going in Tibet, e.t.c.
    Then again, it's hard to say how many people here do know about these things. I expect more people here use proxy's to bypass the great internet firewall of China than we imagine.
    There's nothing better guaranteed to make people want to read/hear/see something than the authorities putting a ban on it.

    Not having a go at you, but what makes you want to live in such a place?

    (and no, I am not asking for a critique of living in America :o )
  • ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
    JOEJOEJOE wrote:
    Byrnzie wrote:
    Most Chinese don't know free knowledge. Many people here don't have a clue about Tienanmen Square in 1989, or what's going in Tibet, e.t.c.
    Then again, it's hard to say how many people here do know about these things. I expect more people here use proxy's to bypass the great internet firewall of China than we imagine.
    There's nothing better guaranteed to make people want to read/hear/see something than the authorities putting a ban on it.

    Not having a go at you, but what makes you want to live in such a place?

    (and no, I am not asking for a critique of living in America :o )

    Because there's more to freedom than just political freedom.

    On a day-to-day basis people here are freer, and happier, than in England or the U.S, in my opinion.

    There's a lot more to this country than just the fact that Facebook is blocked, and that the government are c**ts.
  • MookiesLawMookiesLaw Posts: 158
    Where Do Your Members of Congress Stand on SOPA and PIPA?
    http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/

    Expected to see Ron Paul there and there he is.

    As to the the future of this message board - it will have difficulty surviving. There's no way the moderators will be able to check every single link that gets posted, let alone the links that may be linked in said links. I think any website owner would have to examine how much they want to risk the potential for some kind of legal problem if this passes.
  • ByrnzieByrnzie Posts: 21,037
    'In countries and epochs in which communication is impeded, soon all other liberties wither; discussion dies by inanition, ignorance of the opinion of others becomes rampant, imposed opinions triumph. The well-known example of this is the crazy genetics preached in the USSR by Lysenko, which in the absence of discussion (his opponents were exiled to Siberia) compromised the harvests for twenty years. Intolerance is inclined to censor, and censorship promotes ignorance of the arguments of others and thus intolerance itself: a rigid, vicious circle that is hard to break.'
    - Primo Levi
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