SOPA/PROTECT Blackout

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Richard Symonds

17 Jan 2012 17 Jan '12

2:11 a.m.

All, Just a followup email to let you know that the English Wikipedia community have decided on an action for the English Wikipedia with regard to the SOPA and PROTECT acts. The English Wikipedia will be blacked out, worldwide, from 5am GMT on 18 January. The blackout will last for roughly 24 hours. There's a timer counting down at http://www.worldtimebuddy.com/event?lid=0 <http://www.worldtimebuddy.com/event?lid=0&h=0&sts=22114080&sln=5-6&a=show&e uid=2a1130f2-81f4-e3c4-7d37-0a1c1001632d> &h=0&sts=22114080&sln=5-6&a=show&euid=2a1130f2-81f4-e3c4-7d37-0a1c1001632d. If you get any UK press interest, forward them to Jon and me in the office on 020 7065 0990, or to press(a)wikimedia.org.uk. We have a few volunteers with press experience who will be helping out, too (many thanks to them, they know who they are!) Bear in mind that tomorrow will be extremely busy in the WMF and WMUK offices, even though Wikipedia itself will be down. The key points to remember are: . It's the community who decided to do this - not a decree from Jimmy or the WMF, and not Wikimedia UK. We all support the decision of the community, however - we're all in this together . These acts are something that will hurt the freedom of information globally, even though they're (on the surface) US laws. This may well affect every .com, .org or .net site worldwide . Non-English Wikipedias may (or may) be blacking out, depending on the views of their individual communities If you have any major problems over the course of the next 48 hours, or a press query, please get in touch. And if you're looking for something to do, Commons isn't being blacked out, and I imagine that there is a fair categorisation backlog. All the best, Richard Symonds Office & Development Manager Wikimedia UK -- Wikimedia UK is the operating name of Wiki UK Limited, a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Our Registered Charity No. is 1144513. The Registered Office is 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. Wikimedia UK is the local chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects). It is an independent non-profit organization with no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents. Visit <http://www.wikimedia.org.uk/> http://www.wikimedia.org.uk/ and @wikimediauk

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Tom Morris

17 Jan 17 Jan

3:19 a.m.

And those of you who are entering panic mode about not being able to edit the wiki for 24 hours, why not take it as an opportunity to try editing one of the sister projects? It's looking like the sister projects are going to remain online. Come write something for Wikinews! ;-) -- Tom Morris <http://tommorris.org/>

Gordon Joly

10:51 a.m.

On 17/01/2012 02:19, Tom Morris wrote:

...

Over to Commons? What about Wiktionary...??? http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blackout Gordo -- Gordon Joly gordon.joly(a)pobox.com http://www.joly.org.uk/ Don't Leave Space To The Professionals!

Roger Bamkin

11:11 a.m.

... and reading the talk page I see that Simple will be up and running despite the banner running on the site. On 17 January 2012 09:51, Gordon Joly <gordon.joly(a)pobox.com> wrote:

...

On 17/01/2012 02:19, Tom Morris wrote:

Over to Commons? What about Wiktionary...??? http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blackout Gordo -- Gordon Joly gordon.joly(a)pobox.com http://www.joly.org.uk/ Don't Leave Space To The Professionals! _______________________________________________ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediauk-l(a)wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org

-- Roger Bamkin Chair WMUK <http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Board> 01332 702993 0758 2020815 Google+:Victuallers Skype:Victuallers1 Flickr:Victuallers2

David Gerard

9:20 a.m.

Do we have a list of just who people should contact in the UK? People will ask. (I still don't actually know.) Have we got even slightly geolocated notices that can have this in them? - d.

Roger Bamkin

9:21 a.m.

Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia UK's office is on 020 7065 0990 with press enquiries at press(a)wikimedia.org.uk. On 17 January 2012 08:20, David Gerard <dgerard(a)gmail.com> wrote:

...

Do we have a list of just who people should contact in the UK? People will ask. (I still don't actually know.) Have we got even slightly geolocated notices that can have this in them? - d. _______________________________________________ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediauk-l(a)wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org

-- Roger Bamkin Chair WMUK <http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/Board> 01332 702993 0758 2020815 Google+:Victuallers Skype:Victuallers1 Flickr:Victuallers2

Richard Symonds

1:48 p.m.

AFAIK, there hasn't been time to put in proper geolocation notices, and the WMF are still asleep (it's 4 or 5am there). However, I believe the best place to forward any comments would be the Foreign Office. That said, I think there's a petition being set up, however... -----Original Message----- From: wikimediauk-l-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:wikimediauk-l-bounces@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of David Gerard Sent: 17 January 2012 08:20 To: wikimediauk-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimediauk-l] SOPA/PROTECT Blackout Do we have a list of just who people should contact in the UK? People will ask. (I still don't actually know.) Have we got even slightly geolocated notices that can have this in them? - d. _______________________________________________ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediauk-l(a)wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org

Harry Burt

1:51 p.m.

I note that there is a petition with 280 signatures available at: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/26143 It seems to be fairly strongly (but not badly IMHO) worded, so therefore worthy of our support if we can get geolocation going. -- Harry (User:Jarry1250) On Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 12:48 PM, Richard Symonds < richard.symonds(a)wikimedia.org.uk> wrote:

...

Thomas Dalton

2:05 p.m.

On 17 January 2012 12:51, Harry Burt <harryaburt(a)gmail.com> wrote:

...

I'd rather we wrote out own petition. We should focus on the freedom aspects and the workability of the acts, not things like job losses (which I'm not even sure are true).

Harry Burt

2:16 p.m.

Fair point. As of time of writing, the U.S. Congress is currently considering the issue of whether to tighten internet policing laws with regard to digital rights enforcement. Whilst the overall goal of these pieces of proposed legislation (mostly notably those known as SOPA and PIPA) is not necessarily disagreeable, the suggested mechanisms for rights enforcement risk damaging the quality, quantity and free character of speech on the internet. Given the global nature of the internet, we, the undersigned, feel that the British Government should consider the possible impact of these measures on British citizens, and are confident that upon doing so it would see the overt and immediate need to speak out on our behalf in this matter. My stab at things. Thoughts? Does it need more explanation? Or is brevity key? -- Harry On Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 1:05 PM, Thomas Dalton <thomas.dalton(a)gmail.com>wrote;wrote:

...

On 17 January 2012 12:51, Harry Burt <harryaburt(a)gmail.com> wrote:

I'd rather we wrote out own petition. We should focus on the freedom aspects and the workability of the acts, not things like job losses (which I'm not even sure are true). _______________________________________________ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediauk-l(a)wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org

David Gerard

2:18 p.m.

On 17 January 2012 13:16, Harry Burt <harryaburt(a)gmail.com> wrote:

...

As of time of writing, the U.S. Congress is currently considering the issue of whether to tighten internet policing laws with regard to digital rights enforcement. Whilst the overall goal of these pieces of proposed legislation (mostly notably those known as SOPA and PIPA) is not necessarily disagreeable, the suggested mechanisms for rights enforcement risk damaging the quality, quantity and free character of speech on the internet. Given the global nature of the internet, we, the undersigned, feel that the British Government should consider the possible impact of these measures on British citizens, and are confident that upon doing so it would see the overt and immediate need to speak out on our behalf in this matter. My stab at things. Thoughts? Does it need more explanation? Or is brevity key?

FT2 wrote a good one on the comcom list ... - d.

Harry Burt

2:22 p.m.

Cool. Then I suggest someone with access to that list put it up [1]. -- Harry (User:Jarry1250) [1] https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/new On Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 1:18 PM, David Gerard <dgerard(a)gmail.com> wrote:

...

On 17 January 2012 13:16, Harry Burt <harryaburt(a)gmail.com> wrote:

As of time of writing, the U.S. Congress is currently considering the

issue

of whether to tighten internet policing laws with regard to digital

rights

enforcement. Whilst the overall goal of these pieces of proposed

legislation

(mostly notably those known as SOPA and PIPA) is not necessarily disagreeable, the suggested mechanisms for rights enforcement risk

damaging

the quality, quantity and free character of speech on the internet. Given the global nature of the internet, we, the undersigned, feel that the British Government should consider the possible impact of these measures

British citizens, and are confident that upon doing so it would see the overt and immediate need to speak out on our behalf in this matter. My stab at things. Thoughts? Does it need more explanation? Or is brevity key?

FT2 wrote a good one on the comcom list ... - d. _______________________________________________ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediauk-l(a)wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org

Gordon Joly

2:49 p.m.

On 17/01/2012 13:05, Thomas Dalton wrote:

...

On 17 January 2012 12:51, Harry Burt<harryaburt(a)gmail.com> wrote:

I'd rather we wrote out own petition. We should focus on the freedom aspects and the workability of the acts, not things like job losses (which I'm not even sure are true).

I tend to agree. The words is strong, and does not scan that well since it launches into a mixed diatribe. It does not set the scene, and scream wildly about China and syria and all stations in between. Gordo P.S. Here is another petition that I urge you sign. And look at the wording... http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/20968 since it much better example of how to word a petition.... IMHO P.P.S. Save BBC World Service! -- Gordon Joly gordon.joly(a)pobox.com http://www.joly.org.uk/ Don't Leave Space To The Professionals!

Alison M. Wheeler

4:28 p.m.

One thing to make clear when talking to anyone about this is that whilst SOPA/PIPA are proposals in the USA, they are *explicitly* targeted to "foreign" websites. And though the DNS aspect may have been delayed at present it is still in there and will be re-introduced at a later stage. This permits them to block DNS resolution for .COM .NET .ORG and some other TLDs, no matter that the owner of the website/webservice concerned may be in the UK (aka not in the USA), and the servers may be in the UK and the users may be in the UK *and even if geo-IP is used to ensure that only non-USA people can access the site/service then SOPA/PIPA would *still* permit that site to be blocked / taken offline. Also, given that even .UK .IT .NO and all the rest of the ccTLDs refer back to the dozen of so root DNS servers, they too could be poisened under the draft bill as it exists. So make no bones about it, these proposals *will* affect just about every country in the world if they go through. AlisonW

Harry Burt

5:19 p.m.

...

Michael Peel

5:53 p.m.

Hi all, Personal opinion: The best place to discuss UK-specific text, including for the proposed petition, would be on-wiki at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Proposed_Messages since it would probably have to be a community-driven action rather than a WMUK/WMF one, as with the other non-technical aspects of the blackout (but feel free to disagree with that. ;-) ). Thanks, Mike On 17 Jan 2012, at 16:19, Harry Burt wrote:

...

Just to say that I asked on IRC and there is no technical issue with having a UK-only petition appeal appear on the page, if we can get a petition up and potentially get as much consensus for it as we can in the meantime. -- Harry (User:Jarry1250) On Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 3:28 PM, Alison M. Wheeler <wikimedia(a)alisonwheeler.com> wrote: One thing to make clear when talking to anyone about this is that whilst SOPA/PIPA are proposals in the USA, they are *explicitly* targeted to "foreign" websites. And though the DNS aspect may have been delayed at present it is still in there and will be re-introduced at a later stage. This permits them to block DNS resolution for .COM .NET .ORG and some other TLDs, no matter that the owner of the website/webservice concerned may be in the UK (aka not in the USA), and the servers may be in the UK and the users may be in the UK *and even if geo-IP is used to ensure that only non-USA people can access the site/service then SOPA/PIPA would *still* permit that site to be blocked / taken offline. Also, given that even .UK .IT .NO and all the rest of the ccTLDs refer back to the dozen of so root DNS servers, they too could be poisened under the draft bill as it exists. So make no bones about it, these proposals *will* affect just about every country in the world if they go through. AlisonW _______________________________________________ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediauk-l(a)wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org _______________________________________________ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediauk-l(a)wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org

Harry Burt

5:58 p.m.

On Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 4:53 PM, Michael Peel <michael.peel(a)wikimedia.org.uk

...

wrote:

...

Thanks Mike. I have created https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Action/UK_petitionas a rough first draft, based on some wording from FT2, which I hope he won't mind me using. Note that that page refers to the official blurb *of the petition*, not the wording that goes on the blackout page itself. All comments welcome :) -- Harry (User;Jarry1250)

Gordon Joly

11:45 p.m.

On 17/01/2012 15:28, Alison M. Wheeler wrote:

...

Also, given that even .UK .IT .NO and all the rest of the ccTLDs refer back to the dozen of so root DNS servers, they too could be poisened under the draft bill as it exists. So make no bones about it, these proposals*will* affect just about every country in the world if they go through. AlisonW

So who owns the Internet? Who has ultimate authority over DNS? Gordo -- Gordon Joly gordon.joly(a)pobox.com http://www.joly.org.uk/ Don't Leave Space To The Professionals!

Alison M. Wheeler

11:58 p.m.

----- Original Message -----

...

From: "Gordon Joly" <gordon.joly(a)pobox.com> So who owns the Internet? Who has ultimate authority over DNS?

A very good question indeed ;-P And the answer, of course, is it depends on who you are talking to. Even though it shouldn't. And the people in one country disagree with the rest of the world. AlisonW

Mark (Markie)

18 Jan 18 Jan

12:15 a.m.

On Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 10:58 PM, Alison M. Wheeler < wikimedia(a)alisonwheeler.com> wrote:

...

----- Original Message -----

From: "Gordon Joly" <gordon.joly(a)pobox.com> So who owns the Internet? Who has ultimate authority over DNS?

Currently the Root DNS servers are supervised by IANA, who in turn has to get permission from the US Department of Commerce if they want to change any of the root servers which hold the records for the TLDs, which then point to the nameservers for each different domain (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_name_server#Root_server_supervision and http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd197427(WS.10).aspx) As well as this potential area of influence for the US to control the DNS queries of the world, due to the whole nature of the internet, local networks can change/pollute DNS or network records on their networks (like the Youtube incident - http://www.ripe.net/internet-coordination/news/industry-developments/youtub… ). All in all there are many different areas and ways that any organisation (be it a government, organisation via court orders/injuctions or just IP networks making accidents) can interfer with the internet as it is. Regards, Mark

Gordon Joly

12:40 p.m.

On 17/01/2012 22:58, Alison M. Wheeler wrote:

...

----- Original Message -----

From: "Gordon Joly"<gordon.joly(a)pobox.com> So who owns the Internet? Who has ultimate authority over DNS?

Alison, It was two questions! :-) Gordo -- Gordon Joly gordon.joly(a)pobox.com http://www.joly.org.uk/ Don't Leave Space To The Professionals!

Harry Burt

1:20 p.m.

Okay, so http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/27728 is now available, the product of the earlier conversations on this list and onwiki. Thoughts on linking to it in a completely voluntary manner from the blackout notice? Time is of the essence, rather. -- Harry On Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 11:40 AM, Gordon Joly <gordon.joly(a)pobox.com> wrote:

...

On 17/01/2012 22:58, Alison M. Wheeler wrote:

----- Original Message -----

From: "Gordon Joly"<gordon.joly(a)pobox.com> So who owns the Internet? Who has ultimate authority over DNS?

A very good question indeed ;-P And the answer, of course, is it depends on who you are talking to. Even

though it shouldn't. And the people in one country disagree with the rest of the world.

AlisonW

Alison, It was two questions! :-) Gordo -- Gordon Joly gordon.joly(a)pobox.com http://www.joly.org.uk/ Don't Leave Space To The Professionals! _______________________________________________ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediauk-l(a)wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org

David Gerard

1:23 p.m.

On 18 January 2012 12:20, Harry Burt <harryaburt(a)gmail.com> wrote:

...

If it passes Foundation legal muster ... do it. - d.

Charles Matthews

8:03 p.m.

Channel 4 News is running a story 1925 hrs. Charles

Gordon Joly

8:03 p.m.

I am told that if you disable JavaScript you can see the light. Ah. That's better! Gordo -- Gordon Joly gordon.joly(a)pobox.com http://www.joly.org.uk/ Don't Leave Space To The Professionals!

Alison M. Wheeler

8:25 p.m.

...

From: "Gordon Joly" <gordon.joly(a)pobox.com> I am told that if you disable JavaScript you can see the light.

Harry Burt

19 Jan 19 Jan

1:09 a.m.

Or numerous other methods to avoid the blackout. I believe the same FA is going to run for 48 hours. -- Harry (User:Jarry1250) On Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 7:25 PM, Alison M. Wheeler < wikimedia(a)alisonwheeler.com> wrote:

...

From: "Gordon Joly" <gordon.joly(a)pobox.com> I am told that if you disable JavaScript you can see the light.

Indeed. And what is more, the main page doesn't lead with the SOPA news (but does include a featured article, which I feel quite sad for as few will see it), likewise the [[Portal:Current events]] completely omits the days big event. Given that mobile users, non-scripting browsers, etc. can see these pages it seems somehow wrong that there is nothing on them. AlisonW _______________________________________________ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediauk-l(a)wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org

John Vandenberg

18 Jan 18 Jan

2:51 a.m.

On Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 9:45 AM, Gordon Joly <gordon.joly(a)pobox.com> wrote:

...

On 17/01/2012 15:28, Alison M. Wheeler wrote: Also, given that even .UK .IT .NO and all the rest of the ccTLDs refer back to the dozen of so root DNS servers, they too could be poisened under the draft bill as it exists. So make no bones about it, these proposals *will* affect just about every country in the world if they go through. AlisonW So who owns the Internet? Who has ultimate authority over DNS?

Nobody owns the Internet. DNS is distributed. The US is the manager of the "root zone". Every user can choose which DNS server they consider authoritative. There are options, like Google and OpenDNS. https://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/docs/using.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDNS Every ISP can choose who they use as the authority of DNS resolutions. Every operating system can use deploy a new DNS resolution authority. Every web-browser could override the default DNS resolution provided by the operating system. All of the above currently choose to accept the US managed DNS root zone as the authority, but only because the US govt has not tried to interfere. It would be a shock to the Internet infrastructure if we needed to select a new manager, but it would hardly be noticed by the average end-user. -- John Vandenberg

Harry Burt

17 Jan 17 Jan

11:24 p.m.

Okay, so, in any case, I think we're too late on this now. I have submitted a wording in line with FT2's, but there's no guarantee that it will be processed and made available to sign in anything like the timescales we need. It's a shame, but then, all that was at stake was a parliamentary debate and a little publicity anyhow. -- Harry (User:Jarry1250) On Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 1:05 PM, Thomas Dalton <thomas.dalton(a)gmail.com>wrote;wrote:

...

On 17 January 2012 12:51, Harry Burt <harryaburt(a)gmail.com> wrote:

Jon Davies

2:09 p.m.

I have asked Richard to put the link on our blog on the grounds that it is third party but people can support if they choose. Quoting Harry Burt <harryaburt(a)gmail.com>om>:

...

-- Jon Davies - Chief Executive Wikimedia UK. 07976 935 986 tweet @jonatreesdavies Wikimedia UK is the operating name of Wiki UK Limited. Wiki UK Ltd is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513 Registered Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. United Kingdom. Telephone (0044) 207 065 0990. Wikimedia UK is the local chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects). It is an independent non-profit organization with no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents. Visit http://www.wikimedia.org.uk/ and @wikimediauk

Jon Davies

11:54 a.m.

Nicely put. Luckily we are all singing from the same song sheet. Are you coming in? A bit hectic here. Quoting Richard Symonds <richard.symonds(a)wikimedia.org.uk>uk>:

...

Harry Burt

12:09 p.m.

What is the official UK call to action here? Emailing the embassy? Or could you create a Number10-esque petition? Or did I miss something else entirely? -- Harry (User:Jarry1250) On Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 10:54 AM, Jon Davies <jon.davies(a)wikimedia.org.uk>wrote;wrote:

...

Nicely put. Luckily we are all singing from the same song sheet. Are you coming in? A bit hectic here. Quoting Richard Symonds <richard.symonds(a)wikimedia.org.uk>uk>:

All, Just a followup email to let you know that the English Wikipedia

community

have decided on an action for the English Wikipedia with regard to the

SOPA

and PROTECT acts. The English Wikipedia will be blacked out, worldwide,

from

5am GMT on 18 January. The blackout will last for roughly 24 hours.

There's

a timer counting down at http://www.worldtimebuddy.com/event?lid=0 <

http://www.worldtimebuddy.com/event?lid=0&h=0&sts=22114080&sln=…

uid=2a1130f2-81f4-e3c4-7d37-0a1c1001632d>

&h=0&sts=22114080&sln=5-6&a=show&euid=2a1130f2-81f4-e3c4-7d37-0a1c1001632d.

If you get any UK press interest, forward them to Jon and me in the

office

on 020 7065 0990, or to press(a)wikimedia.org.uk. We have a few volunteers with press experience who will be helping out, too (many thanks to them, they know who they are!) Bear in mind that tomorrow will be extremely

busy

in the WMF and WMUK offices, even though Wikipedia itself will be down.

The

key points to remember are: . It's the community who decided to do this - not a decree from Jimmy or the WMF, and not Wikimedia UK. We all support the decision of

the

community, however - we're all in this together . These acts are something that will hurt the freedom of

information

globally, even though they're (on the surface) US laws. This may well

affect

every .com, .org or .net site worldwide . Non-English Wikipedias may (or may) be blacking out, depending

the views of their individual communities If you have any major problems over the course of the next 48 hours, or a press query, please get in touch. And if you're looking for something to

do,

Commons isn't being blacked out, and I imagine that there is a fair categorisation backlog. All the best, Richard Symonds Office & Development Manager Wikimedia UK -- Wikimedia UK is the operating name of Wiki UK Limited, a Company Limited

Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Our Registered Charity No. is 1144513. The Registered Office is 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. Wikimedia UK is the local chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation (who

operate

Wikipedia, amongst other projects). It is an independent non-profit organization with no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility for

its

contents. Visit <http://www.wikimedia.org.uk/> http://www.wikimedia.org.uk/ and @wikimediauk

David Gerard

12:12 p.m.

On 17 January 2012 11:09, Harry Burt <harryaburt(a)gmail.com> wrote:

...

What is the official UK call to action here? Emailing the embassy? Or could you create a Number10-esque petition? Or did I miss something else entirely?

I'm wondering too ... we need to know ASAP. - d.

Mark (Markie)

12:19 p.m.

Not too sure what the official action is but http://americancensorship.org/ suggests petitioning the State Department? Regards, Mark On Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 11:12 AM, David Gerard <dgerard(a)gmail.com> wrote:

...

On 17 January 2012 11:09, Harry Burt <harryaburt(a)gmail.com> wrote:

What is the official UK call to action here? Emailing the embassy? Or could you create a Number10-esque petition? Or did I miss something else entirely?

I'm wondering too ... we need to know ASAP. - d. _______________________________________________ Wikimedia UK mailing list wikimediauk-l(a)wikimedia.org http://mail.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l WMUK: http://uk.wikimedia.org

Jon Davies

12:21 p.m.

Good question. In reality the black-out IS the protest. Phoning the US embassy or contacting our MPs not really going to have much of an impact is it? Quoting David Gerard <dgerard(a)gmail.com>om>:

...

On 17 January 2012 11:09, Harry Burt <harryaburt(a)gmail.com> wrote:

What is the official UK call to action here? Emailing the embassy? Or could you create a Number10-esque petition? Or did I miss something else entirely?

Michael Peel

12:29 p.m.

For the US, part of the plan is to get people to call their congress people and get them to oppose the legislation (and by having so many telephone calls, make it clear that this is a big issue). So the blackout isn't the only part of this, just the most publicly-visible part. I'm really not sure what we can do to help in the UK, though.... Mike On 17 Jan 2012, at 11:21, Jon Davies wrote:

...

Good question. In reality the black-out IS the protest. Phoning the US embassy or contacting our MPs not really going to have much of an impact is it? Quoting David Gerard <dgerard(a)gmail.com>om>:

On 17 January 2012 11:09, Harry Burt <harryaburt(a)gmail.com> wrote:

What is the official UK call to action here? Emailing the embassy? Or could you create a Number10-esque petition? Or did I miss something else entirely?

David Gerard

12:31 p.m.

On 17 January 2012 11:29, Michael Peel <michael.peel(a)wikimedia.org.uk> wrote:

...

I'm really not sure what we can do to help in the UK, though....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_of_State_for_Trade ? Visa, Mastercard, PayPal - all US companies. SOPA can switch British businesses off like a light. - d.

Harry Burt

1:26 p.m.

On Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 11:31 AM, David Gerard <dgerard(a)gmail.com> wrote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_of_State_for_Trade ? Visa, Mastercard, PayPal - all US companies. SOPA can switch British businesses off like a light. - d. That might be a bit much to ask for. On the other hand, I don't know how many petition signatures we could get in a day for: Her Majesty's Government should voice its disapproval of any proposed American legislation that would limit the ability of British citizens to speak freely on the internet. Say, or something similar. Just a thought. Harry (Jarry1250)

David Gerard

1:29 p.m.

On 17 January 2012 12:26, Harry Burt <harryaburt(a)gmail.com> wrote:

...

Her Majesty's Government should voice its disapproval of any proposed American legislation that would limit the ability of British citizens to speak freely on the internet.

Sounds good :-D - d.

Thomas Dalton

1:33 p.m.

On 17 January 2012 12:29, David Gerard <dgerard(a)gmail.com> wrote:

...

On 17 January 2012 12:26, Harry Burt <harryaburt(a)gmail.com> wrote:

Her Majesty's Government should voice its disapproval of any proposed American legislation that would limit the ability of British citizens to speak freely on the internet.

Sounds good :-D

I like the idea too. If we're going to be blacked out in the UK, we ought to have a call to action. That kind of petition would be good. If we get enough signatures, the matter might get a short debate in Parliament, which wouldn't hurt.

Gordon Joly

1:41 p.m.

Jimbo (Jimmy Wales) on Radio 4 - World at One -today. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b019fx9j Gordo -- Gordon Joly gordon.joly(a)pobox.com http://www.joly.org.uk/ Don't Leave Space To The Professionals!

Tom Morris

12:19 p.m.

On 17 January 2012 11:09, Harry Burt <harryaburt(a)gmail.com> wrote:

...

What is the official UK call to action here? Emailing the embassy? Or could you create a Number10-esque petition?

1. Find an American friend. 2. Shout at them until they write to their congressman/senator. -- Tom Morris <http://tommorris.org/>

David Gerard

12:27 p.m.

On 17 January 2012 11:19, Tom Morris <tom(a)tommorris.org> wrote:

...

On 17 January 2012 11:09, Harry Burt <harryaburt(a)gmail.com> wrote:

...

> What is the official UK call to action here? > Emailing the embassy? Or could you create a Number10-esque petition?

...

1. Find an American friend. 2. Shout at them until they write to their congressman/senator.

Contacting one's own government is useful. Though how to put that in a nuanced fashion is another matter. - d.

Gordon Joly

20 Jan 20 Jan

9:27 p.m.

For your Kindle... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Did-Wikipedia-blackout-work-ebook/dp/B006YTF38A/ Did the Wikipedia blackout work? [Kindle Edition] - Ira Krakow (Author) Kindle Price: £0.00 includes VAT & free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet (Yes, VAT on ebooks!) Based on the following Wikipedia articles: Was the January 18, 2012 Wikipedia Blackout Against SOPA/PIPA Succeessful? The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) The Wikipedia 2012 Blackout, planned for Wednesday, January 18, 2012, against SOPA/PIPA The Protect IP Act (PIPA) The Wikimedia Foundation Statement Opposing SOPA/PIPA These articles have been formatted for the Kindle by Ira Krakow, with the original hyperlinks and images preserved, and with the original Table of Contents. Gordo -- Gordon Joly gordon.joly(a)pobox.com http://www.joly.org.uk/ Don't Leave Space To The Professionals!

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participants (13)

Alison M. Wheeler
Charles Matthews
David Gerard
Gordon Joly
Harry Burt
John Vandenberg
Jon Davies
Mark (Markie)
Michael Peel
Richard Symonds
Roger Bamkin
Thomas Dalton
Tom Morris