Originally posted by moosecatlol

Another slap from reality is that more than half of the people who say "Oh gosh SOPA/PIPA sounds awful" will more than likely go fund the people who support such radical actions as these. Lets be honest, no one here has the spine to hold any form of pressure against that which is corrupt. Instead the Greater America will go about its day accepting what their fed and giving their money up for whatever they're told they need. Ask yourself what do you think is more important to these companies, your money or this bill? This bill would naturally make their already easy lives much more easier, but giving them your money is just damning, as you're oppenly supporting these companies in a finacial sense. There's no doubt in my mind that many of you will forget these issues after they pass, and you will still convince yourself that even after these companies made their motives clear, that everything will return to the happy blissfulness that you so fondly remember. When in reality each and every one of you digs their grave a bit deeper with each passing day.

I'd say there's more out there that do this than you give credit for.  While it may not be the only reason.. Is it a fluke that it happened say a day after major sites we're helping to make people aware of what's going on? http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ea-falls-on-broker-concerns-about-star-wars-2012-01-19?siteid=yhoof2

Probably a combination of things.. I wouldn't rule out SOPA and PIPA having it's effects however.

Originally posted by moosecatlol

Another slap from reality is that more than half of the people who say "Oh gosh SOPA/PIPA sounds awful" will more than likely go fund the people who support such radical actions as these. Lets be honest, no one here has the spine to hold any form of pressure against that which is corrupt. Instead the Greater America will go about its day accepting what their fed and giving their money up for whatever they're told they need. Ask yourself what do you think is more important to these companies, your money or this bill? This bill would naturally make their already easy lives much more easier, but giving them your money is just damning, as you're oppenly supporting these companies in a finacial sense. There's no doubt in my mind that many of you will forget these issues after they pass, and you will still convince yourself that even after these companies made their motives clear, that everything will return to the happy blissfulness that you so fondly remember. When in reality each and every one of you digs their grave a bit deeper with each passing day.

1-800 Contacts, Inc.

1-800-PetMeds - 954-979-5995

3M - 1-888-364-3577

ABRO Industries, Inc. (automotive supplies) - (574) 232-8289

Acushnet Company (Titleist and Footjoy golf) - (800)225-8500

adidas America - (800) 448-1796

Bose Coporation - (508) 879-7330

Burberry - 800 284 8480

CBS Corporation - 1-212-975-4321

Chanel USA - 1.800.550.0005

Coach - 1-800-444-3611

Columbia Sportswear Company - (800) 622-6953

Dolce & Gabbana USA, Inc.

Electronic Arts, Inc. - (650) 628-1500 (they open at 8am PT)

Fender Musical Instrument Company - 480.596.9690

Ford Motor Company - 800-392-3673

Gibson Guitar Corp. - 1-800-444-2766

Harley-Davidson Motor Company - 1-800-258-2464

Johnson & Johnson - (732) 524-0400

Juicy Couture, Inc - 1-888-908-1160

kate spade - 866-999-5283

Lacoste USA - 1-800-452-2678

Leatherman Tool Group, Inc. - (800) 847-8665

Lexmark International, Inc. - 1-859-232-2000

Liz Claiborne, Inc - (212) 354-4900

L'Oréal USA - 1-212-818-1500

Lucky Brand Jeans - 1-866-975-5825

Major League Baseball - 212-485-3444

Marmot - (707) 544-4590

Monster Cable Products, Inc. - 415 840-2000

National Basketball Association (NBA)

National Football League (NFL)

NBCUniversal - 212-664-4444

Nervous Tattoo Inc., dba Ed Hardy - 323-785-4460

New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. - (636) 326-1024

New Era Cap Co Inc - 1-877-632-5950

NHL Enterprises, L.P. - 212-789-2000

Nike, Inc. - 1-503-671-6453

Nintendo of America Inc. - 425.882.2040

Oakley, Inc. - (800) 431-1439

Peavey Electronics Corporation - 601-483-5365

Perry Ellis International - 1-800-994-0073

Petzl America - 801-926-1310

Pfizer Inc. - 1-212-733-2323

PGA of America - (561) 624-8400

Philip Morris International - 804-274-2000 or 800-343-0975

PING - 1.800.474.6434

Ralph Lauren Corporation - 888-475-7674

Red Wing Shoe Company - 1-800-733-9464

Reebok International Ltd. - 781-401-5000

Revlon - 1-800-473-8566

Rite Aid - Home Office: (717) 761-2633

Rolex Watch USA Inc. - 665 5th Ave, New York, NY10022 - Tel: (212) 758-7700 - Fax: (212) 223-7443

Rosetta Stone Inc. - 1.800.280.8172?

Shure Incorporated - (847) 600-2000

Sony Electronics Inc. (try 1-800-222-7669)

Sony Music Entertainment - (212) 833-8000

Sony Pictures Entertainment - 310-244-4000

Spyder Active Sports, Inc - 303-544-4000

Taylor Guitars - 619-258-1207

Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. - 1.866.530.8624

The Dow Chemical Company - 800-258-2436

The Estee Lauder Companies - 877-311-3883

The Timberland Company - 603-772-9500

The Walt Disney Company - 818-560-1000

Tiffany & Co. - 1-800-843-3269

Time Warner Inc. - 212.484.8000

Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc. - Corporate Offices (949) 583-3000

Ultimate Fighting Championship - (702) 221-4780

Viacom - (212) 258-6000

Wal-Mart - 479-273-4000

Warner Music Group - (212) 275-2000

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. 203-352-8600 (see bottom for corporate)

Xerox Corporation - 1-800-275-9376

Zippo Manufacturing Company - 888.442.1932

Sadly people care more about their entertainment than their freedom. No ones going to boycott the super bowl, no ones going to boycott the WWE, Walmart, Disney, etc. People care more about this crap than they do their freedom.

It's assinine.

A good start would be to boycott the Super Bowl, look for Open Source software for your next purchase (Some of it is as good if not better than their paid for counter parts), pass on games that are published by SOPA supporters or SPonsors.

Yes, my SWTOR account is canceled, while EA has said they have not taken a stance on SOPA they have failed at taking a stance against it which is required for me to continue paying.

38 Studios is against SOPA so bring on Kingdom of Amular

But no, people as a whole will not do the things required to show we are fed up. They would rather lose their freedom in exchange for that couple of hours of over priced entertainment.

Originally posted by GrayGhost79

Originally posted by moosecatlol

Another slap from reality is that more than half of the people who say "Oh gosh SOPA/PIPA sounds awful" will more than likely go fund the people who support such radical actions as these. Lets be honest, no one here has the spine to hold any form of pressure against that which is corrupt. Instead the Greater America will go about its day accepting what their fed and giving their money up for whatever they're told they need. Ask yourself what do you think is more important to these companies, your money or this bill? This bill would naturally make their already easy lives much more easier, but giving them your money is just damning, as you're oppenly supporting these companies in a finacial sense. There's no doubt in my mind that many of you will forget these issues after they pass, and you will still convince yourself that even after these companies made their motives clear, that everything will return to the happy blissfulness that you so fondly remember. When in reality each and every one of you digs their grave a bit deeper with each passing day.

Yes, my SWTOR account is canceled, while EA has said they have not taken a stance on SOPA they have failed at taking a stance against it which is required for me to continue paying.

 

38 Studios is against SOPA so bring on Kingdom of Amular

 

But no, people as a whole will not do the things required to show we are fed up. They would rather lose their freedom in exchange for that couple of hours of over priced entertainment.

This.

Not trying to hide anything you posted. I just saw it after it was posted and decided to shorten it up. Was a bit long for a quote.

Originally posted by JayBirdz

Originally posted by GrayGhost79

Originally posted by moosecatlol

Another slap from reality is that more than half of the people who say "Oh gosh SOPA/PIPA sounds awful" will more than likely go fund the people who support such radical actions as these. Lets be honest, no one here has the spine to hold any form of pressure against that which is corrupt. Instead the Greater America will go about its day accepting what their fed and giving their money up for whatever they're told they need. Ask yourself what do you think is more important to these companies, your money or this bill? This bill would naturally make their already easy lives much more easier, but giving them your money is just damning, as you're oppenly supporting these companies in a finacial sense. There's no doubt in my mind that many of you will forget these issues after they pass, and you will still convince yourself that even after these companies made their motives clear, that everything will return to the happy blissfulness that you so fondly remember. When in reality each and every one of you digs their grave a bit deeper with each passing day.

Yes, my SWTOR account is canceled, while EA has said they have not taken a stance on SOPA they have failed at taking a stance against it which is required for me to continue paying.

 

38 Studios is against SOPA so bring on Kingdom of Amular

 

But no, people as a whole will not do the things required to show we are fed up. They would rather lose their freedom in exchange for that couple of hours of over priced entertainment.

This.

 

Not trying to hide anything you posted. I just saw it after it was posted and decided to shorten it up. Was a bit long for a quote.

No problem and completely understandable.

How long before "Don't Censor me Bro!" takes the place of "Don't TAZE me Bro!"?

Hollywood would love for everyone to believe that piracy is a huge problem that hurts them.

What bothers them even more, is that it's not like the good old days where "pirates" actually profited from "piracy", it's that people can just get stuff for free, but worse, FAR FAR FAR WORSE, people can actually upload for anyone to see, things they've created that may have a clip from a film, or a passage from a song, or even a WHOLE song.

This bothers them, because every time someone youtubes something funny and uses a little bit of their IP in the process, they are thinking that they could be making a fortune in some form or royalty payment from it. This act goes far beyond just the downloading/uploading of copyrighted material, it wants to go to great lengths to punish sites/internet providers etc who have anything that can be considered theft or unauthorized usage of intellectual property, and in so doing censoring the entire internet, at least for Americans so that they can only see an internet Hollywood wants them to see.

I would argue (when you read any comments to some of the postings on youtube/personal websites/blogs etc) that they (Hollywood) are getting a lot of free advertizing, and that anyone after asking what the tune/film clip etc. was who downloads it without paying for it afterward, was unlikely to have paid for it even if they were unable to download it. Period.

If Hollywood isn't making enough money, it's not because of misuse of IP by the public, it's by a misuse of their own money by continually putting out a whole pile of crap that people don't want to see/hear. Again, I'd argue that all the sharing probably helps sell some of that crap to people that downloaded it and liked it enough to actually buy it.

How many films do you see trailers for that make you think "OH I HAVE TO GO SEE THAT!"? Almost none. If it isn't a remake of a remake, it's a sequel to a sequel (for a movie that should never have been released in the first place, let alone have any sequels). How many times you even hear music that you MUST have?

We've seen it all and heard it all before. That's why Hollywood isn't making as much money as it thinks it should. I DO buy the occasional Blu Ray disc, because I do pay for things I want to see. I would buy so many more, if there were actually any worth having. I DON'T download any movies or music, not because I am trying to be on any moral high ground, but for the same reason I own so few Blu Rays.... There's so little that's of any interest to start with.

If the bill gets passed, then I think everyone has a duty to boycott them completely. We've already been forced to change our televisions so that everything can only be broadcast digitally in order that they can dictate what you can record and whether or not you can watch it how and when you want, and yet most stuff is still broadcast in 4:3 sd resolutions and your cable company wants a premium for the few channels that broadcast SOME of their material in proper HD.

By the time they're finished you won't be able to quote anything from a film/book or hum anything from a piece of music you've heard without breaking the law for unauthorized used of IP. We do therefore have to somehow show that we're not going to continually let them dictate how we are entertained.

http://www.savetheinternet.com/pipa-whiplist

New York, and California need to get their crap together.

Its an Idiotic bill really. Want to basically ruin the Internet ? then this is the bill for you. Yes piracy is a problem, the funny part is most piracy occurs in Asia (China & Malaysia being major culprits) where no one is interested in enforcing Intellectual property law.

This law will likely instead curb innovation on the internet and hurt a great many things not realting to piracy due to its broad scope and open wording.

The world would end and there will be a war if it does past.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdgWF7RX7f0

Ten points if you can count out how many defenders of free speech are in the room.

Stopped?

Stood up against a wall & shot more like.

PIPA likewise.

If films are good, people will pay the money to go see them or own them, chances are the people watching pirated material wouldn't ever go watch the damn thing at all if not for pirates, may even encourage them to go buy it to see it in the quality mode.

Times are a changing, media delivery is a lot less palatable boxed up now, stream it cheaply enough & you will hit a far far bigger audience at less cost per head of customer & much bigger revenue stream.

Selling a tiny number of very expensive things is no longer the realm of mass-market commodities, it's the realm of luxury, they'll still sell boxed sets with all the trimmings to the enthusiasts. Let the cheap-seats, truly be cheap.

What disgusts me most is that so many of the people I know are passionately up in arms over SOPA and PIPA, which is absolutely fantastic, but are totally incapable of catching the seriousness of bills like the Patriot Act and the NDAA. Literally, there's more attention to the bills effecting our internet usage than the complete and utter dismissal of the American constitutional right to due process. It's almost astounding where some of our priorities lie.

on the bright side if sopa passes this site wont last long which is a good thing considering how huge sell outs you guys have become over the past 2 years

^^agreed

Not sure if any of this has been posted yet, so apologies if it has.

A great TED video about SOPA/PIPA that you must watch and share: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h2dF-IsH0I

A new sort of grass roots organization for consumer advocacy in gaming: http://www.leagueforgamers.org/

If it passes just watch billions drain from the American ecconomy as many websites go to foriegn countrys to continue thier buisness .

Arn't you guys ment to be the land of the free ?

Seems to me like those are just words if SOPA becomes a reality .

I remember how much your news channels and politicians applauded the use of youtube in arab spring revolutions and now you want to silence the very things that made that possible .

You'll be on a very dark path if it passes .

Originally posted by oobla

If it passes just watch billions drain from the American ecconomy as many websites go to foriegn countrys to continue thier buisness .

Arn't you guys ment to be the land of the free ?

Seems to me like those are just words if SOPA becomes a reality .

I remember how much your news channels and politicians applauded the use of youtube in arab spring revolutions and now you want to silence the very things that made that possible .

You'll be on a very dark path if it passes .

You might want to read up on PIPA before you claim it's just an American thing.

Originally posted by oobla

If it passes just watch billions drain from the American ecconomy as many websites go to foriegn countrys to continue thier buisness .

Arn't you guys ment to be the land of the free ?

Seems to me like those are just words if SOPA becomes a reality .

I remember how much your news channels and politicians applauded the use of youtube in arab spring revolutions and now you want to silence the very things that made that possible .

You'll be on a very dark path if it passes .

America has been on a very dark path for several generations now. Over the last decade the trend towards authoritarism, and militarism has accelerated.  SOPA and PIPA are just the latest examples of the corruption that has taken hold of Washington, and other nation state capitals.  The various monied interests aren't even bothering to be subtle in their manipulations at this point. We are certainly living in "interesting" times...

So here we stand at the edge of totalitarian world.

Since I've only become aware of the impact SOPA could have in recent months, I can't really take back the money I've given to these SOPA supporters, but I'm now watching who supported the bill and making sure not to fund their little war effort against sanity and freedom.  I'm already dropping out of SWTOR in part because of how linear it is, but also because EA doesn't deserve my money for their support of bills like this.

Originally posted by slickbizzle

Originally posted by evolver1972

Originally posted by slickbizzle

Originally posted by gaeanprayer

Originally posted by slickbizzle

Originally posted by Cambruin

Oh come on. Freedom against oppression? When people/companies invest time into a project, expecting to be able to make a living of it, do you consider it normal for a bunch of college-dropouts and teenagers to simply download their products? You're not only stealing from these multi-billion $ corporations. You're also stealing from their employees, who may run out of jobs because their titles didn't sell well enough. You're stealing from small-time independant artists who may not get enough revenue for their next project, forcing them to quit their line of work.

 

Freedom against oppression? If violent thugs start having daily raids on whatever area, would you be surprised when law-enforcement applies zero tolerance? Freedom against oppression?

 

These illegal activites have to be stopped. If 'SOPA' is what it takes to do it, then so be it. Blame your fellow leeches for it. I know I am. I don't like that SOPA any more than they do, but I have it enforced upon me because of their selfishness and downright stupidity.

 

I agree with this.  

 

On the other hand:  I wish I lived such a drama-free life that I could convince myself that this is the most important cause I can take up.    I kind of envy the "They are trying to oppress us!" people.

 

What you and people like you are completely missing (which means you didn't read this article, since it addresses it) is that SOPA is worded in a way that creates a gray area for censorship beyond the scope of piracy. Very, VERY few people are complaining about the piracy portion of it. Most don't care. What people are concerned with is how this affects the internet and, ironically, the entertainment industry as a whole. Reading about the things you are defending is a good idea.

 

I lived a LOT of years before there even was the internet.  I can survive if they shut the thing down.   Whatever regulations they decide on is what they decide on.  I'm not going to turn an internet bill into a "righteous cause against what is destroying the very root of our society and my freedom" type thing. It's not that important to me. 

That has to be the scariest statement of apathy I've ever read.  I wonder if you would have the same feelings about something you do care about.  Maybe if they proposed legislation to let you only buy so much gas per year?  Or how much electicity you can use?  People lived well enough before those things, I'm sure you can live without them now. 

 

If the internet is not that important to you...stop using it.  If you don't care about your right to free speech and expression...I'm sure North Korea has room for you.  Stopping these bills and their cousins are nothing short of a fight for our freedom from corporate and government oppression.  If things like this are allowed to pass, we will find ourselves at the mercy of those who "own" everything.

 

You may not care about the internet, but you will if its freedom is stunted.  Whether you like it or not, the internet is interwoven into the very fabric of our lives.  There is nothing on this planet that is not directly or indirectly touched by the internet.  To put it fully in control of the very few corporate and government interests is to put those interests in control of us.   You may not like your freedom, but I like mine and will exercise my rights to express myself freely and to vote to help make sure bills like this don't get passed. 

 

I understand now that not being able to "express myself" on the internet is right up there with dictatorships imposing gas and energy restrictions.

Thank you for that info.

 

 

It absolutely is right up there with dictatorships imposing gas and energy restrictions.  Without that freedom of speech and expression, you have no recourse to try to remove either the restrictions or the dictator.  The main reason that dictators are able to get away with imposing those restrictions is that the people they oppress don't have the freedom to express themselves.  So, go ahead and trade your free expression for your "security" and see how long you really are "secure".

Thanks to the mods for apparently not wanting me to call out an oppressive dictatorship.  Or not wanting me to talk about government or corporate oppression.  Hard to tell which since they deleted the whole second paragraph of my original post.