It has been announced that Wikipedia will be taken offline for 24 hours this Wednesday (18th January) to protest against the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) that is currently going through the United States Senate. Founder Jimmy Wales announced this earlier via Twitter, after reaching a consensus amongst senior members of the Wikipedia community.
The entirety of the English language Wikipedia website will be inaccessible from 5AM to 5PM GMT, which could disrupt last-minute revision efforts for Southampton students who habitually refer to Wikipedia.
The Protect Intellectual Property Act, and its sister bill, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) are currently being proposed in the United States, granting the ability to stop people accessing websites that contain material that has infringed copyright. Significant opposition has been mounted against these measures, and the proposals are seen by many in the Internet community as threatening vibrant start-up companies that host user content on their website, as well as being similar in nature to policies enacted by oppressive regimes.
Wikipedia was founded just over 11 years ago, and has since grown to be the 6th most popular website in the world, receiving on average 25 million hits around the globe everyday. Similar actions were taken last year on the Italian-language Wikipedia to protest the wiretapping bill, being proposed in the Italian parliament.
The White House have released a statement of opposition to SOPA and PIPA, but it is still unclear whether it will pass or not.
Facebook should do the same. And Google.
Reply
If they did, people would seriously start to listen. Google have been very vocal when it comes to criticising them, but I doubt they would sacrifice a day’s profits for it, same with Facebook. Twitter definitely won’t be out: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jan/16/wikipedia-sopa-blackout-slammed-twitter?newsfeed=true
Reply
Google’s got a blackout on their US site’s sign.
Reply
Proposed headline: “University work to halt for 24 hours as Wikipedia goes offline”.
Reply
What’s Wikipedia?
Reply
Anyone in urgent need of Wikipedia can try just using a different language and then using the Google Translate option. Some slightly odd sentences come out but serviceable enough.
Reply
Or more simply, if you disable Javascript in your browser (not difficult, a quick Google search can tell you how), then it works as normal.
Reply
I’ve just found that if you press the stop button before the block screen comes up then that let’s you in as well.
Reply
Just tested that and IT WORKS lol
Reply
Or even the mobile version of Wikipedia. (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/)
Reply
Articles by Sam Whitehall:
Most Popular
There's never been a more exciting time to get involved.
Find out more >
Recent Articles
Today four strong candidates nominated themselves for three new student roles here at Winchester School of Art. This will hopefully result in a stronger student voice and a well represented union.
Read More »A second candidate withdraws their nomination from the SUSU Elections.
Read More »The University’s Archers compete strongly at the Indoor BUCS Competition
Read More »Management Finalists encouraging students to show off kitchen creations.
Read More »David Cotterrell’s newest show comes to Southampton
Read More »Laxative Abuse is a serious problem in the world of Eating Disorders – Becky Holland explores the myths, the facts, and the help available.
Read More »