This is of interest to Wikipedia fans, users, & contributors

Here's the tweet that is traversing the internet:

Should Jimmy Wales blackout Wikipedia to raise awareness about #SOPA? His call for votes: http://j.mp/sRHmq2

I just don't want anyone to be blind-sided. I love wikipedia.

Me too. Wikipedia is my go to place. I use it for research, work and for any and all questions that occur to me during the day. On any given day, I might consult Wikipedia anywhere from three to 10 times. Sometimes more.

Same. I was talking to a friend about this, and in a completely unrelated conversation, we both found ourselves referencing wikipedia. I'm trying to get a couple relatives hooked. One of them is my grandmother, who is a very intelligent woman, but has unfortunately been raised in a community that has taught her otherwise. I gave her a medical textbook that I no longer need, and I knew she really liked it (I kinda miss it, but I'll survive). When running diagnostics on her computer, I added wikipedia to her bookmark toolbar in hopes that she'll cross-reference between the website and her book. She has a knack for physiology, so I'm still holding onto the hope that she'll click the toolbar and start editing wiki entries, or just enjoying the vast knowledge we share on the internet.

She sounds amazing I hope that she too can discover the delights and instant gratification of Wikipedia.

I collect (and its kind of embarrassing to admit this) Harlequin Presents romance novels from the 90's and late 80's. Wikipedia has an offshoot called RomanceWiki where it lists the different novels published by the different publishing houses throughout the year. This compendium extends all the way back to the 70's. Whenever I acquire a "new" book, I fill in it's corresponding page. It's my way of adding a little to the Wikipedia mass conscience.

I am extremely worried about this SOPA/PIPA business. I do agree that to a certain extent intellectual property should be protected, but not to the extent where we become heavily censured by one entity with its own agenda, who may at any given moment decide, if it's in it's best interests, that your upload infringes copyrights, just to shut you up or whatever other obscure reason.

As far as online piracy... I live in a third world country where, though I pay quite a lot of money for satellite, I don't get most channels and thus, I don't have access to most show that I follow, the answer is Megauplaod, the answer is SeriesYonkis and such "rouge" sites. What do I do when they shut such sites down? Give up TV? I don't get Netflix here. I have no other means of watching the TV shows I like. Also, some movies might not even make it here, and when they do, I have to wait weeks after their release to watch it in theaters. It's a double edged sword.

The decision has been made. The English portion of Wikipedia will be going dark tomorrow.

...for 24 hours. I think the protest should be longer to make a greater impact. Shut these sites for a week and you will really see panic in the streets. Explain that it is because of the possibility of the SOPA/PIPA bill passing that this was done. Then you will see Congress start to sweat. One of my own senators is a sponsor of PIPA and has refused to speak to constituents regarding this issue.

I agree, and that's what I was hoping for. A friend of mine doesn't really see the benefit of this because it isn't a social networking site. That got me thinking: what sort of a reaction would we get if Facebook, Twitter, and G+ shut down for the week preceding a major election?

Ah, a friend just informed me that Craigslist will be shutting down, too.

Google is honoring the blackout with a specialized logo.


And I've already mentioned Craigslist:

The text would be blue...but I clicked the link.

I agree that a longer blackout would be more effective, but this will at least raise awareness.

Exactly :)

Especially among college students who use wikipedia for essays. Their resource section is a goldmine!

Yay! LT is bringing attention to SOPA!

Well, it got me...I JUST got thru reading this thread, wandered off to do some research on something else, clicked on the wikipedia article of what I needed, and got blacked out. Short term memory loss has hit again. Seriously, it couldn't have been more than 5 minutes after reading this. Sigh.

It's practically muscle memory, though! When I need information, I go to wikipedia.

I'm glad to see LT got on board! In addition to Wikipedia, Craigslist (although it did let you through after 10 seconds) and Google, others on board included Reddit, Etsy and Amazon. And while I am primed by my profession to hear more (I'm a copyright & intellectual property specialist, after all!), I was thrilled by how much coverage this got. Sadly, though, I know we still have a long road ahead of us, as this fight will not die. But I do have hope!

Ditto! One of my favorite movie critics, Nostalgia Critic, is also on board, because if this law is passed his site will have to be shut down. :( Support the Critic, and his right to insult Hollywood as he pleases! Fight!

I feel kinda sheepish, because all yesterday, I was directing people to NChick's "Mr Awesome Goes to Washington" video. ^^;

Hehe. Don't worry, you didn't know. :)

Have you seen the Critic's latest review, about the first Star Trek? I was subjected to that movie when I was eleven or so - it ruined any possible enjoyment of Star Trek that I might've had.

(EDIT: Turns out Nostalgia Critic has done another review since I last checked - The Search for Spock! I know what I'll be doing for the next 30 minutes.)

I saw it and completely agreed! A few friends and I had a Star Trek marathon last summer, and we watched them with Rifftrax whenever available.