There is no shortage of information available on this past week’s most heated conversation topic, the SOPA/PIPA debacle. What will probably be the most memorable piece or news this year will see, the fight put forward by the world against the groups and advocates that tried to strip the internet of the very foundation that makes it truly impactful.
The other day I posted a story about US President Obama critically slamming and turning down the bill. Following that, Geek Badge joined a slew of sites in blacking out our contents to the world in order to show these idiotic senates and political retards that we won’t lay down and take their big sloppy bull shit. Well, I think contextually, we cause a ripple effect that forced the world to see the issue at hand. This great video made by LeftMedia and shared by Gizmodo shows the effects of these bills.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBy7yooz3MM?rel=0]
All of this aside, and the slightly temporary victory we’ve scored, the battle shall continue. Regardless of how the “voices” inside the ESA perceived their trail, they still claim to back SOPA/PIPA 150%. This stokes the fires within our industry even further.
Bit by bit this morning video game sites (and large named video game sites) started outing the ESA even further. ESA is the one major organization that puts on and runs the E3 convention every year. Therefore, it is some people’s goal to protest E3 and not cover the once incomparable event. Does it have to go this far? Will these mere threats turn into an actual hold out on arguably the biggest video game convention in North America?
The answer is simple. Yes, but only if it has to come to that. These two killer pieces of legislature might be silenced for now, but they weren’t destroyed, they were only pushed aside. If yesterday’s extreme acts by Hacktavists Anonymous is any clue to the future, were going to be fighting or at least spectating in a cyber war for some time until one side gets what they want.
If the ESA still wish to get this bill passed, then don’t they deserve the backlash? If successful, they will theoretically make criminals of us all. I have seen the discouraging faces on my comrades and other people in this industry and it’s a hesitant sense of ultimate destruction. The smart ones, they know, they understand that everything they’ve ever wanted, any goals they work their asses off to achieve won’t matter if this is passed. It’s protest time, and the clock has only started ticking.
I found myself once again in a pickle; do I act like a “journalist” and pretend I don’t give a shit? Or do I stand up and fight for my dream. If they pass this bill, I will lose my dream, I will lose everything I’ve worked so hard for.
Kotaku was once a highlight in the industry for me. I almost looked up to them, and then they tucked their collective genitalia between their legs and sat on it. They claim that they will not take part in any SOPA protest because it is their job to relay the news, not make/be in it.
“Last night, on Twitter, a reader charged that we would be choosing pageviews over principle. Our principle is to serve our readers by bringing them news and opinion. That principle guides us to urge you to pay attention today and any other day to SOPA, to PIPA and to all the other wonderful or horrid things that affect video games, the Internet and your sense of what is right.” – Kotaku Article
Well FUCK THAT. It’s not about what we do as journalists right now; it’s about keeping our jobs and dignity as journalists and creative writers. If Kotaku isn’t willing to put up a fight for what they have made, then why should we? You ask. Turns out, were less willing to lose our livelihood than they seem to be.
I had yet another big decision to make on behalf of myself, my team here, the future of Geek Badge, and my future. We will take part in any and hopefully all protests to stop the ESA from backing SOPA and with any luck sink this idiotic mistake of an idea all together.
All I can say is Godspeed friends and fellow Geeks. Let’s fight to keep our internet.
“No sane person can be for SOPA,” Markus Persson (Mojang)
“Don’t just send a tweet or shake your head in anger. Do something.” gog.com
“Epic Games supports efforts that would stop overseas websites profiting from pirating our games, but we have to do that in a way that’s compatible with freedom of speech and due process of law. Thus, we do not support the current version of SOPA.” – Dana Cowley (Epic Games)
“We are extremely disappointed in this misguided legislation. We are also ashamed of the ESA for supporting a bill which is clearly not in the best interests of gamers or the game industry.” Mark Kern (CEO Red5 Games, right before stating they have cancelled their E3 appearance)
“At Bungie we tend to keep our collective nose out of state affairs. We can’t even come to a consensus on which bus line to take into Bellevue in the morning, let alone arrive at any unified conclusions regarding our equally congested political roadways. But we all agree that SOPA sucks. And we’re not alone.” Bungie
“Riot Games is opposed to SOPA/PIPA in their present form. While we do support efforts to prevent online piracy, the current form of this legislation comes at far too high a cost for us, our players, and online communities across the internet.” Brandon Beck (CEO and co-founder of Riot Games)
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