Slowtwitch Explodes

An explosion four blocks away from our server bank in Vancouver, BC, rammed a piece of rebar into an electrical box containing 580 fiber cables.

Compounding the problem was the electrical box itself, which was covered in asbestos and therefore mandated the wearing of hazmat suits by the Bell Canada workers.

Worse yet, the dynamic rerouting—which is the hallmark of the internet—available through the diverse fiber paths emanating from the building displayed on schematics—did not function.

In other words, the perfect storm. Oh well. Spit happens.

But we're up now, thanks to the good work of our web host, Gossamer Threads. We're sorry for the inconvenience.

Many of you thought we were engaged in a protest of PIPA and SOPA. I think it a germane subject and I think it's our duty to broach it.

One thing about us here on Slowtwitch that is gratifying to me—not mandatory, nevertheless gratifying—is that we all on staff seem to be pretty much of a mind on most things. So, while I haven't spoken to Herbert or Timothy about this—and therefore cannot speak for them—it would not surprise me if they in broad strokes agree.

But I don't know precisely what my compadres think, and I encouraged Jordan to take this opportunity to write his own thoughts on the PIPA and SOPA legislation. I am likewise writing mine. I have not read his thoughts and vice versa. I'm sure Jordan's text will make for a good read.

I find it unfortunate that "government regulation" seems to be a charged phrase in our national discussion. To many legislators, including the Texas Congressman whose name is most closely associated with the current proposed anti-piracy legislation, government regulation is bad—unless it's government regulation that you want.

Regulation is not, I don't think, antithetical to "the market." Regulation is the market. The way you and I choose to exercise our market voice is either to pick up a gun and join the revolution, or pick up a pencil and mark a ballot. I think the latter is a more efficient mechanism.

Of course, we can simply choose not to buy a product and, yes, that's another way the market speaks. But if we decide to deregulate airline safety and rest only on the voice of the market as expressed through buying decisions, do you want to know you've made an unwise purchasing choice at 30,000 feet?

I hope we can all agree that regulation, as a mechanism, is neutral. It's neither good nor bad. It becomes bad when it's onerous and restrictive past the point of utility.

Are PIPA and SOPA restrictive past the point of utility?

What we all enjoy now is the ability to express an idea on Slowtwitch, and for that idea to be live and available to the world's eyes in real time. That immediacy is good, assuming judgment and patience attend our writing habits. When you have 2,500 posts show up on a reader forum in a 24 hour period—which has often happened on Slowtwitch—not all readers understand or sufficiently honor copyrights. Current practice is for a copyright holder to advise the site host of an infringement and for the site host to remove the offending item.

What concerns many of us is the ability of a copyright holder to appeal to a court, and for the judge to grant an order that mandates that a web host cause an entire website to go dark.

As bad as exploding rebar is, the Sword of Damocles PIPA and SOPA represent would chill discussion on sites like ours, forcing many site owners to move to a validation scheme for message boards. The vibrancy that attends the immediacy of commentary would be lost if your post is not live until I adjudge its conformity and then validate it before its publication.

I am for anti-piracy legislation. I'm against legislation that has harmful unintended consequences.

While exploding rebar had its own harmful unintended consequence, one good that came out of is the reminder that we who run Slowtwitch cannot leave all the heavy lifting to Wikipedia and others. We're part of the internet community. We're part of "the market."

You are also a constituent of "the market." (And may I take this moment to thank you for including Slowtwitch among your market choices.) I hope you'll consider the views Jordan and I express here and, if you feel it appropriate, express your view to your legislators.

Tags: