# Let's talk SOPA **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 17, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280 "2011-11-17T22:32:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/81 "2012-01-18T18:00:32Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Whether or not you believe him, you can believe that he will have no problem taking a popular principled stand against the least popular piece of legislation passed during his term. > > I’m assuming a bit, of course; I have no idea if SOPA/PIPA are unpopular. However, I’m fairly certain they’re going to be after today. Obama had demonstrated again and again that he is owned by moneyed interests like Wall Street, repeatedly acting in favor of bankers and against people. Would not surprise me at all for Obama to turn out to be owned by Hollywood (MPAA RIAA) as well. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/82 "2012-01-18T18:04:07Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > _What_ means it is not over? That lots of Congressional web pages are down? No, that the other bill (PIPA, I think) is still going. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/83 "2012-01-18T18:06:15Z")
_shrug_ the legislation has to pass the House either way. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/84 "2012-01-18T18:08:01Z")
It would totally suck if I found out that Mr Obama were completely in the pocket of moneyed interests. Dang it! I didn’t vote for another Bush. He sure as heck better veto this crap or a bunch of people are going to rise up. Sometimes, I actually understand the Occupy movement. This is one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/85 "2012-01-18T18:14:32Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > _shrug_ the legislation has to pass the House either way. I think the logic by some is that after SOPA is defeated, everyone will rest on their laurels and think it’s over, allowing PIPA (or some other similar bill) to sneak by under the radar when the Reps feel it’s safe. Of course, with some major companies watching things like a hawk now, it’s a lot less likely, but still. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/86 "2012-01-18T18:16:10Z")
> [@robinson](#): > > Which means it is not over. We are going to see this zombie rise again. Both parties have been bought off by the entertainment/media industry. The media giants will not rest until they OWN the internet, excuse me, the RupertNet (CR). The same technology that prevents piracy can/will also be used to hobble political dissent. We don’t need more one-party states like China or South Carolina. I said this earlier, but it bears repeating. The money scales now tip heavily in favor of companies that are anti-SOPA. You cannot fight the combined might of Microsoft, Facebook, and Google. The Internet has spoken. EDIT: And Apple, though they’re much less vocal about their anti-SOPA stance than the other three. ---
**Author:** ![FixMyIgnorance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FixMyIgnorance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FixMyIgnorance)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/87 "2012-01-18T18:21:29Z")
Curious on your guys’ views: Apologies if it’s a tired debate, but: Do you support piracy? Is piracy good/bad? I’m well aware of the “wouldn’t buy it anyway” argument, but I’m still curious what you think. Who does piracy hurt? Help? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/88 "2012-01-18T18:22:13Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I think the logic by some is that after SOPA is defeated, everyone will rest on their laurels and think it’s over, allowing PIPA (or some other similar bill) to sneak by under the radar when the Reps feel it’s safe. > > Of course, with some major companies watching things like a hawk now, it’s a lot less likely, but still. I guess that would be a worry if not for our corporate protectors, as it were. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/89 "2012-01-18T18:23:38Z")
> [@FixMyIgnorance](#): > > Apologies if it’s a tired debate, but: Do you support piracy? Is piracy good/bad? No one can “support” piracy, as by its very definition its theft of intellectual property. I don’t believe that one download = one lost sale (that’s just lunacy), but piracy is, de facto, a bad thing due to the theft angle. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/90 "2012-01-18T18:31:44Z")
> [@FixMyIgnorance](#): > > Apologies if it’s a tired debate, but: Do you support piracy? Is piracy good/bad? No, I don’t support piracy. Much of the opposition to SOPA/PIPA comes from the fact that it won’t actually combat piracy while having potentially devastating consequences for much of the legitimate internet. As for the more general question of piracy away from SOPA, it’s the same crap with Napster, only taken to the next level. Bringing down Napster did nothing to fight music piracy. Providing a decent website with decent prices (iTunes) did reduce piracy. You can blame all your woes on pirates, if you want, but the simpler explanation (because it’s true) is that the music/movie/content oligopolies simply don’t want to change with the times. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/91 "2012-01-18T18:33:38Z")
> [@FixMyIgnorance](#): > > Curious on your guys’ views: > > Apologies if it’s a tired debate, but: Do you support piracy? Is piracy good/bad? > > I’m well aware of the “wouldn’t buy it anyway” argument, but I’m still curious what you think. Who does piracy hurt? Help? Piracy’s morality depends on what you’re doing, imo. I think it’s at worst light gray pirating property (for PERSONAL USE ONLY) if it’s abandoned and nobody has any current plans to market it, it’s in a foreign language that you can’t understand it and there are no localization plans for your region (though you should still import the original), or if there’s ridiculous DRM involved (i.e. the kind that deprives your of your property if you reformat your computer 5 times, or it harms the OS). Pirating because you’re a cheapskate is pretty bad, however (though **sometimes** it can be darker gray rather than black). I think it’s semi-useful as a way to share lost and forgotten things, or boycott companies in a semi-creative way, but I wouldn’t shed too many tears if it got killed. The problem comes in that SOPA/PIPA would fail on that terribly, however. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/92 "2012-01-18T18:39:41Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > Hopefully a lot of people are contacting their senators. I went to Wikipedia, put in my zip code, and it gave me the contact information for my representative and senators. I was able to get to my representative’s contact page and send a message, but for both my senators it said “Sorry, the web page you have requested is experiencing technical difficulties. The Webmaster has been alerted.” It’s taken a long time to get through, but I managed to get an email off to my rep and one senator. Still working on the other senator. It does work, eventually. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/93 "2012-01-18T18:53:26Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I said this earlier, but it bears repeating. **The money scales now tip heavily in favor of companies that are anti-SOPA. You cannot fight the combined might of Microsoft, Facebook, and Google. The Internet has spoken.** > > EDIT: And Apple, though they’re much less vocal about their anti-SOPA stance than the other three. You sure about that? Have you seen the list of companies supporting SOPA posted a few posts back? There’s some real heavyweights in there…the NFL, Comcast, Direct TV, ESPN, Ford (???), MLB, the NBA, Mastercard, Merck and a bunch more. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/94 "2012-01-18T19:06:29Z")
We are all screwed. This what we all feared way back when this network was created. Corporations are ‘people’ now. So, this is what happens. And will happen. Oh golly, I hope I am wrong. \ ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/95 "2012-01-18T19:14:41Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > We are all screwed. > This what we all feared way back when this network was created. > > Corporations are ‘people’ now. > So, this is what happens. > And will happen. Are you reading a different thread from this one? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/96 "2012-01-18T19:21:11Z")
Discovered the minibar mid-thread, perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/97 "2012-01-18T19:22:23Z")
So seriously…why is a company like Ford Motor Co. on that list of pro-SOPA corporations? I get the TV/media/content provider, etc companies on there…but an automaker? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/98 "2012-01-18T19:32:31Z")
Well, obviously they’re concerned someone might steal from their supply of meaningless car model names. They paid someone good money to come up with “Flex” and by gum, they want their money’s worth ! ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/99 "2012-01-18T19:39:26Z")
Chances that anything like the original bill will become law are now zero, in my opinion. Even the senators who were originally in favor of it are now saying they oppose it. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/100 "2012-01-18T19:46:32Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Chances that anything like the original bill will become law are now zero, in my opinion. Even the senators who were originally in favor of it are now saying they oppose it. The main risk is that the coin-operated politicians will simply wait until the heat dies down and try again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280.md?page=6)