If you missed it, I blacked out my site today to protest SOPA and PIPA. I'm back now. I think if you know anything about those bills, you know how wrong they are, how harmful they would be to free speech and having a free, open internet. I am a writer and musician, and try to make money to support my family by selling my intellectual property, but even I can see how these bills would ruin the internet, and that they're both counterproductive to solving the real issues at hand--the issue being that the RIAA and the MPAA are working with outdated business models, and don't account for the changing world we live in. We need to target pirates at their source, and NOT give the government more police state powers over the web.
I could go on, but there's been too many who've said it much better than I could ever hope to do.
Locally, the Danger Brigade boys blacked out their site, which is what gave me the much-needed kick in the pants to get with the program.
Here's an open letter signed by Neil Gaiman and others.
Wil Wheaton has been very vocal and eloquent in his writing about it. Check out his site for more info.
And finally, Warren Ellis also got into the action, and since it's so short, I've decided to repost it here:
The Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act, two laws currently working their way through the American legislative system, will do untold damage to the structure of the internet if passed. Neither law is fit for its spoken purpose. I am not American, nor do I live in America. But the internet is an interdependent creature, and unilateral SOPA or PIPA actions will affect the entire animal. One country, even a country I love and admire, should not wield that power, especially in service of a cause both confused and mendacious.
I've signed the petition over at Google. It only takes a minute, and it's totally worth it. Please take the time to do it. Help protect the internet.
Thanks for your time and stuff.
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