Dear all, In case you were unaware, there's been a lot of debate recently about two bills being proposed in the US that are called SOPA and PIPA and how these will, if enacted, greatly harm the free internet as we know it. The en.WP article about this bill, if you want background info, is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act
In case you hadn't heard this elsewhere, there is now consensus for the unprecedented action tomorrow for a one-day shutdown/blackout of the English Wikipedia starting tomorrow - at 0500 UTC as far as I can tell (which is the afternoon in Australia). You can read the just-released press announcement from the WMF here: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/English_Wikipedia_to_go_dark and also a more descriptive blogpost here: http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/01/16/wikipedias-community-calls-for-anti-sopa-blackout-january-18/ Undoubtedly, this WILL be a big news story and we will all be asked by our friends/relatives what's going on, so I recommend you have a look at those links so you can answer any questions you get tomorrow. Also, if you're friendly with any journalists, it's probably a good idea to send them the links to the above press release and blog too (or just forward this email). For more details on how the consensus was reached and technicalities and on-wiki repercussions, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOPA_initiative/Action#Summary_and_conclusion Sincerely, Liam Peace, love & metadata
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