SOPA/PIPA And The OSR

[The Venomous Pao]

Hey folks. I try not to mix my politics with my gaming, but this is something I think we all need to be thinking about. The proposed SOPA & PIPA legislation seems like bad stuff, and I've especially been thinking about how it could impact OSR games, blogs, and so on. If you're not familiar with this stuff, there's a good primer on the topics here: http://www.copyblogger.com/sopa/

As I interpret this stuff, it could very well kill just about everything that's been great, is great, and could still be great about the OSR. If this junk had been in place when OSRIC, LL, S&W and the other retroclones had been just getting started, it's entirely possible that all of these things would have been nipped in the bud. And that would have been a tragedy.

So please take a few moments to educate yourself on these proposed laws and, if you're so inclined, contact your elected representatives to let them know how you feel. A lot of great work has already been done by folks around the internet to put an end to this madness. But there's more to be done.

Also, if you run a blog or other site, please consider joining in with Reddit's blackout planned for 1/18/12. Full details here: http://blog.reddit.com/2012/01/stopped- ... s-all.html

I'll definitely be taking StrangeStones.com dark that day, but I don't think that making a statement to all four of my readers is enough. If a huge swath of the OSR and other geek blogs took part, though, it might actually add up to something.

Oh, and for the record, I am 100% against piracy and IP theft and all of that. I've had my own pirates and thieves to deal with in various parts of my disparate artistic & other pursuits. I just happen to think that these particular approaches to the problems are draconian, stupid, ineffectual and downright dangerous.

That's all I've got. Thanks for your time.

[The Venomous Pao]

Quick update: SOPA has been shelved to some degree or another. But PIPA is still looming. A battle has been won, but not the war. My own participation in Wednesday's blackout will continue.

Here's a nice overview of PIPA, in case you're curious: http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa

[elf23]

Thanks for the info Venmous Pao, I'd not heard of this elsewhere.

[The Venomous Pao]

Glad to share, amigo. It's been criminally underreported so far. I did just hear that CNN finally mentioned something about the protests and I also heard mention of it on All Things Considered on NPR last night. I've also just read that Google and Wikipedia are officially joining in the protests, so hopefully that will help raise the profile of this nasty batch of legislation even more.

On a different note, I don't think I've ever expressed my admiration for your LL material, elf23. You've got some truly amazing stuff up at City of Iron. I was just poking through my LL downloads folder last night and your Elementalist and Fey classes really started tickling my semi-dormant ideas for a strange-ish LL campaign. Cheers!

[The Venomous Pao]

Another update: Despite previous reports, SOPA isn't dead. This dang thing just keeps on regenerating! We're gonna have to kill it with fire, I reckon.

[elf23]

On a different note, I don't think I've ever expressed my admiration for your LL material, elf23. You've got some truly amazing stuff up at City of Iron. I was just poking through my LL downloads folder last night and your Elementalist and Fey classes really started tickling my semi-dormant ideas for a strange-ish LL campaign. Cheers!

*Blushing*

Glad to hear it's inspiring pao!

[The Venomous Pao]

On a different note, I don't think I've ever expressed my admiration for your LL material, elf23. You've got some truly amazing stuff up at City of Iron. I was just poking through my LL downloads folder last night and your Elementalist and Fey classes really started tickling my semi-dormant ideas for a strange-ish LL campaign. Cheers!

*Blushing*

Glad to hear it's inspiring pao!

No need to blush, amigo. It's some mighty good stuff and I'm truly glad you've shared it!

[The Venomous Pao]

Three cheers for victory: Congress Puts Brakes On Anti-Piracy Bills

And while I don't think this means te complete end of all legislation that could be very bad for the way the internet works, it's definitely a good thing. So for now, I'll shut up about SOPA & PIPA. But let's not get complacent, since bad laws are always just around the corner.

[ancarr13]

http://news.techeye.net/internet/secret ... es-the-web

We won the battle but the war is far from over