I wasn't aware of the Wiki boycott until this morning, which means some of the contact from Crystalinks will go to the message above today. Wikipedia's English-language site shut down at midnight Eastern Standard Time Tuesday and the organization said it would stay down for 24 hours.
CNN - January 18, 2012 -- Good Explanation
Blog: Why We Go Black Huffington Post - January 18, 2012
Today's nationwide protest of Internet blacklist legislation is part of a brewing movement to keep control over the Internet out of the hands of corporations and governments. It's a struggle that puts Internet users before information gatekeepers. At stake is everyone's democratic right to information. The movement owes its momentum to a recent sequence of events. In 2010 millions of Internet users became advocates in support of Net Neutrality protections. In 2011, the importance of digital freedom spilled out onto the streets as demonstrators with a mobile phones and a connection became a force in global protests.
Why The Web Is Sick Of SOPA Discovery - January 18, 2012
Every few years, lobbyists seem to push for outrageous legislation aiming to censor the Internet or restrict digital rights.
What an Internet protest looks like MSNBC - January 18, 2012
Many individuals and organizations cranked up efforts to protest controversial anti-piracy measures on Wednesday. These folks took to the Internet and tried every trick in the book in order to raise awareness, provide educational materials, and put an end to the Protect IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).
If you click on google today, you see this image that links to this message.
When I started Crystalinks in 1995, it was all about typing the 50 original files with no links to related files. Things got easier through the years and once Wikipedia improved their content, everything seemed to mesh. As far back as the 1990's there was the fearful messages Wikipedia posted today. Some people said it would happen one day while others disagreed and we all moved on. Most of the website from the 1990's - unless business or news - were taken down as businesses didn't survive and running a website was no longer affordable. Think about all of the jobs linked to website construction and design and all that has happened in almost two decades.
Do people steal content from websites? Yes ... they always have. Have I been contacted by people who send me to links that have copied my content? Yes, but to me it's all about getting the information out at the end of the program, so I don't get mad, especially as I frequently update content anyway.
This legislation may appear to address rogue foreign websites and protect against piracy, but after all these years I just don't buy it. Does Congress understand that censoring the Internet will ultimately hurt the economy and perhaps not allow vital information that perhaps could save lives, from getting out there? How can we become a collective unconsciousness at this level when this type of behavior goes on, but alas that is how the program ends.
Disapproval of Congress hits new high: poll Reuters - January 17, 2012 A record 84 percent of Americans say they disapprove of the way the Congress is doing its job compared with just 13 percent who approve of how things are going, according to a Washington Post/ABC News public opinion poll published on Monday.
As for Ellie ... who freely shares everything ... the only time I raged was when a psychic from one of the phone hotlines used my photo and some of my psychic development files on her profile. My friend Susan, who works for the hotline, saw my photo and asked if I was working for them. Contacting the company brought no response until they realized who I was and I threatened to tell the entire Internet it was plagiarism and they were frauds. Within an hour after sending the email to the CEO of the company, accusing them of theft identity, a criminal offense -> everything was taken down, an apology offered.
So on we go today without Wiki .... :(
