OSNews

just those companies would do the job, if Google went down people would be panicking, Add Facebook to that and the backlash would be severe and ruthless.

I don't care if the Google main search page goes down, but if Google interferes with the operation of my Android phone (such as Google Voice and contacts), I will not be a happy camper. Also, I'm sure a lot of businesses rely on Google services such as Docs, so I'm not sure that shutting it ALL down as some sort of political stunt would be very smart of them.

I do understand the importance of protesting SOPA though, so maybe they could just put a message on their main page or something, perhaps one of those 'doodles' they sometimes come out with.

God forbid people get cut off from there 1000s of fake friends and forget that there are other ways to communicate LOL

Sadly your probably right

I agree. Join the fight, because many hands make light work.
This is a trenchwar, get in the trenches already.

If I am not mistaken, Thom is citizen of the Netherlands, which would make him, from point of view of US legislation and legislators a non-citizen (i.e. for every practical purpose a somewhat taller talking biped insect). In other words, I doubt he has any means of joining the fight with SOPA (unlike ACTA) except for reporting on it raising public awareness (which he seems to do quite well).

Yet, it still great affects everyone on the Internet. Websites like osnews can be taken down with a simple order from the US DOJ if SOPA passes.

As an american, I've been trying to get the word out on social media, emailed my representatives, pulled most of my business from GoDaddy, etc.

The problem is that many americans don't get what the big deal is with SOPA. They haven't bothered to read anything on it. I'm just not sure how to motivate people to write their congressmen.

OSNews is actually an American operation, Thom's well-known Dutchness notwithstanding, and if Google and Facebook go dark, so will OSNews. Maybe it will be like saying you were at Woodstock or there on the day the Berlin Wall went down.

OSNews, yes. SOPA can ripple waves worldwide, yes. Thom in particular can call his representatives all he wants and it won't help a squat, because they are not involved. He can stage a protest march and it won't reach DC (and even if it did, not their voters, so wouldn't care). There were other examples of US actions profoundly impacting the world people elsewhere (and in fact in the US as well) did not care for much, but being on the outside does not give you many options... except for raising awareness (and venting frustration in the process).

I believe OSnews is hosted in the US and many members of the team are American, which kind of makes this point moot.

EDIT : Whoops... David beat me there !

Edited 2012-01-04 16:26 UTC

I think most people on OSNews are already aware of the problem anyway... but sure, why not.

That would be my concern too, the reality is that alot of businesses rely on these online services, and they have to work to keep their customers so if google/amazon/whomever goes offline, by necessity they'll have to immediately find a replacement until those sites come back online.

Wouldn't it be more effective if they instead start a notification blitz so their services are still useable but the sites are plastered with notices? Google could increase the ranking of SOPA related links regardless of search maybe? Not sure if that would violate their own policies. Amazon could offer rebates on products if you sign an anti SOPA petition form or whatever.

A lot less than what SOPA will cost in a week.

How much would SOPA cost them? A lot more and that's what it's about.
Sometimes, I guess, greed is good or it can at least work in the favour of what is good by coincidence.

Without google, bing nor yahoo, how would they find duckduckgo? :-) Not to mention no facebook for people to let the world know there are alternatives... etc..

Another solution would be a 'continue with ... (service)...' after an anti SOPA messages that's the same on all these sites, and then signed by all these sites.

Too bad it could be possibly a field day for scammers and such (especially with all the major sites looking the same, and having "click to go further"), I guess ...ultimately being also used by SOPA supporters.

For most of the world it is 2011-01-04 or 04-01-2011
Sadly for those 'merikans it is Jan 4th 2011.

As with feet and inches, they really do need t oget on message.

Sadly, that's also the case on OSNews... (and many other websites, even when they have much more loose connection with the US; even when in URLs etc. they're sane / use ISO standards)


"Just" point out at every opportunity that feet and inches are defined in metres for quite some time now... ;p
Oh, and those relics known as floppies, and the bays left after them & used for other purposes? Their size is actually 'round' in cm, the name just tells what's the closest in inches.
Makes for a fun head-spin, sometimes.

(really sadly it still spreads in aviation - heck, the avionics of our MiG-29s, in the process of being brought to NATO standards ...were converted from metres to feet; yes (NVM interoperability & safety) one can argue that a feet is a suitable base unit for autonomous landing systems and such, while a metre is a bit too big - but then, there's always decimetre)

I SEE WHAT U DID THAR

.

Edited 2012-01-06 02:53 UTC