Wikipedia Russia, other sites protest proposed Internet ‘censorship’ law
The Russian version of Wikipedia went black on Tuesday to protest a proposed law that could become the basis for Internet censorship.
Wikipedia's protest is backed by other large Russian online businesses such as the social networking site VKontakte and the Russian LiveJournal.
"We are protesting because the proposed amendments are too inaccurate, and in its current form they can damage Internet development in Russia," said Vladimir Medeyko, director of the Russian Wikimedia foundation, via instant message.
If the new law, "On Information, Information Technologies and Protection of Information," is adopted with the proposed amendments, this might lead to the creation of a Russian analogue of "the great Chinese firewall" or an "electronic curtain," Medeyko said, adding that in a worst-case scenario access to Wikipedia might be blocked in Russia.
Visitors to the Russian Wikipedia site were unable to access it on July 10. Those who tried to access the site saw a black censorship banner over the Cyrillic word for Wikipedia. "Imagine a world without free knowledge," the slogan reads on the blocked website. Read more...
The Internet Has Killed April Fools’
It’s hard to tell if the Wikipedia article on April Fools’ Day is itself an April Fools’ prank. Tidbits of the ubiquitous holiday’s history seem like jokes in and of themselves;
“”In France and Italy, children and adults traditionally tack paper fish on each other’s back as a trick and shout “april fish!” in their local language (“poisson d’avril!” and “pesce d’aprile!” in French and Italian respectively).”
And this brings me to my point; The Internet has killed April Fools’. Back in the day you used to be able to tell your friends you were engaged, pregnant or had Cancer without them gushing all over your Facebook page or Twitter and immediately freaking out people who you didn’t want to prank, like your family. Read more...
Last entry for Encyclopaedia Britannica book form
Hours after Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. announced it will stop publishing print editions of its flagship encyclopedia for the first time in more than 200 years, someone among the editing minions of free online rival Wikipedia made an irony-free note of that fact.
"It was announced that after 244 years, the Encyclopaedia Britannica is going out of print, instead focusing on its online encyclopedia," the entry read.
The book-form of Encyclopaedia Britannica has been in print since it was first published in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1768. It will stop being available when the current stock runs out, the company said. The Chicago-based company will continue to offer digital versions. Read more...
SOPA and PIPA: The pros and cons
The Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act are getting more negative attention, as major websites such as Wikipedia protest the bills with blackouts on Wednesday. Even Google joined the action, with a link on its homepage explaining why the company opposes the legislation.
But what are SOPA and PIPA, exactly, and why are tech luminaries lambasting legislation aimed at stamping out copyright infringement? Read on for a full explanation.
SOPA and PIPA: The basics
Media companies are always looking for new ways to fight piracy. They've tried suing individual users, getting Internet service providers to take action against subscribers, and working with the U.S. government to shut down domains based in the United States. But none of those actions can stop overseas websites such as The Pirate Bay and MegaUpload from infringing copyrights, or prevent Internet users from accessing those sites. Read more...
Wikipedia, Google protest US antipiracy proposals
January 18 is a date that will live in ignorance, as Wikipedia started a 24-hour blackout of its English-language articles, joining other sites in a protest of pending U.S. legislation aimed at shutting down sites that share pirated movies and other content.
Reddit.com shut down its social news service for 12 hours. Other sites made their views clear without cutting off surfers. Google blacked out the logo on its home page, directing surfers to a page where they could add their names to a petition against the bills. Read more...
SOPA on hold, PIPA may be weakened as Congress revisits the bills
As major technology websites such as Reddit and Wikipedia prepare to go dark this Wednesday in protest over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the U.S. House of Representatives and the similar Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) act in the Senate, there are signs that the protests from the technology industry are causing Congress to rethink the two bills. The bills are supported by the entertainment industry and a variety of business groups whose goods are often counterfeited or pirated. The technology sector -- outside of online businesses -- has been conflicted, with the Business Software Alliance initially supporting SOPA but then withdrawing that support.
Many online advocates say the bills would let the government censor and otherwise regulate the free speech and information flow of the Internet and put Internet service providers and websites in the impossible position of acting as police for the validity of services advertised or promoted via their networks, as well as block access to parts of the Internet if ordered by courts to block access to alleged pirates' and counterfeiters' sites abroad. Read more...
Wikipedia gets $20M in annual fundraising drive
Wikipedia has raised $20 million in its annual plea for donations to help expand and improve the Internet's leading encyclopedia.
More than 1 million people throughout the world contributed the money during a 46-day fundraising drive, which concluded Sunday. The amount pledged to the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit group that oversees the volunteer-driven Wikipedia, is a third more than the $15 million donated during the previous year's fundraising campaign.
The year-end financial push accounts for most of Wikimedia's revenue. The foundation also gets money from grants and other donations spread throughout the year. Read more...
Sarah Palin fans try to rewrite history on Wikipedia
A battle is in full swing on Wikipedia over Sarah Palin and her take on Paul Revere's historical ride.
Late last week, the former Alaskan governor was visiting Boston when she now famously talked about Paul Revere's midnight ride. Instead of mentioning "one if by land or two if by sea" or Revere's ride to warn the colonists that the British were coming, Palin instead said that Revere rode to warn off the British.
Later, Palin made an appearance on Fox News to back up her claim, defiantly saying she was not wrong about Revere.
Now, some of her supporters want to rewrite history to make it reflect Palin's unique version of events. And they have been trying for days to get their changes onto the Paul Revere page on Wikipedia. Read more...