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Wikipedia Confirms PIPA/SOPA Blackout

Early December we broke the news that Wikipedia was considering to blackout its site to oppose the pending PIPA/SOPA bills, and today founder Jimmy Wales just confirmed that it’s on.

Coming Wednesday the English Wikipedia will go dark.

With this unprecedented move Wikipedia joins the ranks of Reddit, Mozilla, Boing Boing and many others.

The blackout will start at midnight Washington DC time and will last for 24 hours.

Jimmy Wales advises students to finish their homework before Wednesday.

“Student warning! Do your homework early. Wikipedia protesting bad law on Wednesday!,” he tweeted a few minutes ago.

wiki

wiki

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  • TelezarZ

    Hell Yeah !! Can’t wait for it !

    • JoJo

      Two more days :D

  • http://twitter.com/icanhazsake Ninja

    Major blackout this is becoming!

    In my sweet wet dreams Google, Yahoo, Microsoft also join the blackout.

    Too bad it ain’t happening. I *SWEAR* I never hoped that badly to bite my tongue.

    • http://tinyurl.com/ANoiXioNA-personal-info ANoiXioNA

      Agree…Google, Yahoo+ Microsoft….won’t join in on the point making….

      I too am hoping…. I have to eat my hat : )

    • http://ipduh.com ip intel

      They did … kinda
      :)

  • Jasper van Weerd

    Since I use wikipedia almost everyday, I dont like the idea of the blackout, the reason is solid though.

    • http://twitter.com/icanhazsake Ninja

      I think they could just set up the main page with a message and some link to the real page itself along with changing the color scheme to black bg and white font and a few small banners/text ads related to SOPA/PIPA.

      But a blackout will surely weight a few tons more than just an alternate main page.

      • Anonymous

        Nobody views the main page. :)

        A soft blackout would work, though, that lets you click through to get to the article. But there are a million mirrors online with the same information anyway, so no big loss.

  • THX-WIKI

    FUCK YES! THANK YOU WIKIPEDIA!

  • Anonymous

    As long as google is not blacking out, every wikipedia page is visible in google cache.

    • Mr. Putin

      the design says at the bottom “or continue to wikipedia” meaning you can still access the website…

      • Mwhahaha

        And I’m hoping they’ll have a suitably different message for people who don’t live in the United States of Myopia where we can send msgs to our own govts to see if we can put pressure on them too.

        • Anonymous

          If SOPA and PIPA get passed, the sites will be blocked for people outside of the USA, too.

  • Alyssa Blindy

    Oh that last poster is so correct. So long as google stays on, which they will, all can still view the pages. However, this will still have effect, major effect because people can’t search wickipedia, edit articles, or any of that.

    • Mwhahaha

      So people might do some real work for an hour or two?!

      There might be a world wide economic surge if all the interesting sites ppl dick around on go down for a day and do what they’re paid to instead.

      Facebook is possibly the only site which isn’t directly commercial which would get the required publicity over this issue. I’m guessing they’re not caring so much about net control bearing in mind their own insanely random approach to privacy and control.

      • Alyssa Blindy

        Yu know, there ARE people who do not go online all day to the sites they enjoy; there are people who do truly work.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_VA52EIAI47TA4ZAQGVSEZG4JL4 William Natson

    Great Wikipedia!!!!

  • http://www.dregstudios.com Brandt Hardin

    Two frightening pieces of controversial legislation, SOPA and The NDAA only go to further stifle our Constitutional Rights without the approval of the Americans, just as the Patriot Act was adopted WITHOUT public approval or vote just weeks after the events of 9/11. A mere 3 criminal charges of terrorism a year are attributed to this act, which is mainly used for no-knock raids leading to drug-related arrests without proper cause for search and seizure. The laws are simply a means to spy on our own citizens and to detain and censor public opinion without trial or a right to council. You can read much more about living in this Orwellian society of fear and see my visual response to these measures on my artist’s blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2011/09/living-in-society-of-fear-ten-years.html

  • Mwhahaha

    OMG No!
    No possibly accurate information for 12 hours! That’ll piss off the guys sponsoring the bill hugely….

    Whilst I admire the stance, unless the whole net goes dark it’s kinda pointless. There are other places to visit, places who if they have any business sense will be making the most of this downtime for the larger sites.

    Most ppl won’t give a fuck unless they give a fuck already. They’re busy, they say “o i have no time for this latest shit, I just wanted to find out who played Mouth in Happy Days or who the MVP was in the NFL last year, then back on with my daily grind.”

    Ok so a few journalists might have to attempt real background research for a story or two, but that won’t kill them….

    I wish the protest luck, I do, but it’s a grandstanding act which will put very few people out.

    The constant money beg from wiki whenever I go there is starting to piss me off btw. Just bang a few ads in and have done with, I have ad block like the rest of the sane population so it won’t bother me.

    Anyway like I say good luck, but it’s kinda the equivalent of a guy denying his wife of years sex for a week, even if she notices what he’s doing, she’s not that fussed.

    • http://tinyurl.com/ANoiXioNA-personal-info ANoiXioNA

      the sixth biggest site online….
      7-8 Billion page views per month ( just the english version )

      There has been a mainstream media blackout on the whole Sopa/Pipa issue….
      Peaceful actions like this will help get the message out there….by bypassing the mainstream news filter…

      “”Most ppl won’t give a fuck unless they give a fuck already.”"
      true….but.
      Most ppl don’t even know Sopa/Pipa exists…
      never mind “give a fuck” as to what it is….

  • Pingback: Wikipedia Confirms PIPA/SOPA Blackout | U Torrent Free Download

  • Adam

    it will not happen people

  • john smith
  • Anonymous

    funny how no one worried about piracy in the 90′s when our government gave away the store to the Communist Chinese… explain THAT one Newt Gingrich. I am somebody spoact.blogspot.com

  • A Skeptic

    The big deal here isn’t about protesting the law. It’s about raising AWARENESS about it.

    I asked a dozen people whom I personally knew (all decently proficient with technology) what they thought about SOPA. Ten of them didn’t know what it was.

    If Wikipedia does this then a lot more people will know about what’s going on here, and hopefully (assuming that people are sane) will oppose it.

  • Arealdude

    Thanks Wiki… I hope all major site will come to fight against Fu**ing SOPA.

  • BTGuard - BitTorrent Anonymously

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