Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire
  • Mood: infuriated
  • Music: Jeff's original mix on "Darkness Falls."

Preaching to the choir, or why SOPA is bad for us.

A good chunk of the internet is blacked out today to protest SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP). If you have somehow managed to miss this, you must not visit any news or geek-culture blogs, read very many web comics, use Google or the Firefox homepage, or access Wikipedia. (Also, if you have somehow managed to miss this because you don't use the internet for any of the things I've cited above, I am a little bit afraid of you. What do you use the internet for? How did you even find this page? Are you a robot?)

How has the blackout impacted me? This is my morning routine:

1. Get up, get ready for work.
2. Internet! FOREVER! Okay, for about fifteen minutes. First up, web comics.
3. Second, toy collecting sites.
4. Thirdly, io9 and Television Without Pity.
5. Wikipedia, to both check facts about things I'm writing (do parrots eat meat?) and to confirm which shows I follow will have new episodes tonight (for some reason I trust Wikipedia more than I trust the TV Guide site).

This is my morning routine after SOPA:

1. Get up, get ready for work. Because everything else is blocked, removed, or under attack.

This is a broad-strokes "protection of copyright" that actually goes so far above and beyond the call of duty that it's like getting a pack of trained attack basilisks to keep those damn kids off your lawn. Basilisk crap is going to wind up getting everywhere, but who cares? No more kids on the lawn!

Now, I am a creator of things, and I appreciate and enjoy making money off of them. It enables me to do silly little things like keeping the power on and feeding the cats. I appreciate and enjoy it even more when people don't steal from me. But you know what doesn't steal from me? Book reviews. But SOPA could make it a crime to post book covers or quote inside text, something my favorite book reviewers often do. Hell, SOPA could make it a crime for me to maintain my own website, since I use art that is technically under copyright to either my publishers or the original cover artists, and if someone wanted to be a real dick, they could report me for posting pieces of my own books.

You know what else doesn't steal from me? Fanfic. The legal arguments about fanfic and fan art are huge and complicated and a matter for another day, but I can honestly say that I have received email from people saying "I encountered this piece of fic about your work and so I read the originals." I haven't received email saying "I encountered this piece of fic about your work and it was so bad that now I am stealing all your shit forever." Whatever impact fan works may have on my sales, and whatever the legality behind transformative fan work, it isn't stealing from me. It isn't internet piracy. But under SOPA, you could totally rat out fanfic archives and most of DeviantArt for violating copyrights, and watch the pretty, pretty fires as they burned.

Piracy pisses me off. I don't feel that I have wasted my time when I got upset about piracy and copyright. But there is such a huge difference between "I will now protect you from piracy" and what these bills will do that isn't even funny. Don't believe me? I mean, why should you? I am, after all, not a lawyer or anything like that. But I do have access to the internet, and to the smart people it currently contains, the ones I am allowed to communicate with freely and without fear of being slapped for violating a law that seems a bit too broadly written.

John Murphy would like to talk to you about SOPA. Better yet, he does it very intelligently and coherently, with good, clean information.

Still not convinced? The folks at reddit have actually dissected the text of SOPA, and point out some terrifying potential abuses. If you want to get your legal language on, this is the place to go.

And the ever-fabulous and profane Chuck Wendig has also pointed out some of the major issues with these anti-piracy measures. Like me, he's approaching it from a writer's perspective. He just says "fuck" more.

You know what? Fuck SOPA. Fuck PIPA. Fuck the idiots who think that they can control the internet. And fuck them twice for forcing today's internet blackout, because I still don't know whether parrots eat meat.

Fuckers.
Tags: cranky blonde is cranky, don't be dumb, technology
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briargrey

January 18 2012, 20:39:27 UTC 5 years ago

Well said! I have contacted my congressman and both senators today in support of the blackout, and while I'm not a huge facebook fan, I do have one and use it, so I posted on there too so people would remember. Thanks for the great links on it as well.

Oh, and parrots do eat meat, btw. My macaws effing love chicken (cooked). No avocado or chocolate though (no alcohol or caffeinated beverages either -- which is sad, because my blue and gold macaw is hilarious and awkward WITHOUT booze. A tipsy Kayleigh would be pretty funny).

yes, yes, I know -- rhetorical, point-making statement, but hey!

seanan_mcguire

January 18 2012, 20:43:09 UTC 5 years ago

No, actually, I really need/want to know. There's also a parrot in New Zealand that is apparently a primary meat eater, the Kea. I am Very Pleased by this fact.

tikiera

5 years ago

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aliciaaudrey

5 years ago

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tikiera

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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tikiera

5 years ago

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gorgeousgary

5 years ago

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thedragonweaver

5 years ago

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tikiera

5 years ago

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lysystratae

5 years ago

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briargrey

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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robling_t

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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paksenarrion2

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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ashen_key

5 years ago

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More Expand

fluffworld

5 years ago

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fluffworld

5 years ago

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biomekanic

5 years ago

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For the purposes of Canadian fans:

dewline

January 18 2012, 20:44:54 UTC 5 years ago Edited:  January 18 2012, 20:46:22 UTC

Look up Bill C-11 on our Parliamentary website. Then go look at the blog of U of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist.

C-11 deals with copyright law "modernization".

seanan_mcguire

January 18 2012, 20:46:29 UTC 5 years ago

Thank you!

dewline

5 years ago

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aliciaaudrey

January 18 2012, 20:47:24 UTC 5 years ago

The qualifying plaintiff bit gets me as an attorney (meaning there's a public right of enforcement, not merely a government right of enforcement). As if SLAPP suits weren't already a problem. Normally at this time I would link to Wikipedia, except that's sort of futile as Wikipedia isn't up, so suffice it to say: A SLAPP suit is where someone with A Lot Of Money threatens to sue someone with Very Little Or No Money to get them to stop engaging in what would certainly be deemed free (and thus perfectly protected) expression if this went to trial, except they know perfectly well it won't, because the target doesn't have the money to litigate it even if they would win and even if they would get their attorney's fees back.

An example of a SLAPP suit would be a major restaurant chain suing a locally popular blogger because the blogger claims that they had a poor dining experience at a restaurant said chain owns and got food poisoning. Perhaps this was true, and could be proven to be true, thereby making it not an instance of defamation no matter how you twist it, and furthermore, restaurant chain knows this. They know it. But they threaten a suit to make the blogger take it down because they are almost certain it will work, and usually it does because most people getting a scary letter from a large law firm or the in-house counsel of a big corporation will immediately freak and back down, and even if they'd like to fight it out the upfront cost is going to be insane.

You see, Wikipedia would usually just define all that for me so I could just throw up a hyperlink but noooo, there's no Wikipedia today so I actually have to explain myself rather than being concise. Well. Sort of concise.

Anyway. Giving entities with disproportionate economic power ANOTHER AVENUE under which to do this strikes me as a godawful idea. I'm sure the lobbyist who got that language inserted thinks its a fantastic one.

dewline

January 18 2012, 20:59:34 UTC 5 years ago

No need for Wikipedia here. You explained it well enough for us lay-people out here, and my thanks for that.

aliciaaudrey

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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aliciaaudrey

5 years ago

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wendyzski

5 years ago

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pointedulac

5 years ago

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myuki_chan

January 18 2012, 20:50:21 UTC 5 years ago

If you google "parrot" and find the Wiki link, hover over the side arrow thing to bring up the test-view. Up top there should be a link for a cached version that works fine. :)

This is probably to your interest:
In addition to feeding on seeds and flowers, some parrot species will prey on animals, especially invertebrate larvae. Golden-winged Parakeets prey on water snails, and famously the Keas of New Zealand will kill juvenile petrels and even attack and indirectly kill adult sheep.[31] Another New Zealand parrot, the Antipodes Island Parakeet, enters the burrows of nesting Grey-backed Storm Petrels and kills the incubating adults.[32] Some cockatoos and the Kākā will excavate branches and wood to obtain grubs.

seanan_mcguire

January 18 2012, 21:02:12 UTC 5 years ago

NOM NOM FLESH NOM.

meko00

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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liddle_oldman

January 18 2012, 20:57:18 UTC 5 years ago

Well, they'll bite the ass out of your fingers if you're not careful. Don't know if that counts.

seanan_mcguire

January 18 2012, 21:02:21 UTC 5 years ago

It does!

gehayi

January 18 2012, 20:58:35 UTC 5 years ago

The blackout appears to making an impact:

Web Protests Piracy Bill, Two Key Senators Change Course

The two key senators are co-sponsors of the bill. They're now saying that the bill apparently isn't a good idea. And five other senators are who aren't key have also come around. And there's this:

With the growing reservations, a bill that passed the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously and without controversy may be in serious trouble. Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader and Democrat of Nevada, has scheduled a procedural vote on the Leahy version for early next week, but unless negotiators can alter it to satisfy the outraged online world, no one expects it to get 60 votes.

So...maybe there's hope.

seanan_mcguire

January 18 2012, 21:02:46 UTC 5 years ago

That's fabulous!

controuble

5 years ago

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gehayi

5 years ago

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controuble

5 years ago

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stevemb

5 years ago

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anna_en_route

January 18 2012, 21:03:55 UTC 5 years ago

If you're talking any type of parrot anywhere then yes definitely Kea are alpine parrots who live in the South Island of New Zealand eat an omiverous diet and hunt in groups (they'll even eat parts of weak or young sheep).

Cockatoos will take off your finger but I'm not sure whether they'll actually consume it.

Not sure about the more traditional parrots though

seanan_mcguire

January 18 2012, 21:04:36 UTC 5 years ago

I've got flesh-eating parrots!

anna_en_route

5 years ago

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anna_en_route

5 years ago

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seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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yellowblackhaze

January 18 2012, 21:05:21 UTC 5 years ago

Totally with you on SOPA, they're using an elephant gun to shoot a mosquito. I'd like a lot of other sites to shut down in protest of this and give everyone some kind of idea of what life after SOPA may be like if it gets implemented as is.
On the parrot thing, other people have answered; certain parrots do eat meat, especially the New Zealand Kea. I don't think any of the Australian ones do, we have enough things that want to kill us without adding the pretty birds to the list, although I did once have a pet galah that I'm pretty certain killed a mouse, so I may be wrong there.

seanan_mcguire

January 18 2012, 21:32:02 UTC 5 years ago

Australia's parrots are awesome, because they are EVERYWHERE, and I respect that.

anna_en_route

5 years ago

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yellowblackhaze

5 years ago

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anna_en_route

5 years ago

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filkertom

January 18 2012, 21:07:46 UTC 5 years ago

You know what? Fuck SOPA. Fuck PIPA. Fuck the idiots who think that they can control the internet. And fuck them twice for forcing today's internet blackout, because I still don't know whether parrots eat meat.

Oh, I could've told you that years ago. In Donald Duck and Pirate Gold by Carl Barks, Old Yellow Beak (the pirate parrot) has a fondness for slumgullion, a "watery meat stew".

Although I suppose that might not be enough of a citation.

But, dude! It's Carl Barks!

seanan_mcguire

January 18 2012, 21:32:14 UTC 5 years ago

You are awesome. And silly.

jadis17

January 18 2012, 21:12:19 UTC 5 years ago

I've heard the recommended action is to call your congress persons office and ask them any questions you would normally get answers from wikipedia. and perhaps discuss why sopa is bad while you have them on the phone.

aliciaaudrey

January 18 2012, 21:16:26 UTC 5 years ago

I think Seanan should call her congressperson and ask them about cannibal parrots.

Explain in detail why not being able to fact-check cannibal parrots is hindering her economic productivity and thus failing to allow her to realize her fair share of the economic recovery by working at full capacity.

I think this is the best idea I've had all day!

seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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jadis17

5 years ago

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For Non-Americans reading this:

dewline

January 18 2012, 21:18:57 UTC 5 years ago

Also, there's a page at americancensorship.org somewhere where you can sign onto a petition of complaint aimed at the US State Department.

seanan_mcguire

January 18 2012, 21:32:43 UTC 5 years ago

Awesome!

wendigomountain

January 18 2012, 21:19:56 UTC 5 years ago

I'm probably the 53rd person to talk about the parrot thing, but I used to work with a lady who worked in a pet store. She said they regularly had to feed their macaws "pinks," which were live baby mice. Also, the same reason Pinky from the Pinky and the Brain cartoon is named "Pinky."


The More You Know! ::shooting star::

seanan_mcguire

January 18 2012, 21:33:04 UTC 5 years ago

Yay! Knowledge!

rhoda_rants

January 18 2012, 21:28:53 UTC 5 years ago

Are you writing about zombie parrots now? Be honest.

Thanks for going into all the detail about this. I didn't know about the blackout (in my defense, I'm on a Kindle Fire, not a for-realz computer with a homepage and all, and LiveJournal is literally the first place I go on the Internet), and while I would love for piracy to stop, this seems to be a very poor way to get any positive results. Or any results, period.

seanan_mcguire

January 18 2012, 21:33:16 UTC 5 years ago

I am not!

biomekanic

January 18 2012, 21:40:03 UTC 5 years ago

Because you just can't make this shit up:

MPAA Says Blackout is Abuse of Power.

rhoda_rants

January 18 2012, 21:46:57 UTC 5 years ago

That is rich. Think they're actually getting scared? "How dare you decide what you do and don't tell the public! We're supposed to do it for you!"

seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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maniakes

January 18 2012, 21:48:46 UTC 5 years ago

It likely varies by species, but the varieties I'm familiar with (budgies, cockatiels, and conures) mainly eat a mix of leafy greens, fruits, and seeds, but are willing to try human flesh if they're angry, or if they've figured out that humans make amusing noises when you chew on them.

lysystratae

January 18 2012, 22:00:58 UTC 5 years ago

All three will gladly eat chicken if provided :)

seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

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lysystratae

January 18 2012, 22:02:16 UTC 5 years ago

For future reference, I volunteer with a parrot rescue. I can get you any info you need (and feathers too)

seanan_mcguire

January 26 2012, 17:59:30 UTC 5 years ago

Ooooooooooo.

So noted.

kalenodonnell

January 18 2012, 22:07:35 UTC 5 years ago

In all fairness, I have to say that having an attack pack of trained basilisks would be pretty awesome.

That said, excellent post.

seanan_mcguire

January 23 2012, 20:38:06 UTC 5 years ago

I think I would like it.

ohari

January 18 2012, 22:11:41 UTC 5 years ago

Seanan Parrots DEFINITELY eat meat. Vigorously, rending with their razor sharp claws and crushing in their powerful beak and .... Oh My. I don't want a pet Bird Air Phiranha anymore.

Earth Parrots will eat meat, if it's small enough, but not a lot. Bugs mostly, if they feel the need. too much fat isn't good for them.

seanan_mcguire

January 23 2012, 20:38:30 UTC 5 years ago

This is fabulous.

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seanan_mcguire

January 26 2012, 17:58:52 UTC 5 years ago

Good.

iamdollface

January 18 2012, 22:55:54 UTC 5 years ago

You make some really good points. Thank you! I make money off my creative endeavors and believe in copyright protection. But I also found out recently that it's pretty easy to take advantage of the system to hurt, say, your competition. SOPA would make it a lot easier for people to do just that -- take advantage of extreem measures to take other people off the web.

On the upside, there is this: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/technology/web-protests-piracy-bill-and-2-key-senators-change-course.html?hp&gwh=7B504693CE6BCECB42C4C553295DBA76

Which is blocked unless you have a subscription to the Times or that lovely NYClean button in your browser's tool bar. Sigh.

seanan_mcguire

February 8 2012, 16:23:19 UTC 5 years ago

Exactly. I want people not to steal from me, but that doesn't mean I want to see the internet killed. There's such a thing as going too far.

beccastareyes

January 18 2012, 22:59:54 UTC 5 years ago

I'll call my senators and rep tomorrow, but I did email them; phones make me nervous but a friend posted a 'how to call your Senator's office' thing.

seanan_mcguire

February 1 2012, 19:34:27 UTC 5 years ago

Thank you for helping.

supersniffles

January 18 2012, 23:33:17 UTC 5 years ago

I can not speak for all parrots, but I personally knew a 65 YO Yellow Nape Amazon who ate chicken and eggs and sausage.

seanan_mcguire

January 26 2012, 17:48:46 UTC 5 years ago

That is awesome.

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seanan_mcguire

January 18 2012, 23:44:14 UTC 5 years ago

Well, that specific icon was made for me, by someone I had paid, using paid-for graphic stock. So you'd be in the clear. My icon, on the other hand, uses art that was commissioned by my publisher, and still belongs to the original artist. So I could be fucked.

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nightfalltwen

January 18 2012, 23:49:37 UTC 5 years ago

Well said. I don't have anything else to add and it seems as though the parrot question was sorted out. Thank you for writing this post.

seanan_mcguire

January 26 2012, 17:48:22 UTC 5 years ago

Very welcome.

kippurbird

January 19 2012, 00:02:03 UTC 5 years ago

Adding to the parrot debate. I don't know if it counts, but I had a parakeet that liked to try and steal my dad's herring. Right off the fork while my dad was putting it in his mouth.

seanan_mcguire

January 26 2012, 17:47:40 UTC 5 years ago

...whoa.

kippurbird

5 years ago

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