From the InvisionFree archive
Today you logged in to notice that our logo was censored as well as your avatar, signature and our team icons. You may have seen similar statements across the web today. These websites are making a stand and Zathyus Networks stands with them. The protest centers around two bills currently before the United States Congress. The first is the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) currently being debated in the House of Representatives. The second bill is the Protect IP Act (PIPA), which is due for debate in the US Senate. The content of these bills would change the internet as we have come to know it. Many of us feel that this change would not be for the better.
Our changes here will hopefully help draw attention to the dangers we feel this bill poses to Zathyus Networks and to all of you as board owners. While these bills were supposedly intended to help crack down on internet piracy, they open the door to several dangerous possibilities. Under the current language of the bill, any website can be shut down without notice, and without appeal, for a single incidence of copyright infringement. This could affect many of the sites you visit on a daily basis, including communities hosted on InvisionFree and ZetaBoards. We believe this puts too much power and control into the wrong hands, without checks and balances that have long been accepted practice. It risks being abused to the detriment of the internet as a whole.
We feel this bill deeply affects all message board owners and all message board providers and as such, we are emploring all of our members, whether they are citizens of the United States or not, to contact your representatives and let them know how this bill will impact you.
For more information on how to contact your representatives, or for more info on the bills themselves, here are a few links:
SOPA Explanations
- Michael Geist – SOPA: All Your Internets Belong to Us
- CNET – How SOPA would affect you: FAQ
- Lifehacker – All About SOPA, the Bill That’s Going to Cripple Your Internet
How to Contact One’s Representative
- Lifehacker guide: How to Contact and Properly Communicate with Your Representatives
- Contacting the Congress (Directory)
- Stop American Censorship (allows you to send a form letter automatically)
- Canadian MPs by Postal Code (Enter postal code, get MP and contact info)
- UK Parliament Directory (Search by name, constituency, etc.)
