Beat the Wikipedia Boycott

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  • #601687

    Today, Wikipedia has blocked out English-language pages from appearing.

    Instead, you are redirected to a page protesting the SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) legislation currently being considered.

    This redirection is scheduled to remain in place until midnight tonight.

    Although the content is now privately owned, and they are legally 100% within their rights to block access for whatever purpose they want, this action (IMO) contravenes the spirit in which the site was created and maintained by million of people.

    Once again, JMO. Feel free to disagree.

    #844685
    real-brisker
    Member

    I’m not sure why, but my Wiki works.

    #844686
    soliek
    Member

    are you on a netbook? do you have scripts disabled?

    #844687
    real-brisker
    Member

    Its wiki mobile version that works.

    #844688
    uneeq
    Participant

    The wikipedia editors and community voted on it and decided to block the site today. That’s good enough.

    #844689
    feivel
    Participant

    go to google

    the multicolored “Google” on top has a big black box blocking it.

    if you click on it you are directed to a page to sign a petition to block the sopa legislation

    these two efforts (google and wiki) are powerful

    i wonder if they will be called into use again in the future re other issues or supporting or censuring candidates.

    could completely change politics as we know it

    #844690

    A couple of additional ways to access Wikipedia today:

    ========================

    uneeq

    That vote was taken by a few hundred voters out of the million plus contributors to the site.

    Several voters disagreed quite strongly.

    This is something that was built with public financial support and public editorial support for a private owner, who is now deciding to withhold its usage from the public because of a personal issue/opinion.

    I decide to build a playground on a lot that belongs to me.

    I proclaim that although the playground and all of its equipment will belong to me, it will be open for public use.

    I do much of the work myself, but also have several neighborhood volunteers who assist with the construction efforts.

    Funds are solicited to help pay for the construction, permit and upkeep costs.

    After being a popular neighborhood attraction for several years, the other workers and I decide to close it for a day, as a protest against a piece of legislation I perceive as harmful to the playground.

    feivel

    There are several people who fell that Wikipedia and Google are now entering the advocacy field, which is a bad idea.

    Newspapers, magazines and broadcast media already are engaged in promoting or hurting political candidates, based on their views and (much worse) who they perceive as being most helpful to them.

    #844691
    Noach
    Member

    I heard yutorah.org is going black-hat today to protest SOPA

    #844692
    YitB
    Participant

    You are not really beating the boycott, they tell you exactly how to get around it if you want.

    #844693
    real-brisker
    Member

    ICOT – You can add to your list, wiki mobile.

    #844694

    or press [esc] while the page is loading like when it shows you the page, but before it goes to the blackout page

    #844695

    Noach

    ?

    YitB

    I must’ve missed that.

    real-brisker

    True.

    #844696

    Wikipedia is back to normal!

    We waited them out, and they caved!

    We won!

    ? ? ?

    ====================================

    uneeq-

    Your point that the “Wikipedia editors and community” had voted on the blackout was one that I wasn’t aware of before you mentioned it.

    I should’ve acknowledged that at the top of my prior response – sorry for the omission, and I’m acknowledging it here.

    #844697
    soliek
    Member

    i thought it was a very powerful statement on the part of the global internet. i say global internet because SOPA would not just affect US citizens, it would affect every internet user in the world. and its not advocacy, or political activism on the part of these websites. theyre entitled to protest SOPA because SOPA stands a very good chance of closing some of these sites down.

    #844698
    uneeq
    Participant

    ICOT-That vote was taken by a few hundred voters out of the million plus contributors to the site. Several voters disagreed quite strongly.

    First of all it was 1,800 voters, more than the few hundred that you mention. Second, anybody who really cared about it could have joined in the vote. The overwhelming majority were either supporting or strongly supporting the vote. I’m sure that many people saw the vast amount of supporters and got too lazy (try scrolling down the page) to support something so obviously (in their mind) right. So what if a couple of people disagree. That’s what discussions are about. And as wikipedia notes, it had by far the largest participation of a community discussion ever. And about the money that people donate-they donate it so that wikipedia can democratically run itself as it has since the beginning. If they wanted to complain, they could have done so easily enough.

    But that knowledge has to be published somewhere for anyone to find and use it. Where it can be censored without due process, it hurts the speaker, the public, and Wikimedia. Where you can only speak if you have sufficient resources to fight legal challenges, or, if your views are pre-approved by someone who does, the same narrow set of ideas already popular will continue to be all anyone has meaningful access to.”

    Therefore, I think that if someone is legislatively trying to get rid of half the attractions AND double your expenses of maintaing the playground, I feel you would be making a big mistake for not trying to get as much exposure as possible of the negativity of the legislation.

    All in all, I respect your second post. Thanks.

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