Rock, Paper, Shotgun

RPS Is Blacking Out To Protest SOPA/PIPA

By John Walker on January 17th, 2012 at 6:08 pm.

I'm nude in this picture.

From 9am tomorrow morning, Rock, Paper, Shotgun will be blacked out in protest against SOPA and PIPA. The site will be gone, but for a single black page explaining why we’re doing this. And then Thursday morning we’ll be back. If you want to know why SOPA and PIPA are a problem serious enough for us to make a move like this (not a decision that tends to do wonders for your ratings, advertising, etc), read on, and watch the video below.

At RPS we genuinely believe in the astonishing wonder of the internet. An unpredictable, utterly remarkable endeavour of humanity, it has radically changed the world in the 16 or so years that it’s been a part of the average person’s life, and the many years before that when it was going unnoticed. It has challenged everything, shaken entire industries, and created hundreds of thousands of new ones. From every keyboard playing cat, to every regime overthrown by the connectivity it offers, this massive, ludicrous thing is something we all should be fiercely proud and jealous of. It deserves our protection.

SOPA and PIPA seek to destroy all of this, rendering the internet a system controlled by the State and large corporations. The incredible freedom will be taken away, replaced with a system controlled by those with the most money. After a year when the internet has been the foundation of radical changes throughout the world, from those able to network themselves to overthrow their oppressive regimes, to those who have made a mockery of super-injunctions, the incredible means of supporting previously unknown projects through Kickstarter and the like, to the many wonderful pieces of art that have flourished, after that year, and after the year before it, and the one before that, how can anyone sit back and not fight for this precious, precious thing.

That is why we’re going dark for a day. It’s a small thing, but it’s a way of raising awareness. It’ll piss people off when the site’s not working, and maybe some of those people will refuse to come back. I hope not. But you have to break eggs, and we’re not willing to tiptoe around this or pretend it isn’t happening. No, neither Congress nor the Senate will care that RPS is down, but the hundreds of thousands of people who visit RPS every day will. And they can pass that message on. This matters. Here’s why:

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231 Comments »

  1. 17/01/2012 at 18:10 VelvetFistIronGlove says:

    This comment has been removed due to allegations of copyright infringement.

    • 17/01/2012 at 18:51 Untitled says:

      Sadly, I’m pretty sure the kind of censorship seen in the comment above is already possible through legal use of the DMCA

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:03 Kefren says:

      I’d never come across that before, until the other day when I noticed it in my Google results (if you are interested, it’s the screenshot in the ‘updates’ bit of http://tinyurl.com/7mbvwn6). Thanks to US legislation a non-US citizen has part of the Internet blacked out. A great example of why SOPA and every other silly bill that tries to hide part of the world should be stopped. We have to get our hands dirty to stop SOPA working (that doesn’t sound right, does it?) so well done RPS, but I’ll miss you.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:43 d3vilsadvocate says:

      bah. They should only kill the site for Americans. How much can we Europeans do already agains this?

    • 17/01/2012 at 21:02 alundra says:

      @d3vilsadvocate

      How much better would be this world we live in if this “it will never happen to me so I give a fuck” attitude would change into some thing like:

      I care

    • 17/01/2012 at 21:34 Lionmaruu says:

      I’m posting here a copyright infringement for your pleasure:

      Breaking rocks in the hot sun
      I fought the law and the law won
      I fought the law and the law won
      I needed money ’cause I had none
      I fought the law and the law won
      I fought the law and the law won

      Robbin’ people with a six gun
      I fought the law and the law won
      I fought the law and the law won
      …

    • 18/01/2012 at 00:35 malkav11 says:

      Europeans may not be able to do much to affect US legislation, but they sure will be affected by these laws if they pass. Isn’t it neat living in a global economy without a global government? :P

    • 18/01/2012 at 01:37 Tyyr says:

      “Hey Citizen, if you have nothing to hide, what are you worried about?”

    • 18/01/2012 at 04:27 hemmingjay says:

      I fully support the initiative to show our displeasure. I will not do any business online for the next 24 hrs either. On a related note, I forget how to masturbate offline.

    • 18/01/2012 at 04:39 EmS says:

      @ d3vilsadvocate
      if this actually gets through in america certain people will try to get it through in the eu
      well at least in germany something like pipa wouldn’t get through because it would be against our constitution

    • 18/01/2012 at 06:45 Draega says:

      This is why Europeans should care: http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/01/13/1548214/us-government-seeks-extradition-of-uk-student-for-file-sharing

      If the US government can pull this s**t now in the name of copyright protection, does anyone want them more powerful?

    • 18/01/2012 at 07:16 brokengod says:

      @d3vilsadvocate:

      First they came for the communists,
      and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.

      Then they came for the trade unionists,
      and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

      Then they came for the Jews,
      and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.

      Then they came for me
      and there was no one left to speak out for me.

    • 18/01/2012 at 08:25 quicktooth says:

      @brokengod – This is the Truth. We HAVE to fight for each other.

    • 18/01/2012 at 08:41 malexmave says:

      So, what _can_ we europeans do about this? I’d love to do something, but I have no idea, what. I can hardly call my senator (Well, technically, I guess I am in the jurisdiction of the Department of defense, but I don’t want to call _them_ to complain about SOPA/PIPA)…

  2. 17/01/2012 at 18:10 Wizardry says:

    At least let us play the text adventure.

  3. 17/01/2012 at 18:10 terry says:

    Hooray! No…wait…the other one.

  4. 17/01/2012 at 18:11 PaulOHara says:

    Crap, what am I supposed to do tomorrow? Actually do my college studies and be ahead of the class by a week or two? I will get everything done tomorrow and have nothing to do, which I guess in its own way is a good thing, that way I can play SWTOR and Saints Row :D

  5. 17/01/2012 at 18:11 obvioustroll says:

    So long as you’re not blacking up for Sopa.

  6. 17/01/2012 at 18:12 Blackseraph says:

    I think it is good thing that you care enough to do this. My opinion of sites who do this will only improve.

    Thumbs up!

  7. 17/01/2012 at 18:14 cairbre says:

    Fair play lads tis the right thing to do

  8. 17/01/2012 at 18:17 Loopy says:

    I have another one for you too RPS:

    http://purplebox.ghostery.com/?p=1016022203

    “Ghostery.com will blackout on January 18th in Protest of SOPA and PIPA”

    Good to see you guys taking a definitive stand though. :)

  9. 17/01/2012 at 18:19 Nemon says:

    Then what am I SOPAsed to do?

  10. 17/01/2012 at 18:19 Brun says:

    Thumbs up!

  11. 17/01/2012 at 18:20 tungstenHead says:

    I’ve been thinking about this blackout and how it’s intended to be seen as a “dry run” for if SOPA passes. I think that very secretly, SOPA is actually intended as a productivity booster. LESS WASTING TIME ON THE INTERNET, PEONS!

    This conjecture is only slightly more preposterous than the idea that SOPA is intended to stop piracy.

  12. 17/01/2012 at 18:22 Swanny says:

    Isn’t SOPA Dead?
    I thought Obama said he’d veto it- i’m still in favor or a blackout, though. Even if it just raises awareness and (hopefully) buries PIPA.

    EDIT: i was greatly misguided in saying this. Please read below for clarification by others.
    SOPA is only on pause for the moment. Obama never said he’d veto, just that he opposed.

    • 17/01/2012 at 18:34 John Walker says:

      Sadly SOPA is in no way dead. It’s shelved, and will be back soon enough. And PIPA is as bad.

    • 17/01/2012 at 18:52 Ergates_Antius says:

      It’s dead in the same way that the hideous monster is dead in the movies when it falls to the ground.

      It’s lying still long enough to lull the stupid movie heroes into a false sense of victory whilst everyone watching the film is screaming “It’s not dead, shoot it again, shoot it again” at the screen.

    • 17/01/2012 at 18:52 ResonanceCascade says:

      Obama never said the V-word. His administration released a vague statement saying they don’t want to sign anything with the potential to limit freedom of speech, but he’s said that about a lot of stuff. Truth is, Obama has only vetoed 2 bills, and I would absolutely amazed if this was his number 3.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:20 ReV_VAdAUL says:

      It has been disquieting seeing a range of people suggesting that SOPA is dead, that the Whitehouse definitely will veto PIPA and SOPA and so on.

      The corrupt powers that be have only made a small retreat on a small number of the issues at stake. They just playing dead so people stop paying attention and they can do as they like without scrutiny.

      The EFF has a good article highlighting the problems that still remain: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/01/how-pipa-and-sopa-violate-white-house-principles-supporting-free-speech

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:49 brulleks says:

      “It’s dead in the same way that the hideous monster is dead in the movies when it falls to the ground.

      It’s lying still long enough to lull the stupid movie heroes into a false sense of victory whilst everyone watching the film is screaming “It’s not dead, shoot it again, shoot it again” at the screen.”

      Woah, hang on – you can’t type that here. That’s straight out of a Hollywood script. Are you trying to get us all blacklisted/arrested/executed?

      Good for you RPS. I wish I could convince our University website to black out for the day as well, but sadly I suspect the potential loss of student recruitment (yeah, right) would prove to have more sway.

    • 17/01/2012 at 20:04 Tams80 says:

      It’s probably doubtful that it will be vetoed unless some in the Obama administration REALLY object to it. Vetoing can be the end of a president’s career, especially if there are a lot of vested interests in the bill being vetoed. Those who passed the bill before the veto would just try their level best to use it against Obama at the elections and if they got in to power just try and pass it through again.

    • 17/01/2012 at 20:07 ReV_VAdAUL says:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_vetoes

      Vetoes are certainly a big deal but wielding them doesn’t seem to have cost any previous president his job?

    • 17/01/2012 at 20:10 Swanny says:

      Ah i see- so they’ll wait for the November elections and see if they can push it then.
      Hell, i can hear almost hear the checks being written to both parties.

      Edit- i see that they’re saying that the administration doesn’t support SOPA. They also didn’t support the NDAA, but that got signed.

    • 17/01/2012 at 20:19 Brun says:

      @Swanny:

      More like they’d pull all of their contributions to vetoing president as retaliation.

    • 17/01/2012 at 22:37 gwathdring says:

      Ack. It’s funny that the abbreviation of a routine appropriations measure now has the ability to make me absolutely livid. If no one else does it I’ll have to organize some kind of campus event in relation to the NDAA. Never organized anything remotely like a march before … but things had gone to far the moment we started addressing acts of terrorism as a legally distinct type of crime. This is so far beyond that horrible misstep … and more than that, so much more casually done with such an enormous amount of congressional support and so lacking in transparency (I couldn’t find several of the Senate votes relating to the bill … they were simply listed as unrecorded by unanimous consent; I will assume, then, that I shouldn’t vote for any of the incumbents in my state).

  13. 17/01/2012 at 18:22 ahluka says:

    I shall heartily stand by RPS through this endeavour. Well, I’ll sit at home bored because RPS is offline, but I support it.

    If SOPA / PIPA go ahead, I’m officially marking the day as “entered dystopian world” on my calendar.

    EDIT: Does anyone else get the feeling that something like SOPA will inevitably be pushed through congress (or whatever the hell the phrase is)? It’ll happen with mass rioting, of course, but I have a horrible feeling that one day, it’s _going_ to happen.

    Not to sound like a teenage angst machine or anything.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:01 Brun says:

      Should that occur our only hope is that it gets challenged on constitutionality grounds and the courts put an injunction on it (preventing it from being active, pending a judicial ruling). I don’t think that SOPA/PIPA would stand up well in front of the Supreme Court.

    • 17/01/2012 at 20:03 Torgen says:

      That would be the same Supreme Court that declared corporations are people, that restricting cash contributions to politicians and their front groups is a violation of freedom of speech, and that corporations have the right to freedom of speech to whatever financial level they wish.

    • 18/01/2012 at 04:56 Fidelicatessen says:

      @Brun:

      US Supreme Court, for the past 10-15 years (if not more), has been getting stocked with justices who will vote party line instead of their conscience. Keep in mind that Supreme Court justices aren’t elected (they’re appointed by the current president) and they serve for life. It’s highly unlikely that any measure supported by Republicrats will be overturned by the Supreme Court.

      Also, big fat kudos to RPS for doing this. I will miss the site, but only for a day.

  14. 17/01/2012 at 18:24 db1331 says:

    I thought it wasn’t uncommon for the RPS staff to be blacked out at 9 in the morning.

  15. 17/01/2012 at 18:25 celozzip says:

    i’m torn between agreeing with you on this (and all the other blackouts organised) or saying it’s a waste of time as the powers that be don’t give a fuck that any websites are shutting down, especially rps. oh well, see you on thursday then.

    • 17/01/2012 at 18:31 Meat Circus says:

      The corruption endemic in US politics that allows things like SOPA and PIPA to gain traction require the cover of darkness.

      The corrupt congressmen behind this enormity were hoping and praying that nobody was paying attention.

      Well, we’ve gotten the payola-snorting cunts’ attentions. They know they are being watched.

    • 17/01/2012 at 18:33 Brun says:

      While I don’t deny that corruption exists in US politics, I think that a significant (if not major) part of SOPA/PIPA relies on the general lack of understanding of the issues they cover amongst congressmen.

      Let’s face it, most of Congress is not really qualified to make a decision on these issues. For most of their lives the Internet was nothing more than a curiosity that connected mainframes at college campuses. That’s not their fault, and I don’t really blame them for not understanding it.

    • 17/01/2012 at 18:48 Kamikaze-X says:

      I feel that this is totally misguided.

      Why black out a site that is, for the majority, atracting a readership who already subscribe to the same ideals against SOPA?

      Wikipedia are doing it, and that may be effective in bringing attention to the subject, as people who are not involved in the discussion will be exposed to it.

      You are preaching to the choir, and this choir can’t sing loud enough that anyone would listen, anyway.

    • 17/01/2012 at 18:49 Meat Circus says:

      Those who are too stupid to spot the rampant corruption amongst their colleagues are, I’m afraid, just as much to blame as those allowing Big Content to buy legislation.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:56 mechtroid says:

      Think of it this way: You’re one of the little runner boys for some senator down in DC. When you’re not busy being a gopher to them, you like to blow off steam by playing some TF2. You read RPS regularly, because they had those funny articles about your favorite game all those years ago. Wednesday comes, and before leaving for work, you decide to check RP–What’s this? Some black screen about SOPA? Oh, right. That thing. Now it’s gone too far.

      Later in the week, your senator mentions SOPA in passing while talking to you. That fleeting look of disgust across your face speaks volumes to him about your opinion on the subject. And with that look, he’s pushed a little further away from supporting the thing.

    • 17/01/2012 at 20:07 Tams80 says:

      The point is that enough user of the sites ‘blacking out’ get annoyed and understand the message that they do something about it, specifically US citizens. Whether those citizens complaining (and in large enough numbers) is enough is a different question.

    • 17/01/2012 at 20:09 Kamikaze-X says:

      @ mechtroid

      think of it this way:

      Senator/person in any position of influence doesn’t give a crap what the guy who shuffles his papers and brings him coffee that is too hot/cold/milky/not enough sugar thinks about anything.

      other than whether his tie matches his shirt and suit combo.

    • 17/01/2012 at 20:30 Jesse L says:

      @Kamikaze-X

      The cry of ‘Lie down and take it’ never won any battles, or defended anyone’s rights. You’re campaigning on behalf of apathy!

    • 18/01/2012 at 03:51 Pointless Puppies says:

      Oh, these people in power are giving plenty of fucks over the websites shutting down. This little statement from one MPAA’s minions made it pretty clear they’re feeling threatened right about now:

      http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/sopa-livesand-mpaa-calls-protests-an-abuse-of-power.ars

  16. 17/01/2012 at 18:27 Keroton says:

    I don’t really support blackouts that are going to happen tomorrow…instead of showing us how SOPA would really look like, you are showing us how the internet will look like if you don’t pay your bills.

  17. 17/01/2012 at 18:28 frenz0rz says:

    Oh cripes, no Wikipedia or RPS for a whole day? If anything else goes offline I might have to go outside. At least I’ll probably end up going to bed about 2 hours earlier.

    But honestly, good on you chaps. Fight the good fight and all that.

  18. 17/01/2012 at 18:29 Diogo Ribeiro says:

    Like a sir, RPS, like a sir!

    Alternatively, while some action is better than none, I do wonder what – if anything – this will help. Congress has been thoroughly described as ignorant of technology, so it’s not hard to imagine those old wheatered lizards not really paying attention if “the series of tubes” blacks out in protest.

    • 17/01/2012 at 18:37 John Walker says:

      It’s not about gaining the attention of Congress or the Senate. It’s about gaining the attention of people. Who then go on to shout at Congresspersons and Senators.

    • 17/01/2012 at 18:41 Diogo Ribeiro says:

      Fair enough, John, but I still think this may be too positive thinking – as in, I’m sure RPS gents and gentettes will take their thoughts and appeals to Congress or Senate, but something tells me that they aren’t very interested in listening to people in the first place. Government rarely does when it wants to preserve their interests.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:02 Gap Gen says:

      Yes, I’m not *entirely* convinced that this will be effective in itself, but I guess a strong signal by the industry in whatever form is needed. As people have said, I suspect America has long supported businesses over individuals, so it’s possible they’ll go through with this even though it’s a poor piece of legislation with no public support, but creating the impression that many in the industry are opposed to it is important.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:08 ResonanceCascade says:

      Solidarity is important to any cause like this. Yeah, a couple sites blacking out won’t bring much attention to the issue. But the cumulative effect of hundreds of smaller websites blacking out in solidarity with the big guys like Wikipedia might.

    • 18/01/2012 at 03:59 Pointless Puppies says:

      These protests are about death by a thousand cuts. If as many citizens as possible rally together and pile on top it will make a difference. Congress would never listen to a thousand, ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand people, but if MILLIONS cry out a sustained note of protest and never let up, there will be pressure.

  19. 17/01/2012 at 18:30 Nameless1 says:

    You have my mouse!

  20. 17/01/2012 at 18:32 Inigo says:

    ROCK PAPER SHOTGUN SHUTS DOWN IN PROTEST
    US CONGRESS: “WHO?”

    • 17/01/2012 at 18:36 Prime says:

      That might have been considered humorous if the US congress was the target of this action. They’re not: we are.

    • 17/01/2012 at 18:38 Meat Circus says:

      They’re gonna feel the burn over Wikipedia like everyone else.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:24 Brun says:

      Google/YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter are really the only websites with enough weight to reach a very large audience. If any one of those sites blacked out for a day I would have no concerns over the fate of SOPA/PIPA. Unfortunately Twitter has already committed to NOT blacking out and Google probably wants to lay low given their past legal troubles with the content industry and the fact that they’ve been painted as the villain by Big Content (i.e. blacking out could play into the hands of the bill’s supporters).

      EDIT: Apparently Google is putting a link on their home page. Not as effective as blacking out but it’s better than nothing.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:27 ReV_VAdAUL says:

      “They’re gonna feel the burn over Wikipedia like everyone else.”

      This is really very true. The rumblings are congressional staffers use Wikipedia pretty heavily on a day to day basis. The politicians might not know how the internet works but with Wikipedia down they’ll almost certainly feel its’ absence.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:58 LionsPhil says:

      I fail to see how mildly inconveniencing a bunch of British proles is supposed to have any effect on US legislation regarding services they already control.

    • 17/01/2012 at 20:04 ReV_VAdAUL says:

      RPS is held in high regard by a considerable number of Americans, including a number of American games developers. RPS blacking out will raise awareness in the US.

  21. 17/01/2012 at 18:34 Hoaxfish says:

    A Blackout is a good excuse to stay in bed

  22. 17/01/2012 at 18:35 Prime says:

    America, the shining ‘city on the hill’ leading us into our glorious future yet again. *sigh*

    The internet in it’s current form is by far the most wonderful invention humanity has ever created. To give corporations any more power over it than they already have would be monstrous. Good on you, RPS. See you Thursday.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:05 Splynter says:

      I find it incredibly frustrating that my citizenship not being American, I have little power to directly affect the actions of an American government that can mess up the internet for the entire world.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:10 db1331 says:

      It’s because we know what’s best for everyone. If we let you lot run things, the entire world would be putting vinegar on their fries, and that is unacceptable.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:12 Splynter says:

      You take that back, you villain you! Vinegar on fries is glorious.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:13 Bhazor says:

      Our electronic old men have made great strides to it.

      To be honest I’d say pasteurization or fire were probably more important inventions.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:16 zomglazerz says:

      I find it incredibly frustrating that my citizenship, even though it’s American, I have little power to directly affect the actions of an American government that can mess up the internet for the entire world.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:18 Splynter says:

      Fair enough zomglazerz, but you do have a touch more power than the rest of us, as you have the ability to vote in American elections.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:39 Prime says:

      @Bhazor. That’s why I chose the word ‘wonderful’. There are plenty of more fundamentally important inventions – like indoor plumbing, for instance – but what the internet gives people the power to do is, well, wonderful. :)

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:43 LaunchJC says:

      What the dickens are fries?

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:53 db1331 says:

      Fries are chips. What do you guys call actual CHIPS, by the way?

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:55 Brun says:

      I think they call actual chips (like potato chips) “crisps.”

    • 17/01/2012 at 20:17 Tams80 says:

      Chips are oblong fried (or baked, or grilled) potatoes.*
      Crisps are flat fried (or then baked) potatoes.*

      *need not be potatoes

    • 17/01/2012 at 21:54 Buttless Boy says:

      Okay, now explain “pudding”. Sweet food you eat after a meal? That’s pudding. Bag of pig guts? That’s pudding, too!

  23. 17/01/2012 at 18:35 aircool says:

    I fully support this gesture.

  24. 17/01/2012 at 18:36 Joseph-Sulphur says:

    RPS should also make their opposition to ACTA known, since its basically an international version of SOPA/PIPA.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Counterfeiting_Trade_Agreement

  25. 17/01/2012 at 18:37 tgoat says:

    “From 9am tomorrow morning, Rock, Paper, Shotgun will be blacked out in protest against SOPA and PIPA. The site will be gone, but for a single black page….”

    … with a link to the wikipedia article about SOPA. :trollface:

  26. 17/01/2012 at 18:37 Johnnemann says:

    Maybe the loss in ad revenue for the day would be offset if everyone who agreed with this stance became a subscriber! Just sayin’.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:01 Kodeen says:

      Very good idea. I do agree with this action and feel RPS are being honorable in doing so, so I must throw money at them.

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:29 Star Guarded says:

      I didn’t even know this was an option, so thank you for pointing it out. I don’t have enough money to subscribe, but I’ll make a small donation since RPS is choosing to do this.

    • 17/01/2012 at 20:10 Torgen says:

      Subscription is only $2USD a month. I don’t even notice it, and forget that I’m even doing it unless I noticed the recurring charge while looking for something else.

  27. 17/01/2012 at 18:39 TheTourist314 says:

    Great, now I’m gonna have to do some actual work at work tomorrow.

  28. 17/01/2012 at 18:41 Bluerps says:

    The internet is the most important invention in the history of humanity since the computer. I completely support this.

  29. 17/01/2012 at 18:46 scopie says:

    Thank you Thank you Thank you RPS for doing this

  30. 17/01/2012 at 18:49 DigitalSignalX says:

    At first they came for the [REDACTED], then they came for the [IP ADDRESS BLOCKED]

  31. 17/01/2012 at 18:51 ffordesoon says:

    APPROVED

  32. 17/01/2012 at 18:56 sonofsanta says:

    I wondered if you’d be going down as well, given your stance so far. Hearty congratulations to you on it.

    To all and sundry asking what the point is: it isn’t to make Congress/Senate aware. It’s to make The Public aware so that they complain to Congress/Senate.

  33. 17/01/2012 at 19:01 asshibbitty says:

    Cutting off the sopa to spite the pipa I see.

  34. 17/01/2012 at 19:04 Unaco says:

    Quick question to John, or someone from the Hivemind: Will it just be the main page that will be going black, or the forums as well? I ask because there is some organisation and communication via the forums for getting Gaming going… FroNapse tournament, BB Leagues, that sort of thing. Should we prepare to lose that line of communication for 24 Hours, or not? It’s only 24 Hours, so not a huge deal, but would be good to know in advance, so I can maybe jot down some details (was planning to make most of my FroNapse challenges for the current season tomorrow evening), or if people have anything really pressing that they’re using the forums/PMs to organise.

  35. 17/01/2012 at 19:13 ReV_VAdAUL says:

    Thankyou for doing this. Raising public awareness about this issue is very important.

  36. 17/01/2012 at 19:14 Oneironaut says:

    Looks like tomorrow will by my day to clear some of my backlog with the entire internet shutting down. Hopefully Backloggery will still be up.

  37. 17/01/2012 at 19:17 vecordae says:

    Good show. I am in 100% support of your decision. When I crack open a bottle of Taddy Porter later today I will raise it in your honor.

  38. 17/01/2012 at 19:25 nrvsNRG says:

    “It’ll piss people off when the site’s not working, and maybe some of those people will refuse to come back. I hope not”

    why do you think this?
    i would think you would have 100% support(or some indifference).

  39. 17/01/2012 at 19:33 Sirico says:

    Most productive day the world will ever know. Good on you guys though

  40. 17/01/2012 at 19:39 Colthor says:

    Jolly good.

    This is perhaps the only bit of lawmongering where I’ve not seen anybody come out in favour of it in comment threads and suchlike.

  41. 17/01/2012 at 19:39 Edawan says:

    Not quite related, but :
    “the hundreds of thousands of people who visit RPS every day”
    wow really ?!

    • 17/01/2012 at 19:54 jonfitt says:

      Yes really.
      I remember when RPS was knee high to a headcrab and everything was very quiet. But I think I heard recently that it is now the biggest PC-centric gaming blog. The lads don’t even bother cashing the ad revenue cheques any more, they just have interns turn them into papier-mache thrones.

  42. 17/01/2012 at 19:42 Drake Sigar says:

    The free day off for you is just a nice bonus, I’m sure.

  43. 17/01/2012 at 19:44 evilcid says:

    you should’ve shut down the site for one day without notifying the readers with a sign saying “this site has been shut down by SOPA” or something like that, then there would have been a major shitstorm of angry readers, telling people your shutting down for ONE day will only bug those retared people who religiously worship this site and feel the need to visit RPS evey single hour, I don’t think that it will affect as many people as you think, even though it was a really good idea

  44. 17/01/2012 at 19:47 Bhazor says:

    Thanks! This will make revising for thursdays Genetics exam much easier.

  45. 17/01/2012 at 19:50 jonfitt says:

    A noble act of solidarity. However I would question the rationale being to raise awareness. My guess would be that most people reading this website are familiar with SOPA/PIPA and why they are bad.
    In essence you’re preaching to the choir.
    Wikipedia going down will get attention, I would love for Google to join too. Everyone might as well forget going to work if that were the case!

  46. 17/01/2012 at 19:58 Mitchk says:

    Fair play indeed, no doubt I will be extremely bored for the next few days but at least its for a good cause.

    It’d be nice to see some other internet giants follow suit. It would probably turn into The End of Days if Facebook went down for a while, but it would attract the attention that this needs to get turned around.

  47. 17/01/2012 at 20:29 mineshaft says:

    Solidarity. See you on the other side.

  48. 17/01/2012 at 20:32 Navagon says:

    Good on you, guys. See you on the other side.

    Oh yeah, thanks mineshaft for making my comment look so original. :P

  49. 17/01/2012 at 20:32 felisc says:

    in unrelated news, a study conducted on January 18th 2012 shows an increase of productivity at work by 340% for the 17 to 50 years old pc gamers.

  50. 17/01/2012 at 20:35 Thiefsie says:

    The logic of many many people being bored without a gaming blog, when given the chance to play said games is rather interesting.

    I fully support this stance and SOPA/PIPA can go die in a ditch. Chalk another one up for the anti-American sentiment of controlling the world. The sooner a superpower is dissolved into a wider democracy (at least on global issues) the better off we all are.

    Strange thing this democracy, when so many feel so powerless against the choices of a relative few.

    • 17/01/2012 at 21:20 Sian says:

      I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not have my boss catch me playing games at work. Reading a blog is more sporadic and easier to hide.

    • 18/01/2012 at 06:41 Fidelicatessen says:

      I can read this at work, but I really shouldn’t be playi…

      *looks up*

      Oh. What Sian said.

  51. 17/01/2012 at 20:53 MichaelPalin says:

    Thank you!

  52. 17/01/2012 at 20:58 Darkwings says:

    John Walker explained it very well.

    Doing nothing is still a choice, in spite of what somebody could be thinking.
    Enjoy your choices while you can still make them.

  53. 17/01/2012 at 21:09 digby5000 says:

    I’m all for the cause, but does this mean I’m going to miss the Flare Path?

  54. 17/01/2012 at 21:11 Torgen says:

    Here’s a technical explanation from a sysadmin’s point of view: http://blog.reddit.com/2012/01/technical-examination-of-sopa-and.html

  55. 17/01/2012 at 21:16 skorpeyon says:

    Best part about SOPA and PIPA is that they won’t solve anything. All you need is an IP address and you’re good to go. It’s only making them block the sites on DNS’s, making it completely pointless to anyone who can find a location to snag an IP address for whatever “blocked” site they want to visit.

    It’s not stopping the process at all, it’s simply shoving your head in the sand and hoping that it’ll alllll go away. Or an even better example: shoving your fingers in your ear while going “LALALALALALALA” and hoping you’re doing it loud enough so no one else hears all the bad words being spouted by the evil internet.

    • 17/01/2012 at 21:40 Lionmaruu says:

      The best part of SOPA and PIPA is that they means SOUP and KITE in Portuguese… :D

      That said, the laws are pretty stupid, and like you said, will only make life more miserable for the general public, and not stop piracy…

    • 18/01/2012 at 07:15 Ostymandias says:

      @Lionmaruu:

      In Swedish, they mean “trash” and “pipe” (or “to squeak”). I find this quite amusing

    • 18/01/2012 at 00:01 Jimmy says:

      Thanks, a brilliant article which dissects the hystericism.

    • 18/01/2012 at 07:57 bill says:

      It IS a pretty good article. (i recommend it to Mr Walker if he hasn’t read it already).

      I do support RPS and most of the other sites on this, as it’s necessary to fight the fire of SOPA/PIPA right now. However, I agree with the writer that this is going to keep repeating until we work out a sensible moderate solution.

      Once the dust settles, it’d be a good idea if we all sat down and came up with a moderate and enforceable solution that didn’t impinge on anyone’s rights. The problem is that the legislation and legal action are always so disproportionate that we’ve all got into the habit of opposing them on principle.

  57. 17/01/2012 at 21:19 mmalove says:

    I support you guys in this: thanks for taking the time and risk to stand up for something important. Godspeed until the 19th!

  58. 17/01/2012 at 21:26 Xaromir says:

    Let’s fight the good fight. Thanks for doing this RPS.

  59. 17/01/2012 at 21:28 His Dudeness says:

    Sir(es), I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability, and I want you to know that we are with you, hatta al-nasr, hatta al-nasr, hatta al-Quds.

    To borrow a befitting quote from ‘Gorgeous George’.

  60. 17/01/2012 at 21:37 Lionmaruu says:

    I have to say I support what you’re supporting… I’m not in USA but I say that if this get approved, this will open a horrible precedent, and I have no doubt other countries will soon follow and the world will suck much more than it sucks now (And IT SUCKS a lot).

  61. 17/01/2012 at 21:40 Maldomel says:

    I can only support this with all my might!
    I’ll be cursing tomorrow after trying RPS for the 50th time, but for now it is great that you guys are committing to that extent.

  62. 17/01/2012 at 21:47 Network Crayon says:

    Sopa & Pipa sound like dinner ladies.
    (Sopa is in charge of the baked beans)

  63. 17/01/2012 at 21:50 Tom OBedlam says:

    ‘mon lads!

  64. 17/01/2012 at 21:56 MythArcana says:

    Meanwhile, the real world has problems and none of them are being solved by the government…so…they come up with this crap instead.

    Capitol Hill needs to be tipped over, emptied out, and replaced with non-dysfunctional beings. Oh, and lobbying needs to be banned, not pythons.

  65. 17/01/2012 at 22:01 King Toko says:

    People should remember that they should fully research a subject from both sides before making a decision based on a video and various comments to determine what they believe. Of course other sites our against it but plenty of other support it so don’t be a sheep.

    • 17/01/2012 at 22:37 His Dudeness says:

      Unless one is a dithering, drooling technophobe that just discovered the marvel that is a quill (failing to compare it to sliced bread yet since that discovery still awaits him) to delectate the world with ruminative ejaculate about how all them newfangled fads that appear to liberate people in spirit and body are the work of the devil and need to be done away forthwith, it’s not really that complicated to know (even without watching the video) which side of this travesty, pardon me, controversy one ought to come down on.

      But hey, it’s a free internet (for the time being), so whatever floats your boat…

    • 17/01/2012 at 22:57 King Toko says:

      Oh no! don’t over react too much then.

    • 17/01/2012 at 23:26 mickygor says:

      That’s not the point, though, His Dudeness, is it? Forcing a stance one way or another, upon people, is the opposite of liberty. If you care for the free internet, surely you care for free opinions too?

    • 18/01/2012 at 00:10 His Dudeness says:

      Don’t mistake sarcasm for over-reaction and frankly where’d I force a stance on anyone? You are free to break a lance in support of censorship (and that is what SOPA, PIPA and ACTA etc. are about) should you feel inclined to do so. Just don’t expect a cuddle and a chummy dead-arm followed by a jocular “What are you like, you little rascal!?”. Just saying…

    • 18/01/2012 at 08:32 Thants says:

      Can I point out that no one actually said that they support it?

  66. 17/01/2012 at 22:17 Zak T Duck says:

    Some heresy might be needed here.

    See you Thursday chaps.

  67. 17/01/2012 at 22:32 TheDreamlord says:

    Well done. I approve.

  68. 17/01/2012 at 22:34 Paleo says:

    While its great that your doing this, since your based outta the U.K would it not be a good idea to also draw some attention to ACTA? Which is basically a international version of SOPA/PIPA and going to be voted on by the EU soon

  69. 17/01/2012 at 22:44 Zanchito says:

    I’d like to black out to protest SOPA too, but I’m afraid I’d be fired. Unfair!

  70. 17/01/2012 at 22:56 h00per says:

    you have my support, thank you

  71. 17/01/2012 at 23:01 Solidstate89 says:

    Damn, now I actually have to do work when I’m at work tomorrow. THE HORROR!

  72. 17/01/2012 at 23:03 Vinraith says:

    While I agree with and appreciate your opposition to SOPA/PIPA, I’m unsure what a blackout accomplishes.

    • 18/01/2012 at 03:44 Pointless Puppies says:

      Exposure and an increase in the pressure of “piling on”.

      If you’re asking what the blackout DIRECTLY accomplishes, it’s quite easy to answer that question with another question: What does ANY protest directly accomplish? Nothing. Even the classic protests involving gathering a throng of people and chanting a phrase over and over, holding picket signs with quips and puns written on them, what does that directly accomplish?

    • 18/01/2012 at 04:33 Vinraith says:

      I suppose what I mean is that blacking out, say, RPS is really just preaching to the choir. The people that are for this idiocy are, by and large, not the people that read this site.

    • 19/01/2012 at 07:56 Prime says:

      Judging by the way I’ve seen this spreading across Facebook, the blackouts are causing people to talk about SOPA, several people who would otherwise never have heard about it not being into technology or games per se . This is, of course, why it’s being done.

      For myself I’d not realised how bad it was until RPS started posting about it.

      As for the link you are looking for between the us and the lawmakers we just have to hope that enough of the right people hear about it and word gets through somehow.

  73. 17/01/2012 at 23:16 The Innocent says:

    Even if you aren’t a US citizen, you can petition the US State Department on the grounds that they constantly speak out against censorship (including of the internet) in other countries.

    http://americancensorship.org/

    It’s about halfway down the page.

    • 18/01/2012 at 00:21 His Dudeness says:

      Done & much obliged.

    • 18/01/2012 at 01:32 johnpeat says:

      I’m not sure I could hold my feelings towards their “other countries are stealing the work of Americans” rhetoric – it would be jingoistic bigotted racism anywhere else on earth, but to Americans it’s patriotism (ignoring the fact that music, films, games and most other works are created by people who aren’t American too – only possible in the Land of the Free eh?)

  74. 17/01/2012 at 23:25 Berzee says:

    This would have been an appropriate measure to take yesterday, as well.

  75. 17/01/2012 at 23:33 nerdery says:

    Great Post – Thank you for the informative blog post. Island Internet Presence will also honor SOPA Blackout tomorrow. As a law abiding Internet Presence firm, we strongly deplore piracy.

    Our objection to SOPA is that it sets up the condition where a legitimate site on the web could be cut off from the Internet without any meaningful review. The result from a site outage for an undetermined period of time can be catastrophic to a business. We cannot imagine operating in an environment that takes down a site, and then puts the operator through a maze of bureaucratic sludge to rectify the situation. This process may sound great if only GUILTY offenders are shut down. As a small business operator who relies on our Internet Presence to generate business, any outage is detrimental to our existence.

  76. 18/01/2012 at 00:10 Eddy9000 says:

    good work lads.

  77. 18/01/2012 at 00:34 kael13 says:

    Going to be so bored tomorrow… Or productive.. Hmm.. We’ll see.

  78. 18/01/2012 at 00:34 My2CENTS says:

    The real problem is that the rich fucks will never stop trying to control the mass. And if you think about it, since its creation Internet is the holy grail for censorship. Not to mention the fact that old people that never used Internet are voting for its destruction. You may think yes this will help authors get their money – and that’s where you’re wrong, you see only the distributor could (hopefully not will) benefit from this, as artist wont see more money, so you’re basically helping some corporation get bigger. Do not get mistaken by the wording around this legislation they are built with one purpose only – to give power to big Copyright owners like Universal, Warner, Viacom etc., its not to protect a young talented artist from piracy or to keep artist focusing on their content.

  79. 18/01/2012 at 01:18 man-eater chimp says:

    Well played RPS, see you on the other side.

  80. 18/01/2012 at 01:36 thedeadface says:

    will u still twitter if something big happens, because outside RPS i black out the entire gaming world everyday, and with my bad luck I could totally see diablo 3 being announced tomorrow during the blackout, i mite possibly not know til thursday… inconceivable! (in reality i totally support the move!)

  81. 18/01/2012 at 01:46 medwards says:

    If you haven’t seen it there are some good pieces of advice on how to black out: http://www.seroundtable.com/sopa-blackout-google-seo-14592.html

    I’ve been thinking a mass sick-in on Wednesday would also be a nice touch, but everyone seems to be letting the websites take the first step.

  82. 18/01/2012 at 03:17 etho says:

    Thanks for doing this, RPSers. It’s fairly unbelievable that any of this even needs to be done, but my government has been doing fairly unbelievable things for an alarming number of years now. Some of us care, and want it to stop, and we appreciate everyone willing to step in and give us a hand.

  83. 18/01/2012 at 03:21 Juan Carlo says:

    This will totally show them!

    I can’t wait to see the look on those Washington fat cats’ faces when they log in to Rock Paper Shotgun tomorrow morning only to discover that it’s not there.

    They will be devastated!

    If we really want to stick it to them maybe we could get the guys over at knitting enthusiast monthly.com to join in as well.

  84. 18/01/2012 at 03:30 frosty216 says:

    All free porn sites should black out for the week. That bill will be shot down faster than a Predator drone over Iran.

    (Disclaimer: It was supposed to be ignorant)

  85. 18/01/2012 at 04:00 alundra says:

    http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-57360499-52/mpaa-blasts-dangerous-anti-sopa-blackouts-as-stunts

    Anti-SOPA blackouts planned for tomorrow by sites like Wikipedia, Boing Boing, Reddit, and others are “stunts” that are “dangerous and troubling,” Hollywood’s chief lobbyist said.

  86. 18/01/2012 at 04:09 1q3er5 says:

    it will be back

  87. 18/01/2012 at 05:53 MD says:

    Man, Ryan North is getting in on this too, and not only can I not read today’s Dinosaur Comic, I can’t read any of them until tomorrow. Fuck SOPA.

  88. 18/01/2012 at 06:30 BunnyMaz says:

    So I was wondering, are you guys going to boycott E3 and coverage of E3 based on ESAs support of SOPA?

    http://www.screwattack.com/StandTogether

  89. 18/01/2012 at 07:10 Cpt.Average says:

    I had to sum up what SOPA was for someone today and the quickest response I could come up with was that it would essentially shut America off from the rest of the internet and encourage other countries to do the same.

  90. 18/01/2012 at 07:58 jimangi says:

    Google should blackout, then the world’ll really be screwed.

  91. 18/01/2012 at 08:01 bill says:

    I do support you on this.

    But, while i think SOPA and PIPA are ridiculous bills, I do think it’s time that a sensible, proportionate, and preferably voluntary solution was found.

    If the websites and users got together and came up with a decent solution then it’d be much more likely to be moderate and workable than one made by lobby groups and politicians.

  92. 18/01/2012 at 08:29 Srethron says:

    I support this!

  93. 18/01/2012 at 08:46 faelnor says:

    What time is it already

  94. 18/01/2012 at 09:00 Milky1985 says:

    The head of the MPAA has spoke out against the people blacking out websites asying its an abuse of power…..

    yes the very same man whos organisation has used ANTI TERROR LAWS to get someone extradited from england to america for providing LINKS to places with copyright content. Even tho its a civil offence over here. Thats not abusing power at all.

  95. 19/01/2012 at 05:12 Rand says:

    Welcome back RPS.

  96. 19/01/2012 at 06:25 bill says:

    So did everyone get lots of work done?

  97. 19/01/2012 at 06:49 Doomsayer says:

    Derp.

  98. 19/01/2012 at 08:12 best_jeppe says:

    Funnily enough SOPA in swedish means Amateur (with a harsch negative tone) so every politican who supports SOPA could be said to be “En sopa” (An Amateur). xD

  99. 19/01/2012 at 23:59 Hmm-Hmm. says:

    Rock on, RPS. You rock on.

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