I don't think Wikimedia ops can be complicit in turning off editing like that. Ops operates under the exact opposite goal, doesn't it? To ensure that the site is continually running, accessible, functioning as much as humanly possible?
I was under the impression that any SOPA-related action was simply going to be an extra-large and obnoxious banner with some kind of dismissability. Removing the ability to edit seems to cross a much larger line. Ops is supposed to and almost always has acted as a safeguard against insane community ideas (where insane is equivalent to pushing aside core principles). The ability for anyone to be able to edit is a core principle. I'd be awfully cautious about simply throwing it aside intentionally.
Tim makes a good point about who the intended target is. I don't know if that's been discussed on-wiki, but someone should probably check.
So, we could ignore the community's wishes. Yes, we've done so in the past, when the request was obviously detrimental to the site. We're the last safety valve of sanity. Obviously, we take a major risk doing so, and should very, very rarely do this.
In this case, though, I don't feel that the community's wish is insane. In fact, I wholly support it. If SOPA passes, all of our sites are in jeopardy. A one day blackout is completely reasonable.
Bottom line, don't expect ops to stop this from occurring.
- Ryan