ACTA - Remember when you thought it was actually about counterfeiting? Yeah, that was a lie.

Anny wrote:

I e-mailed information about this to the 70 members of the mailing list for my fanfic website, urging them to spread the word. I don't know how much good it will do, but I'm sure as hell going to try.

You're so going about this the wrong way. Post this up on /b/. Anon ought to take care of the rest.

Dr. Professor Science wrote:

unskilled78 wrote:

Dr. Professor Science wrote:

unskilled78 wrote:

Gee, Obama is trying to keep something a secret because he knows that we won't like it if it's actually revealied? What an unprecedented turn of events. :psy-4:

This is bigger than just Obama, Skillet. Pick somewhere else to push your agenda and deal with this problem here and now.

:lolinsane:
You're right. I apologize.
Let's start a revolt.

You're not sorry. I already corrected you over Skype about this.

You're smarter than this, Proffy. Right now he's just trying to bug you. However, he's entirely correct. In America, it's Obama supporting this and keeping it a secret. I'm sure there are others, but he's the big fish in the pond and could kill this dead if his feeble brain had any sense at all left in it.

As far as America is concerned, this is exclusively on Obama. The Canadians can't sign the treaty and then hold us to it. Neither can the French, the Koreans, or Jesus Christ and his army of angels. All Obama has to do is say "YEAH WELL FUCK YOU" and America doesn't have to deal with this shit. Which is all Americans care about, really. We don't care what you do with your internet in Canada. Nobody cares what you do in Canadia.

Blimey, that law looks worse than our one. At least we get to violate copyright three times before losing our internets.

The sad thing is that this kind of law will probably go through, regardless of government. It's just the way that the tide is turning, and the music industry is kicking up a loud, messy fuss trying to stop anyone from hearing music without paying. This is despite the evidence to suggest that "pirates" buy more music.

The corporations don't like giving things out for free. Hell, Rupert Murdoch wants to keep his sites off Google so he can make more money. Free online content isn't profitable, and neither is filesharing. Unfortunately, these people shout loudly at the government and get their way.

It occurs to me that since Google owns YouTube, they will be somewhat less than pleased about this at the GooglePlex. Has anyone told them?

KelinciHutan wrote:

It occurs to me that since Google owns YouTube, they will be somewhat less than pleased about this at the GooglePlex. Has anyone told them?

They're probably quietly amassing their Legion of Doom to use all this kerfuffle to make their move towards world domination.

ZoZo wrote:

The corporations don't like giving things out for free. Hell, Rupert Murdoch wants to keep his sites off Google so he can make more money.

When I heard that story before, I seriously raged. Put another banner on the website and get money from that, don't restrict what should be free and make people pay to read the news. Bastard.

I wonder who leaked it.

Several points from the idiot on the island.

Since when has it been the governments job to maintain copyright over materials instead of the individual companies and their lawyers?

Do they have any idea how much they are gonna clog up the legal systems with this stuff?

They are severely underestimating internet culture here, if people want to do stuff in secret they will find a way round it, besides, copying data is a computers basic function, unless you some how police that file sharing is gonna happen.

/b/
Just /b/
I doubt even a government wants to deal with that mess.

That said, yeah, Obama could knock this out of the air for the US. Unfortunately going on what I've seen I doubt he will. Been nice talking to ya america, I will miss it.

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

I sometimes wonder if that fucking monkey is actively trying to screw up EVERYTHING. Shit like this can't be due to stupidity, he learned to speak English, he isn't THIS stupid.

Which "fucking monkey" who "learned to speak English" is that, Mikey?

Also - we can rate posts now? Well golly Nihl, why don't you just put some of those plus and minus buttons under everyone's userpic so we can really turn the board into a fucking popularity contest?

Somath Cegem wrote:

Several points from the idiot on the island.

Since when has it been the governments job to maintain copyright over materials instead of the individual companies and their lawyers?

Do they have any idea how much they are gonna clog up the legal systems with this stuff?

They are severely underestimating internet culture here, if people want to do stuff in secret they will find a way round it, besides, copying data is a computers basic function, unless you some how police that file sharing is gonna happen.

Well yes. The Ministry of Defence (or MI5, I forget which, and I lost the article as it popped up somewhere on Twitter) were actually against the UK legislation, as it might make it harder for them to catch real criminals, as everyone will encrypt their internet use a little bit more.

But of course, we have to pander to the corporations, don't we?

ZoZo wrote:

Somath Cegem wrote:

Several points from the idiot on the island.

Since when has it been the governments job to maintain copyright over materials instead of the individual companies and their lawyers?

Do they have any idea how much they are gonna clog up the legal systems with this stuff?

They are severely underestimating internet culture here, if people want to do stuff in secret they will find a way round it, besides, copying data is a computers basic function, unless you some how police that file sharing is gonna happen.

Well yes. The Ministry of Defence (or MI5, I forget which, and I lost the article as it popped up somewhere on Twitter) were actually against the UK legislation, as it might make it harder for them to catch real criminals, as everyone will encrypt their internet use a little bit more.

But of course, we have to pander to the corporations, don't we?

No, we really don't, what the corporations what should come second TO THE DEFENCE OF THE FUCKING COUNTRY!!
If the MOD say, "Yeah don't do that it will make our job much harder" guess what, listen to them!!

It appears that there are a lot of people who aren't terribly happy about this. I like that the news is calling it out for what it is.

I like the people that think that the 13 year olds on /b/ are actually going to do anything of worth. Until Obama kicks a kitten, it's not going to happen.

KelinciHutan wrote:

It appears that there are a lot of people who aren't terribly happy about this. I like that the news is calling it out for what it is.

Nice wishful thinking, but nothing's going to come of it.

All I can think about this is that if it went through, hoo boy what a shitstorm of lawsuits there would be from rightfully pissed off people.

In the meantime though, an anonymous leak revealing a secret government conspiracy for restricting rights of this scale? It smells a bit like sensationalism to me. I'll take it with a grain of salt, though of course I very much hope it really isn't true.

Cyberwulf wrote:

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

I sometimes wonder if that fucking monkey is actively trying to screw up EVERYTHING. Shit like this can't be due to stupidity, he learned to speak English, he isn't THIS stupid.

Which "fucking monkey" who "learned to speak English" is that, Mikey?

Yeah, not to spawn side-wank, but he really needs to fuck the fuck off with that shit.

Somath Cegem wrote:

That said, yeah, Obama could knock this out of the air for the US. Unfortunately going on what I've seen I doubt he will. Been nice talking to ya america, I will miss it.

Obama is one of the main people who's pushing this.

... no, I didn't know that at the time.

... yes, I was more pissed at Skillet getting partisan again. More pissed at the mechanics behind the post than the post itself.

Half the Internet would be immobilised. Fan sites would have to close down. Any site not making a substantial profit that is breaking copywrites would be forced to close.

Since when did these clowns forget that it's the companies who're supposed to deal with these problems?

The internet would either be crushed, or it would find a way around this.

What the HELL happened to the Freedom of Speech law people are always going on about? They CAN do this, but it would be like spitting in the face of everything the Internet is about. Not that they would care if they were getting paid enough.

Remember when - oh, I forget who it was, but it was one of those music-stealing programs - was shut down? There were a dozen that sprang up to take its place.

Nerds, UNITE! We have to make our voices loud enough to stop this from happening.

I don't really give a half a damn about what this will do to the fandom community, to be perfectly honest. There are things much more important that are at stake as well.

The thing that's pissing me off the most, really, is the issue of the governemt thinking they can dictate what a person does with the work they create. Not everyone owning a copyright hates the idea of it being freely distributable; if that were the case, places like Creative Commons wouldn't exist.

This is just another depressing reminder that copyright laws have fuck all to do with protecting artists and their work and everything to do with getting big business what they think is theirs.

Bamshalam wrote:

I don't really give a half a damn about what this will do to the fandom community, to be perfectly honest. There are things much more important that are at stake as well.

I care in that if fandom goes BAMF, WGW will also disappear. Does that count?

Quote :

The thing that's pissing me off the most, really, is the issue of the governemt thinking they can dictate what a person does with the work they create. Not everyone owning a copyright hates the idea of it being freely distributable; if that were the case, places like Creative Commons wouldn't exist.

This is just another depressing reminder that copyright laws have fuck all to do with protecting artists and their work and everything to do with getting big business what they think is theirs.

This, along with the fact that there's no back-up on the accusations. You can be accused with no evidence and it'll still count.

Dr. Professor Science wrote:

... yes, I was more pissed at Skillet getting partisan again. More pissed at the mechanics behind the post than the post itself.

Okay, WHAT the fuck? Who the hell are you, his nanny?

Quote :

You're not sorry. I already corrected you over Skype about this.

How about you let this be the last time you publicly announce that you rubbed Unskilled's face in his own urine to teach him a lesson? I know you must find your feminine influence over him privately thrilling and empowering, but at least try to have the decency to keep that to yourself. And please don't play games about how that's not how it is at all /OMG YOU BITCH. If you don't like it you can kiss my ass or cut an inch off my e-peen or whatever the fuck it is you kids do nowadays.

And yes this is a partisan issue! Obama is a Democrat, just like Bush was a Republican. His actions reflect upon his party, the vast majority of whose figureheads fawn endlessly over the man. It is HIS Democratic administration that drafted this bullshit act and it is HIS Democratic administration that is actively hiding this from the public. I love how we're all "allowed" to rail at the fucking Republicans for all the retarded messes they've landed us in, but the moment someone points out that a liberal Democrat is being an asshole there is endless squawking and shrieking about how "everybody makes mistakes" and "don't make this partisan" and "SOMETIMES PEOPLE PANIC AND LEAVE THEIR MISTRESSES TO DROWN IN THE CAR THEY DRUNKENLY CRASHED, JEEZ, HE WAS ONLY HUMAN".

Now, I know it makes some of us uncomfortable when the people with whom we believe we share political views with make little mistakes, like, uhm, secretively working on a draconian set of Internet laws and using non-disclosure agreements to prevent the public from catching wind of their fucking evil-ass plans. There were plenty of people with egg on their faces when Bush started royally fucking up. Door swings both ways. Deal with it.

Narwhal wrote:

Dr. Professor Science wrote:

... yes, I was more pissed at Skillet getting partisan again. More pissed at the mechanics behind the post than the post itself.

Okay, WHAT the fuck? Who the hell are you, his nanny?

It wasn't exactly conscious or calculated at the time. I just went "ugh, there he goes again" and retaliated.

Narwhal wrote:

Dr. Professor Science wrote:

You're not sorry. I already corrected you over Skype about this.

How about you let this be the last time you publicly announce that you rubbed Unskilled's face in his own urine to teach him a lesson? I know you must find your feminine influence over him privately thrilling and empowering, but at least try to have the decency to keep that to yourself. And please don't play games about how that's not how it is at all /OMG YOU BITCH. If you don't like it you can kiss my ass or cut an inch off my e-peen or whatever the fuck it is you kids do nowadays.

If I'm doing this all the time (and I'm not trying to be passive aggressive here - I'm making a serious request - tones of voice don't transmit through text well), and it's ridiculous and over the top, tell me. Where else have I pulled crap like that?

Narwhal wrote:

And yes this is a partisan issue! Obama is a Democrat, just like Bush was a Republican. His actions reflect upon his party, the vast majority of whose figureheads fawn endlessly over the man. It is HIS Democratic administration that drafted this bullshit act and it is HIS Democratic administration that is actively hiding this from the public. I love how we're all "allowed" to rail at the fucking Republicans for all the retarded messes they've landed us in, but the moment someone points out that a liberal Democrat is being an asshole there is endless squawking and shrieking about how "everybody makes mistakes" and "don't make this partisan" and "SOMETIMES PEOPLE PANIC AND LEAVE THEIR MISTRESSES TO DROWN IN THE CAR THEY DRUNKENLY CRASHED, JEEZ, HE WAS ONLY HUMAN".

I'd be pissed if someone used this as a platform to yell at Bush or the Republicans as well. I don't like people doing this kind of thing, period. This isn't a partisan issue, because it's something that's happening in many, many countries which have many different regimes. "Left-wing" and "right-wing" countries are participating in this, so don't tell me that it's about the Democrats.

Dr. Professor Science wrote:

It wasn't exactly conscious or calculated at the time. I just went "ugh, there he goes again" and retaliated.

SUUUUURRRREEEEEE. Were you also really tired when you made it a point to mention in the "Which WGWer would you jump" thread that you actually went through the trouble to make sure none of those anonyposts were Unskilled's?

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Quote :

I'd be pissed if someone used this as a platform to yell at Bush as well. I don't like people doing this kind of thing, period. This isn't a partisan issue, because it's something that's happening in many, many countries which have many different regimes. "Left-wing" and "right-wing" countries are participating in this, so don't tell me that it's about the Democrats.

Nobody said that this was all about the Democrats, but as far as it concerns American politics it sure as fuck is! Here is a quote from the Huffington Post:

Quote :

Some details of the negotiation have leaked out, most recently from a memo by Euopean Union describing the Obama Administration proposal for a new global system of Internet controls and liabilities. Michael Geist, Gwen Hienz of EFF, and a few journalists -- most living outside of the U.S., have written about ACTA.

He has every right to assert that Obama and his administration are hugely responsible here and so do I. Of course our primary concern as U.S. citizens is going to be about how this affects our internet and our relationship with our government. Just like you encouraged others to check and see if their country is on the list and many people in this topic have been speaking about how they're worried it will affect their individual lives, we are all viewing this from different perspectives and worrying about how it will effect us personally. I do agree that this is something that human beings in general should be worried/outraged about, but we have every reason to be fucking furious that the people we elected into office are shitting all over us.

Dr. Professor Science wrote:

I'd be pissed if someone used this as a platform to yell at Bush as well. I don't like people doing this kind of thing, period. This isn't a partisan issue, because it's something that's happening in many, many countries which have many different regimes. "Left-wing" and "right-wing" countries are participating in this, so don't tell me that it's about the Democrats.

See, you may think like an independent voter, but the problem there is that there is a two-party system in the United States, so to ignore that this framework for pushing laws exists is to ignore that the sky's blue.

I am seeing this like it's an "outsider looking in" kind of thing. Sure you can say that liberal politics is good, but in the end these two parties are going to have to work together- it's not happening. Both are like greedy kids at a birthday party and are eager to blame the other side for whatever wrong happens. You can say that everything is good when there's a Democrat in office, but regardless of who is in, we'll have issues. Every presidency has them. And either way, we have a lot of hurdles to get over- a lot of changes to be made at the risk of alienating entire sections of the country that run differently. America's not all San Francisco or New York City, and what works for there may not work for Bumfuck, Nebraska. It's such a wide variety of interests and beliefs to be pushed, and not all of them can get funding or attention. It doesn't mean that they're less right- it's just partisan. And it reflects American culture and demographics quite well. Acknowledge it as a whole. It does not mean that it's perfect, or even remotely correct. It's just how it works. Gotta work with what we have to make this better. That's why reaching across party lines is considered "important".

I'm worried about this- not so much about downloading software, music or movies- I can do without that- but to have my opinion suppressed, and likely have sites like ours shut down? Not so good. I'm sure there are people on both the left and right wing that are willing to defend the freedom of speech in this regard.

Narwhal wrote:

Dr. Professor Science wrote:

It wasn't exactly conscious or calculated at the time. I just went "ugh, there he goes again" and retaliated.

SUUUUURRRREEEEEE. Were you also really tired when you made it a point to mention in the "Which WGWer would you jump" thread that you actually went through the trouble to make sure none of those anonyposts were Unskilled's?

I didn't say I was tired, but no, those were dumb but more just for the lulz.

Quote :

He has every right to assert that Obama and his administration are hugely responsible here and so do I. Of course our primary concern as U.S. citizens is going to be about how this affects our internet and our relationship with our government. Just like you encouraged others to check and see if their country is on the list and many people in this topic have been speaking about how they're worried it will affect their individual lives, we are all viewing this from different perspectives and worrying about how it will effect us personally. I do agree that this is something that human beings in general should be worried/outraged about, but we have every reason to be fucking furious that the people we elected into office are shitting all over us.

My problem wasn't that he was pissed at the current administration, because I completely agree with what you just said. My problem was that he was bringing back that damn attitude of the election - that you guys made the wrong choice then and now he's going to rub your faces in it, which wasn't really relevant to the discussion beyond him just going NAH NAH NAH NA NA. That's what bugged me. ANYWAY I'M GOING TO STOP DERAILING THE THREAD. SORRY, GUYS.

Harley Quinn hyenaholic wrote:

Half the Internet would be immobilised. Fan sites would have to close down. Any site not making a substantial profit that is breaking copywrites would be forced to close.

After the whole Harry Potter strike when WB tried to close down fansites, they realised they needed those sorts of sites to get publicity. But considering that they're probably the ones backing this sort of thing to protect their other interests, I won't be surprised if they suddenly have a huge drop in profits.