# 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:** 16\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/141 "2012-01-20T01:06:59Z")
There’s really two ways to combat piracy – 1. Make piracy so horribly painful that 99% of the pirates give up 2. Offer a better service than the pirates The first is almost ludicrous, because funnily enough, all of the difficult to crack DRM (which tends to be cracked anyway) relies on mechanisms that causes people to revolt and boycott the company (like Ubisoft’s “must always be online” DRM). The second is what Steam and iTunes are doing, and it works. I think movies and TV are still catching up. A season of TV, in my opinion, feels a little overpriced compared to other property, but I think Netflix’s streaming service is a step in the right direction. Edit: I also think movies are in the overpriced range, a DVD can cost 15-20 dollars for, what, two hours of entertainment? Sure, you can make the “you can play it whenever you want” argument, but it takes me at least 5 hours to beat most simple indie games, and those run you about 5-10 bucks. ---
**Author:** ![robinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/848f3c/32.png) [@robinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robinson)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/142 "2012-01-20T01:24:48Z")
Also take a look at SciFi internet publisher Baen. Beats all competitors on value & price, gives away a lot and still makes money. What’s not to like? ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/143 "2012-01-20T17:20:53Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > There’s really two ways to combat piracy – > > 1. Make piracy so horribly painful that 99% of the pirates give up > > 2. Offer a better service than the pirates Piracy works because the market price is based on extracting monopoly rents via patents and copyright. The only way to combat piracy is to eliminate this questionable feature from our economy. Some dude in his mom’s basement could not compete with a serious business and represents no threat whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![FixMyIgnorance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FixMyIgnorance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FixMyIgnorance)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/144 "2012-01-20T18:00:59Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > If so, why “must” the RIAA change with the times? Can’t anti-trust laws or other competitive measures be used to lure artists away from these organizations that refuse to change? Because their business model is antiquated and it’s failing. Instead of adapting to the new market landscape, they’re basically throwing money at legislation to change how consumers are forced to behave. That sort of thing will always be met with violent retaliation, especially in huge industries. > [@Jragon](#): > > There’s really two ways to combat piracy – > > 1. Make piracy so horribly painful that 99% of the pirates give up > > 2. Offer a better service than the pirates 100% agreed, but I think #2 is the best solution. #1 is ineffective at best, and annoying at worst. Either your security measures are non-intrusive and thus easy to crack, or they’re overbearingly intrusive/cumbersome and piss off everyone who uses the product (and wind up getting cracked anyway, which means now you’re just upsetting honest customers). Even if 99% of the pirates give up, all you need is one pirate who figures it out and makes it easily accessible for all other pirates. Pirates generally prefer top quality products if the price is fair. Pirated media comes with the risk of viruses/spyware/lower quality/bugs/lack of support. Most people would gladly skip all that and go straight for the good stuff if the alternatives aren’t unreasonable. ---
**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 20, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/145 "2012-01-20T18:04:29Z")
Just in case anyone missed it, PIPA has been killed as well. [http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544\_162-57362675-503544/pipa-sopa-put-on-hold-in-the-wake-of-protests/](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57362675-503544/pipa-sopa-put-on-hold-in-the-wake-of-protests/) ---
**Author:** ![Claptree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Claptree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claptree)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/146 "2012-01-20T19:22:20Z")
So. Anyone care to guess how many similarly intrusive but slightly different bills they’ll put forth before the public loses enough interest to get this shit passed? I’m thinking 3-7. ---
**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 20, 2012, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/147 "2012-01-20T19:29:50Z")
> [@Claptree](#): > > So. Anyone care to guess how many similarly intrusive but slightly different bills they’ll put forth before the public loses enough interest to get this shit passed? I’m thinking 3-7. Google/Wikipedia/Reddit are on the case. For any bill to pass, it’ll require a substantial rewrite. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/148 "2012-01-20T19:52:11Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Just in case anyone missed it, PIPA has been killed as well. > > [http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544\_162-57362675-503544/pipa-sopa-put-on-hold-in-the-wake-of-protests/](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57362675-503544/pipa-sopa-put-on-hold-in-the-wake-of-protests/) And the internet doth clap. And the YouTube did rejoice. And the minstrels were eaten. > [@Claptree](#): > > So. Anyone care to guess how many similarly intrusive but slightly different bills they’ll put forth before the public loses enough interest to get this shit passed? I’m thinking 3-7. RIAA can have their lobbyists, and the tentpoles of the internet is going to have their eyeballs all over their asses after this particular shenanigan. Perhaps _some_ measure can be put in place that will make sense and not cock-block the internet at large. But eventually Big Media has to adapt to the post-internet world, not the other way around. They’re just wasting their energy, annoying their consumers, and filling the pockets of politicians. For them, it comes down to money. For the internet and its users it comes down to vigilance and tenacity. I’ll stake my bet with the latter. ---
**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 22, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/149 "2012-01-22T22:24:57Z")
Chris Dodd is shocked, _shocked_ that his coin-operated politicians didn’t stay bought when the heat was on, and he’s getting [all pissy](http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2012/01/chris-dodd-needs-work-messaging/47697/) about it. Apparently, nobody ever explained one of the rules of politics – if you can’t take their money, drink their whisky, screw their hookers, and still vote against them, you don’t belong in the legislature. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/150 "2012-01-23T00:35:05Z")
Looks like the ESA has (finally) officially withdrawn its support for SOPA (I guess having the majority of the companies it purports to represent pulling support helped), which is funny considering how much they sang its praises earlier this month. > **[ESA Drops SOPA Support](https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/01/20/esa-drops-sopa-support.aspx)** > > The Entertainment Software Association, a trade group that represents > U.S video game publishers, has dropped its support for Stop Online > Piracy Act (SOPA). ---
**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 23, 2012, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/151 "2012-01-23T00:52:30Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Looks like the ESA has (finally) officially withdrawn its support for SOPA (I guess having the majority of the companies it purports to represent pulling support helped), which is funny considering how much they sang its praises earlier this month. I like to think Penny Arcade pointing out the slight problem of game companies “individually hating SOPA, but collectively thinking it’s awesome” played a part as well. ---
**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 23, 2012, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/152 "2012-01-23T04:54:19Z")
13 million messages is what did the trick. In the US, Arab Spring appears to be just around the corner. Bout damn time. ---
**Author:** ![TripleFail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@TripleFail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TripleFail)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2012, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/153 "2012-01-24T14:27:02Z")
Chris Dodd, president of MPAA hits back with the following: “Candidly, those who count on quote ‘Hollywood’ for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who’s going to stand up for them when their job is at stake. Don’t ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don’t pay any attention to me when my job is at stake.” Dodd continued: “I would caution people don’t make the assumption that because the quote ‘Hollywood community’ has been historically supportive of Democrats, which they have, don’t make the false assumptions this year that because we did it in years past, we will do it this year… These issues before us- this is the only issue that goes right to the heart of this industry.” > **[EXCLUSIVE: Chris Dodd warns of Hollywood backlash against Obama over...](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/exclusive-chris-dodd-warns-of-hollywood-backlash-against-obama-over-anti-piracy-bill)** > > Hollywood's top lobbyist and former Sen. Chris Dodd is threatening to cut off campaign funds to President Obama's re-election effort because of anger over the White House appearing to side with tech companies in a bitter fight over anti-piracy... Is that just me or that sounds dangerously close to bribery? Pass the law I paid you for or the check stops coming. I thought campaign weren’t suppose to have string attached as to not undermine the whole point of democracy. Am i missing something here? ---
**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 24, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/154 "2012-01-24T14:37:06Z")
_shrug_ Dodd is just acknowledging what’s been true for decades. ---
**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 24, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/155 "2012-01-24T21:52:08Z")
[The White House is being petitioned](http://betanews.com/2012/01/24/mpaa-chief-chris-dodd-fights-off-allegations-of-bribery/) to investigate whether Dodd crossed the line. At the very least, he danced a lot closer to it than lobbyists generally dare to go. ---
**Author:** ![FixMyIgnorance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7feea3/32.png) [@FixMyIgnorance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FixMyIgnorance)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280/156 "2012-01-26T22:57:13Z")
Obama cans SOPA/PIPA but signs ACTA. Why? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-sopa/603280.md?page=7)