Mythweavers is "Protesting" for 24 hours

[Vampfighter1]

Hey guys, I've cast my petition three times today. All I really want to do atm is rp.  

[Suicidesoldier#1]

Captain Ragnar Devonin

I was going to type up a long post, but then I realized I'm no good at this debating thing. My point wouldn't get across. I'm trying a more straightforward method.

Advertisements don't work.
- I have seen advertisements and notices about SOPA.
- I have seen messages everywhere about SOPA on almost every tech and gaming news site.
- The Senate's websites never crashed.
- Senators didn't drop from the bill very much.
- People who didn't understand the ramifications of SOPA had no real motivation.

The site shut downs... did work!
- 4 Senators today (AFAIK) dropped support of the bill.
- The Senate's websites are SLAMMED. That never happened before, that sends a message. This pisses people off. A lot of people.
- People who didn't understand SOPA now get it... No wikipedia, no reddit!
- Everyone else: it preys on what the general populace is known for: entitlement. They feel they have a right (not the privlidge it is) to use Wikipedia. Wikipedia denied them it, and gave them a focus for the anger. SOPA. Cue sites slammed, senate dropping support as floods of angry people flock to complain.

Actually, now that I think of it. Wikipedia/Reddit/etc... sound like devious asshats. Anger is a good motivator, denying people what they feel entitled to is a good way to generate anger (ask anyone who has worked retail), and with their loaded gun they gave a link to senate websites and SOPA and pulled the trigger.
There's a point in there somewhere. Maybe someone who is better with words can find it and put it better.

THIS POST HAS BEEN CENSORED BY SOPA

 

[Suicidesoldier#1]

Seph Baelzara

Suicidesoldier#1

Seph Baelzara

Suicidesoldier#1

Seph Baelzara

Suicidesoldier#1

THIS POST HAS BEEN CENSORED BY SOPA

Okay, let's assume something for a moment.
I am your typical, every day, average internet user who uses it leisurely. About the age of 14 (22 IRL, but for the sake of arguments, let's go with this age). I don't care about politics, nor do I care about anything that isn't in "my" world.
Mom, dad, or my guardian has me use Firefox for internet browsing. They've set up parental controls so I don't see porn, and they've also installed Ad Block+ and NoScript so I don't run into any questionable ads or anything that may give their computer a virus or unwanted trojan. Actually, I won't see any ads at all because of these add-ons.

I know where I want to go, perhaps to a game site, or to my favorite forum. I won't see these advertisements unless I visit a site that's actively protesting.

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Continuing from my assumption of that I'm a 14 year old.
I've established that I know how to use the internet, so let's go a step further and say I play some games too. And by extension, I go to a forum, perhaps not Gaia, but one much like it. Maybe Solia? Maybe some little budding community that none of us here know about. Anyways, I'm in contact with people of all ages, whether I know it or not.
I visit one of these sites that is taking part in this protest, I'm confused. So first I ask my parent about it. Or perhaps I would ask the forum's community, since they're right there. It sounds grave, right? It must be urgent if places like Wikipedia are blocked (I would logically head there seeking answers), and Google has changed as well, as has my favorite site. I don't know why.
I ask around, learn that this is a bad thing. While yes, I cannot vote right now. I'm 14. But I can talk to this with my parents. I can talk to my friends online. I can perpetuate the knowledge of this "bad guy" knowing that knowledge is the power that will defeat it. I know people who can vote, who can do more than just write letters, and call companies and people. Just because I'm a minor doesn't mean I'm powerless. In just 4 years I can vote! I can get rid of these bad people!

Were this information all within advertisements, that I've already established, I cannot see in the first place, I would not know this. I would stay ignorant. I wouldn't know that one luxury I enjoy on a casual basis is in danger of going away forever.

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... Okay, you've clearly missed something, here.
In my theoretical situation of a 14 year old kid who learns of SOPA, they...
-learn of its existence and becomes curious of it
-learn that a lot of sites, including his (just for ease of this writer) favorite site, Wikipedia where he gets his information, Google, and many other sites are down with this four letter word on it
-learns through word of mouth, or other ways, that this is bad.

If one of these steps is skipped, the whole process falls apart. If sites didn't raise awareness to such a severe degree (like Gaia did with the bar of SOPA) this child would've brushed it off and never had asked or searched deeper.
If Wikipedia and/or Google remained unchanged, then clearly it wasn't too bad, right? His go-to sites for information are still there! So everything must be all right, right? Clearly his favorite site must be having an event or something silly like that. So no need to go further!
And the third step just not existing should be obvious. It's a chain of events that leads to this enlightenment.

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[Suicidesoldier#1]

Seph Baelzara

Suicidesoldier#1

THIS POST HAS BEEN CENSORED BY SOPA

... You clearly don't get it.
I'm done with you and your ignorance.

Seph, out.

THIS POST HAS BEEN CENSORED BY SOPA

 

[Captain Ragnar Devonin]

Please show sources.

If you can show a day where 4 senators dropped support of SOPA on the same day (the fact that it was this day is no coincidence) - then your "it was working" has merit.

If you can only show an occasional senator dropping support here and there, it wasn't working very well before. Today made it work better (as 4 is better than 1).

The same for the senate's website being slammed with people complaining. Got a link to a source saying this happened before?

You can't just make statements without backing them up. Spork provided a link earlier to the former, I provided one to the latter.

And I'm talking people actually pushing this bill, i.e. Senators, like today - not people who supported it switching sides, like tech/gaming companies.  

[Rain Yupa]

@ Mostly everyone in the thread:

Please stop feeding the troll. It is exactly what the troll wants.

Yours truly,

Rain.  

[Suicidesoldier#1]

Rain Yupa

@ Mostly everyone in the thread:

Please stop feeding the troll. It is exactly what the troll wants.

Yours truly,

Rain.

It's only trolling if I'm wrong.  

[Captain Ragnar Devonin]

@Rain: But I'm bored! And Gaia is actually working on my phone today! xD Today has been a slow day and I totally want to make the post of this Gaia-working-phone thing.  

[Rain Yupa]

Captain Ragnar Devonin

@Rain: But I'm bored! And Gaia is actually working on my phone today! xD Today has been a slow day and I totally want to make the post of this Gaia-working-phone thing.

Okay. I guess you can, since you were the old commander-in-chief.

But no one else!  

[Suicidesoldier#1]

Captain Ragnar Devonin

Please show sources.

If you can show a day where 4 senators dropped support of SOPA on the same day (the fact that it was this day is no coincidence) - then your "it was working" has merit.

If you can only show an occasional senator dropping support here and there, it wasn't working very well before. Today made it work better (as 4 is better than 1).

The same for the senate's website being slammed with people complaining. Got a link to a source saying this happened before?

You can't just make statements without backing them up. Spork provided a link earlier to the former, I provided one to the latter.

And I'm talking people actually pushing this bill, i.e. Senators, like today - not people who supported it switching sides, like tech/gaming companies.

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[Captain Ragnar Devonin]

Abuse of power privlidges! Oh yeah!

Too bad I only have about 10 more minutes before I gotta get to bed. I guess we'll see if this is still working later. Otherwise this will be my last post nonetheless. >.<  

[Suicidesoldier#1]

House shelves thingy.

That was written three days ago, long before much of this took off.


These guys, main peepsz, dropped out officially on Tuesday, but were convinced obviously long before...

This all happened before the protests, yet it's being erroneously attributed to the protests by sights like these despite it saying in the article itself that they dropped out before the protests even began! .___.


By misleading titles such as "Bills lose three co-sponsors amid protests".

So there's some for now.  

[Captain Ragnar Devonin]

First: Only the one site will work on my phone, that makes a counter-point difficult to achieve. Stupid phone.
Two: After waking up, my previous night's boredom is no longer with me so... I'm going to go back to not caring about this topic while I sit in my igloo up here in Canada. I'll just agree to disagree.
Three: Rain, here is the code for the deletion cannon: 3565EH?2345. You may fire when ready.

Four: Being only able to sleep 4 hours a night, waking up at least twice, and still being able to call it a decent sleep sucks. Hrm.