slightly off topic. but sort of important.

[Sparthos]

He was trying to avoid having the thread locked.

:P

[Javarr]

Honestly I know these boards are international and all and this matter (for the moment) applies to the US, but tbh, this bill, if passed, will change the face of the internet as we know it. I would REALLY like to know what our "Exalted Lawmakers" up on the Hill are doing. Do they even know what this means and what this will cause? Social media, video/image sharing, not to mention groups like fansubs would vanish almost over night. Just a piece of info that I was thinking about if I was reading the information correctly, that the government, not the companies has the power to kill any site that could infringe on copyright laws. If that is the case, say goodbye to FFXIwiki, Killing Ifirt, ZAM, FFXIAH, and BG as well, due them "enabling the infringement of copyrighted material". SE holds the copyright and none of those are sanctioned sites unlike these official forums.

This is truly terrifying and needs to be stopped. If this happens, the internet is pretty much done for.

And to our JP and EU friends, this is not far off for you all. Normally, most things that pass here in the US, get mirrored around the world, so I'd be ready. If the fight is lost here, be ready to launch the fight when this comes knocking on your door.

Edit: Spelling correction

[Runespider]

This is truly terrifying and needs to be stopped. If this happens, the internet is pretty much done for.

Chances are if this doesn't pass a slightly watered down one will pass in it's place anyway, big business will get their way. All the truely powerful people/businesses hate the internet because it can't be monopolised and exploited in the way most other things can and it's too level a playing field. Internet is too popular and widespread among the population to remain as open and free as it is now, might take them some time but they will get their way.

[scaevola]

This isn't slightly off-topic, this is very much off-topic and also against the forum rules.

gosh you're right

hurry everybody let's get back to talking about elves rather than shit that matters

[Theytak]

This isn't slightly off-topic, this is very much off-topic and also against the forum rules.

ITT: Censoring American internet access isn't related to Americans who play a game run on non-American servers.

[Avidon]

I generally don't get involved in these types of conversations, but what I'm about to say isn't an attack at all. America isn't the land of Freedom as so many people put it. It started out like that, but the world has changed since then. It's now a Country that is competing with the world. One that is looking for more money. And that's the bottom line. Money. Not Freedom, or being heard. Sure you get to vote but, just like ANYTHING else in this world, the one's in power are going to do what they want to do, for 2 reasons: 1: to line their own pockets or 2: Make their home a better place by the means they deem necessary. Not you. It's such a pessimistic view, but that's the world we live in.
The internet is a powerful thing. And anyone who's involved in the worldwide scheme of things would strive to control it. To block the Internet today would be just as powerful as blockading trade by sea. So buckle up and enjoy the ride.

[Doombringer]

yah sorry i left the op so vague, i figured since this was a little off topic i'd just keep it as short as possible and link y'all to someone more qualified than i to explain it.

as for being against forum rules.. at least i'm not posting pictures of my dog or something. it's quasi-gaming related. we're here, we're using the internet, and a lot of ffxi related sites we use could potentially be affected. ffxiah.com? ffxiclopedia? BG? ZAM? so on?

plus, it seems like this WAS news to at least a few people, so... worth it.


and again, thank you for your time and understanding. even if this thread IS technically against the rules, i think it's worth letting slide.

[Arcon]

gosh you're right

hurry everybody let's get back to talking about elves rather than shit that matters

This shit matters? So you think discussing it here will what, raise people's awareness? Or do you think discussing it here will actually change something? You're just frustrated about it and spam several forums to vent your anger, that's all there is to it. Nothing good will come of this. Don't get me wrong, not much bad will come from it either. Nothing will really come of it, and that's my point, posting this here is useless.

The reason political and religious threads aren't allowed is simlpe, because players will get in a heated debate and it will always, inevitably, lead to flame, insults and hitler-comparisons. If they wanted us to talk about that stuff, they'd have an off-topic forum, but they don't. This simply isn't the right place to discuss it.

ITT: Censoring American internet access isn't related to Americans who play a game run on non-American servers.

Um.. yes? Or wait, does your logic say that we should discuss cancer research here, because people playing FFXI can get cancer too, so it's for the sake of the FFXI playerbase?

This has nothing at all to do with FFXI. I don't even see why people feel a need to discuss it here. What do you think will come of it? Tell me seriously, because I can't possibly follow that train of thought. Or are you just looking at another place to vent, because I believe that's all there is to it. You're raging and wanna make sure that everyone knows about it.

[Meyi]

Acorn, it raises awareness to people on this forum who weren't aware of it. It does not affect players on these forums alone; the information is then sometimes spread from the players here to other players in the game who don't visit the forums, and from there it may spread to family and friends as well.

It's important because we use the internet to play the game. This forum we're posting responses on is a website, and websites run off of the internet. If certain websites are blocked by the government, who knows which ones. Potentially it could affect this website. The probability is low because we're still friends with Japan, Square Enix has business in America, and this website is business owned. But that doesn't mean this website is guaranteed safety. It doesn't guarantee any of the fan based websites safety either.

Awareness is a good thing. Awareness is the first step to success. Without awareness, stopping or resolving an issue is incredibly difficult. So here's an idea; either say yay or nay, and leave it at that. No need to be grumpy and try to rain on everyone's parade.