MusicAdventurer
DP Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2011
- Messages
- 1,034
- Reaction score
- 268
- Gender
- Undisclosed
- Political Leaning
- Centrist
This poll and discussion forum is in response to the recent SOPA and PIPA issue (see below for a quote from wikipedia):
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
for more info visit this site:
SOPA and PIPA - Learn more - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
To broaden this issue, should all information be free to citizens, or only certain types of information?
For example, social science type information, i.e. psychological, sociological, political science, social work, etc., and medical articles (research related etc.) are often not available to citizens without a charge. Much of this information could be used by the general public in order to inform better public policy, however, most citizens have to pay to view the info. Should part of our taxes go toward freeing up this type of information for the general public? Should only those who can afford it, be allowed to know critical information such as this? Or should we keep citizens uneducated? Would this even make a difference? What kinds of limits (if any) should be placed on how educated we allow our citizens to become without charge? Is it democratic to keep citizens ignorant, thus limiting their ability to make educated votes? Why or why not?
SOPA and PIPA would put the burden on website owners to police user-contributed material and call for the unnecessary blocking of entire sites. Small sites won't have sufficient resources to defend themselves. Big media companies may seek to cut off funding sources for their foreign competitors, even if copyright isn't being infringed. Foreign sites will be blacklisted, which means they won't show up in major search engines. SOPA and PIPA would build a framework for future restrictions and suppression.
In a world in which politicians regulate the Internet based on the influence of big money, Wikipedia — and sites like it — cannot survive.
Congress says it's trying to protect the rights of copyright owners, but the "cure" that SOPA and PIPA represent is worse than the disease. SOPA and PIPA are not the answer: they would fatally damage the free and open Internet.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
for more info visit this site:
SOPA and PIPA - Learn more - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
To broaden this issue, should all information be free to citizens, or only certain types of information?
For example, social science type information, i.e. psychological, sociological, political science, social work, etc., and medical articles (research related etc.) are often not available to citizens without a charge. Much of this information could be used by the general public in order to inform better public policy, however, most citizens have to pay to view the info. Should part of our taxes go toward freeing up this type of information for the general public? Should only those who can afford it, be allowed to know critical information such as this? Or should we keep citizens uneducated? Would this even make a difference? What kinds of limits (if any) should be placed on how educated we allow our citizens to become without charge? Is it democratic to keep citizens ignorant, thus limiting their ability to make educated votes? Why or why not?