Kat Walsh writes:
I am happy to see the Italian community behind
the opposition to the
proposed law because I do think it's contrary to what Wikimedia does,
and to see that there is consensus among the Italian community to do
something drastic; there will be a far greater effect on the Italian
wiki than a short blockage if bad laws are passed. (And part of
me--the part that's been around for a billion years--is thrilled to
see a community coming to such a decision on their own, via what
seems
like a reasonable process, without waiting for approval or support.)
Speaking only for myself, this precisely reflects my views. I applaud
the Italian Wikipedians' decision to challenge this law so directly.
But I'm not sure about denying access
completely for several days. I
think the action that was done may be too much, that maybe something
could have been done to
generate as much attention without cutting off access as much.
I understand Kat's doubts here, but my intuitive reaction, having
dealt with government censorship of various sorts for more than 20
years, is that more dramatic action is most likely to be effective in
persuading a government to change course. Governments that want to
censor -- like the USA, the United Kingdom (through its public-private
partnership), and now the Italian government -- tend to build up a lot
of inertia behind their policy choices. It's very hard to get a
government to change its mind. You have to challenge government
officials in a big, dramatic (and usually longer-lasting) way to get
their attention and make them responsive.
When you say "big and dramatic", what level of bribe did you have in mind
for Italian officials?