I apologize for the political pop-up/advertisement on the front page.
I would not normally inflict such a thing on our users, but the SOPA legislation is such a critical issue that would affect ALL internet users, regardless of country of origin, that I felt that the news needed to be spread.
The pop-up should only trigger once on any individual computer's visit to the main site page.
The bill goes before the American Senate on January 24th. After that time, if approved, it will go to the President.
The problem with SOPA is not the concept, but the implementation. As you all know, we are extremely vigilant on this site, regarding the protection of Intellectual Property (IP) and Copyrights. We agree with the CONCEPT and INTENTION of the SOPA bill. Protection of IP is a critical issue on the web, with pirate sites and download/redistribution of copyrighted material. The issue with SOPA is that the bill was written by individuals who have only a passing knowledge (f that) of the web, its use and the technology. As written, (like the Patriot Act) it basically gives the US government and other agencies the right to shut down a website and prosecute the owners on the thinnest of accusations (not even proof).
There are several alternative (and well thought) legislative concepts already written and presented, including the recommendation of the so-called OPEN act (from keepthewebopen.com)
http://www.keepthewebopen.com/assets/pdfs/12-13-11%20Big%20Web%20Companies%20OPEN%20Endorsement%20Letter.pdfhttp://www.keepthewebopen.com/sopa-vs-openbut SOPA and the equally problematic PIPA are still being voted on.
It is important that every American contact his or her senator (and representative) and let them know that the SOPA and PIPA legislation needs to be rethought and redrafted.
As part of this, we will be participating in the Internet Blackout, scheduled (tentatively) for January 23.
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/tech-giants-support-open-act/38534/ http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/12/30/will-google-amazon-and-facebook-blackout-net/http://www.imperfectparent.com/topics/2012/01/04/sopa-blackout-facebook-google-twitter-amazon-and-others/If this bill passes, the following is a screen that will become quite prevalent.
[smg id=4423 type=full align=center caption="Content Blocked - SOPA"]
[smg id=4424 type=full align=center caption="Censored - SOPA"]