Comments for History of the Digital Age

Comment on We Are Anonymous by neuroth2

neuroth2 — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 20:09:38 +0000

I thought your summarization of Anonymous was very descriptive and overall a good introduction to some of the facts about them. I wasn’t even able to uncover all of that information while doing my own research so great job there. I thought your descriptions of SOPA and PIPA were a little bland in of themselves in that you didn’t really explain what they are trying to prevent or inhibit. I would like to know about your personal opinions about the impacts laws like SOPA would have on our communities and on the internet as a whole. I personally think that Anonymous does have a good agenda and are trying to look out for the freedom of our country. Overall I thought you did a great job summarizing some very broad targets and helped contribute to my understanding of this weeks topics as well as Anonymous as a group.

-Andrew Neuroth

Comment on Blog #7- Anonymous, SOPA, and PIPA by grabow51

grabow51 — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 18:17:53 +0000

I thought you summed up Sopa and PIPA very well. I agree that it would not completely end piracy as controlling the Internet would be nearly as difficult as controlling the world. I do, however, think the bill would slow down hackers such as Anonymous and copyright infringers until new ways around the system are found. To better understand this, if the bill were to come into play it could shut down certain foreign sites that allow Anonymous to purchase bonnet power, making it more difficult for anonymous to act. Although groups like Anonymous will find anyway retaliate as they feel there the new bill would curtail online freedoms. Anonymous has a powerful history of taking down the websites such as Sony, the government of Egypt, police officers, and other large organizations. Anonymous has its power in numbers and it is hard to say what they are truly capable of. In the end its hard to say where the battle over the freedom will go or whether a bill such as SOPA will really hold up against those who object.

Comment on Week 7 – Free No More: Internet Regulation and Hacking by zdziars2

zdziars2 — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 18:12:41 +0000

I think you did an excellent job in expressing the importance of fighting for the Internet by encouraging others to vote. As members of the Internet generation, the Internet is a very serious matter to us. It has been around since our birth and we have weaved it into almost every aspect of our daily lives. Even thinking about the Internet as a place with limited or restricted access to information is unreal to me. Although older generations seem to criticize our indifference to political matters often describing us as the generation who is much less interested in politics than any preceding generation, I think that when it comes to the Internet, something we all hold close to our hearts, we can prove them wrong. Many have already taken a stand boycotting products from companies that support SOPA and PIPA and have been avidly involved in protesting and writing letters to government officials expressing their dissent. I think that we are fully capable of taking a stand for what we believe in just as much as any generation before us and can and will fight for the freedom of the internet.

Comment on Week 7 – Free No More: Internet Regulation and Hacking by Myra

Myra — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:35:24 +0000

I believe Anonymous is a group that is trying to leave their mark in history, with all the hacking and exposing they are doing to websites and companies. The accomplishments that they are trying to complete are for a good cause because they are trying to revolutionize freedom of the Internet and stop the bad people who are trying to corrupt that. Anonymous is a very large group of people so you would not know who exactly is being involved. Bills like SOPA and PIPA are not the first bills that have been created to put a restriction on the Internet and I’m pretty sure will not be the last. These bills are created to allow the government to control how we use the Internet. I agree the Internet is the most popular form of media that we use every day and if the government removes our access then that will be violating our rights as the people. We should not accept these bills and allow them to pass so as a nation we should fight for the Internet and fight for our freedom of the Internet. That’s right, take a stand and vote!

Comment on Week 7, SOPA and PROTECT IP by sklutjoh

sklutjoh — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 13:43:04 +0000

I agree with you as well, there is not much the US government can do about international piracy. Very little indeed. The fact still remains, people will have access to pirated video, audio and visual property of others, not to mention written word, however think about the people that piracy can help. The artist who cannot make it in a regular recording industry. That artist just wants people to listen to his music. He wants exposure. He can only become a top rated artist if the public sees his work as necessary to listen to. Artists these days do lose money from piracy, however I would venture to say that most of the younger pop stars have pirated from someone else in their life time and have understood that album sales are not the bulk of their money. Concerts, cameo’s, sponsorships, those are what bring in real money.

Comment on Week 7 – Copyright Laws by greerdom

greerdom — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 03:33:31 +0000

If the laws get passed into congress, I too believe that the Internet will never be the same. The amount of information that we have placed at our fingertips will be regulated and stripped. How can one country take over and regulated the World Wide Web? You made a great point by point out that these acts will strip us of the freedoms that we now enjoy. I think that the illegal downloading that is going on is a big issue that needs to be addressed; I just don’t think that this is the answer

Comment on Anonymous, SOPA, PIPA by sheahan1

sheahan1 — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 03:14:52 +0000

The post started off well hitting some key points on the effects of these bills. I feel like the author lost track when he brought up anonymous. This group was not originally formed as protester’s of any U.S. laws. They came about as a loosely held together group of ‘hacktivists’ who worked to free media. The later led online freedom fighting missions undermining corrupt governments censorship firewalls allowing citizens to have free access to outside forums and intercommunication throughout their own nation. Most of the anons attacks on U.S. soil have been on large businesses that have violated computer freedom or have attacked other hackers. The SOPA/PIPA resistance was implemented mostly by online business websites that were negatively affected by the legislation. That was why the internet blackout occurred. It held all sites accountable for any links posted on their sites and were subject to punishment if the links were in violation of any copyright laws. These bills are going to continue to be present in our country but it is our duty as citizens to protest and take actions against such. When government wants to further infringe on our civil rights, it is time for new government.

Comment on Week 7: SOPA PIPA by sherm216

sherm216 — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 02:54:10 +0000

Intellectual property theft and copyright infringements are major problems that have come about since the beginning of the digital age. I do not think that a simple congressional bill is going to solve the problem. Bills such as SOPA and PIPA do not treat the cause of intellectual property theft and copyright infringement; rather, they only address the symptoms. These acts do nothing to prevent the copying of copyrighted material; they only censor this illegal material from the public. The United States prides itself on personal freedoms and it was no surprise when these bills were met with such an uprising. These bills would have punished the public instead of the ones as fault.

I agree that the issue of copyright infringement and intellectual property theft is not going to be a simple and easy fix. The issue definitely needs to be researched farther and more effort needs to be put into the search for a cure to the problem. I think that it is a hard battle to fight because record companies are unwilling to change in their ways. As long as record companies continue with their current business plan, the public will continue to have no shame in stealing from them.

Comment on Week 7- SOPA and PIPA by nguye263

nguye263 — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 00:34:23 +0000

Your explanation about the Sopa and Pipa are extraordinary! I enjoyed hearing your perspective how these laws are going in the wrong direction to change and help illegal piracy based actions. These actions are occurring every day, and laws like such are not making much of difference. All of it comes down to how our government approaches in handling the issue especially if it is a serious one. People truly dislike for a specific reason. I am glad you were able to reflect on why the public dislikes the policy. The policy could be enforced; however, there are still many people who are still performing such illegal piracy based actions. If the government is truly passionate about this issue then maybe Officials need to re evaluate their enforcement policy. Our country emphasizes about enjoying freedom or being original, however, so many laws being laid down everyday which refrains individual from accessing to their full potential. It’s sad but true. I’m glad you were able to explain and reflect on an individual originality or potential in your response.

Comment on Week 7 – Hackers and Legislation by Robert Purdy

Robert Purdy — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 23:51:07 +0000

I enjoyed reading your post and how you were able to describe each of the terms involved in the assignment. However, you mention that you hope that these issues should receive more attention in the political sphere to prevent groups from taking matters into their own hands. I don’t think that this is the particular area where more attention = good attention. More attention in the political arena will only lead to more regulation and expanding the current net of which things are protected. You will still have the same set of problems and even more will emerge if regulation is tightened. Unfortunately, I believe that copyright laws in society will never be able to prevent what they are intended to do. There are just too many ways around them.