101–110 of 163 posts
I think the one weakness was using the phrase 'user-generated website' out of context, because understanding what this means is really the key to getting people to understand the implications of the bill. I think most people probably have a vague idea of what user generated content is, but I'm not sure they would have connected all the dots from just this phrase, in terms of understanding why exactly the bill would c…
From my point of view, the 3 important points on SOPA, and your grade on them: 1) This will kill innovation in the US, hurting job growth. Mentioned 2) This will not prevent rogue sites from operating on the internet, meaning we pay the cost of #1 without any real gain Not mentioned at all 3) There are good technical reasons why this is a bad idea Not mentioned at all.
I've been keeping my mother updated with the whole SOPA thing and sent her this video too. She's 'very impressed that people so young can be so eloquent and steadfast'. I think you did great and stood ground with poise, confidence and intelligent arguments. Well done.
One thing to remember when arguing about SOPA in a forum that encompasses a broader audience than Hacker News or Reddit is that not everyone is involved in the internet industry or even primarily a knowledge worker. Think about how to appeal to someone who is retried or involved in managing a bakery or who runs a flower shop. We don't want to come off as a bunch of elitist nerds. We want them to understand that we're…
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Have you tried Graffiti analogy? Imagine you are a shop owner and someone writes something offensive on the outside of your building without you even knowing about it. This bill would allow the government to shutdown your store before you even knew the writing existed. Today we already have in place a mechanism to notify the store owner, but SOPA changes that. It makes it possible to shut down entrepenuers, the store…
(Devil's advocate) "But how would you not notice someone graffitied your wall?" I dig this analogy: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3426990
I was picturing an outside wall with the shop owner inside all day behind the counter. The Mickey Mouse one is more concise though.
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Thanks. I love this feedback and agree that connecting with normals is vital; it's something that comes up again & again with my girlfriend as I "pitch" her on how to discuss these bills. The struggle I have with metaphors like yours is that it doesn't accurately describe piracy (because it's not the same as theft). This feels a bit disingenuous, but definitely makes for a great soundbyte. It's a catch-22: the though…
Have you tried Graffiti analogy? Imagine you are a shop owner and someone writes something offensive on the outside of your building without you even knowing about it. This bill would allow the government to shutdown your store before you even knew the writing existed. Today we already have in place a mechanism to notify the store owner, but SOPA changes that. It makes it possible to shut down entrepenuers, the store…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thanks. I love this feedback and agree that connecting with normals is vital; it's something that comes up again & again with my girlfriend as I "pitch" her on how to discuss these bills. The struggle I have with metaphors like yours is that it doesn't accurately describe piracy (because it's not the same as theft). This feels a bit disingenuous, but definitely makes for a great soundbyte. It's a catch-22: the though…
A better analogy might abstract away the merits of copyright infringement, and focus on who got punished for that infringement. Maybe something like: "Imagine if the government shut down Walmart because one of its customers was caught handing out ripped Beyonce CDs."
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We really need to do a better job arguing this case. This is about justice vs. injustice, not jobs in tech vs. jobs in movies/tv. Here's the analogy I tweeted a couple weeks ago: "SOPA is the equivalent of allowing Disney to shut down a restaurant because a customer drew Mickey Mouse on a napkin." I think anyone can recognize the injustice in that.
I've been offline for the last few hours, just came back to start picking through the notes. I like this Mickey Mouse analogy most of all the ones I've seen so far. Concise and relatable (and accurate).
The shoplifting analogy seems more immediate and straight-forward to me. I understand that the shoplifting analogy equates piracy with theft but the distinction isn't really all that relevant to SOPA. Uncle Art probably equates piracy with theft anyway, so why fight the battle on two fronts?
One final point on this, by indirectly conceding the piracy/theft point you're less likely to step out of alignment with Uncle Art thus making it easier for him to agree with everything else you say. :)
P.S. I know we're all probably focusing too much on that killer soundbyte but I do think it was the missing ingredient. :)
Alexis, did you talk about Internet Freedom? How anyone in the world can use Internet to read about controversial topics, to share memories, etc. However, certain industries can not compete in controlling topics, memories, etc, so they are bringing the laws in, making website owners at the mercy of aging industries?
Did you know that SOPA is just one of the many bills? I highly recommend adopting Internet Freedom movement that seeks to clearly say any SOPA-related restrictions are unacceptable. Otherwise, how do would you explain a bill titled "Stop Online Child Pornography Act"?
Quite a mouthful, though.
I'd say SOPA is giving corporations the power to control Free Speech on the Internet because it's illegal for the government to do so. If you don't want the government or big companies to read what you type online, then demand Internet Freedom.