Hey TBers. This is uncustomary of me, and probably against forum policy, but I feel its extremely relevant to the TB community as well as any internet-using peon out there.
If you haven't heard about the Stop Online Piracy Act or its Senate-sister the Protect IP act, now is the time to learn.
These bills are currently being pushed through Congress and the Senate 100% by the media content industry. The ends is to stop piracy... the means is to grant content providers an express pass to the Department of Justice to have websites TAKEN DOWN OFF THE INTERNET with no due process or proof, under the accusation of infringing content. All a content provider has to do is file an ACCUSATION against a website and it can have its URL address blocked and any ad revenue or payment processing stopped IMMEDIATELY. This also covers "facilitators" of copyright infringement, which can and has been interpretted by the courts to include LINKING to infringing content.
What this means for the average TB'er is that if you post a link to a YouTube video in a post, and Big Content deems that video to be infringing, it will not only be removed from YouTube but the link can be traced to TB and the entire TalkBass.com can be blocked from all access, just for one infringing post. Also, any payment processor that generates TB ad revenue or processes membership fees would have their funds frozen and transactions halted. The accused website now has the burden of PROVING their innocence through expensive litigation and time consuming BS, all the while not making revenue.
What sucks is that this bill actually has more support in Congress than it does opposition. It goes to show how corrupt the system really is; hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent in lobbying and "contributions" to push these bills through. The only opposition is the citizens of America who appreciate an open, free internet and the opportunities and wealth of information it provides. Of course most people have no idea what SOPA or PIPA even is, and aren't techy nerds who understand the implications and slippery slope these bills provide the industry to control the web. If Big Content can't figure out how to profit in the 21st century (no more VHS tapes?? What???) thats not our burden to bear, and we shouldn't have to suffer a censored internet just because they have more lobbying $$$ than your average citizen does.
Check out the link below for more information and details on what you can do. I hope the Mods dont delete this for being a political thread, I posted in Misc. to get it on the front page intentionally because these bills have alot of potential to take TalkBass right off the web. You know Rickenbacker hates seeing old Ibanez lawsuit basses being traded around our classifieds... with these bills they'd be given a method of slapping them down, but they'd bring all of TB down with it.
Protesting SOPA: how to make your voice heard - ArsTechnica
