After a quick visit to Google, it is the Stop Online Piracy Act. Admirable intent but you Yanks can come up with the weirdest laws with great unintended consequences. There would not seem to be any problem here as long as posters do not use unattributed copyright material, but who knows? European accounting got all screwed up after some strange laws following the Enron blow-up and which, by the way, cost tens of thousands jobs across Europe. For instance, several publicly traded companies chose to delist from U.S. stock exchanges rather than spend the money to comply.

You can see how (un)successful American laws have been in ending posting for escort services or online gambling. As so often the case, SOPA appears to have (off the top of my head) great potential for screwing up legitimate business but little chance of closing down nations (China, Thailand) sponsoring piracy for their domestic gain.

Here in the USA, we arent exactly the land of the free anymore... you Europeans are, on quite a few fronts, better off. I might move out there someday, wanna see a country other than this one. We pass some stupid laws. such as...
Section 13A-12-1

Certain acts prohibited on Sunday.

Any person who compels his child, apprentice or servant to perform any labor on Sunday, except the customary domestic duties of daily necessity or comfort, or works of charity or who engages in shooting, hunting, gaming, card playing or racing on that day, or who, being a merchant or shopkeeper, druggist excepted, keeps open store on Sunday, shall be fined not less than $10.00 nor more than $100.00, and may also be imprisoned in the county jail, or sentenced to hard labor for the county, for not more than three months. However, the provisions of this section shall not apply to the operation of railroads, airlines, bus lines, communications, public utilities or steamboats or other vessels navigating the waters of this state, or to any manufacturing establishment which is required to be kept in constant operation, or to the sale of gasoline or other motor fuels or motor oils. Nor shall this section prohibit the sale of newspapers, or the operation of newsstands, or automobile repair shops, florist shops, fruit stands, ice cream shops or parlors, lunch stands or restaurants, delicatessens or plants engaged in the manufacture or sale of ice; provided, that such business establishments are not operated in conjunction with some other kind or type of business which is prohibited by this section. It shall also be lawful to engage in motorcycle and automobile racing on Sunday, whether admission is charged or not; except, that this proviso shall not be construed to prevent any municipality from passing ordinances prohibiting such racing on Sunday.

albiet old, it shows just how stupid we have been. I remember hearing some law about not being able to walk to wisconsin from minnesota with a duck on your head and vice versa with a goose.

I need to get outta here

SOPA is all about the illegal distribution of music, movies, and software such as bootleg movies and illegal free music downloads. If this bill was a threat to this site, there would have been a formal announcement on the home page, and since Sexinfo 101 doesn't do any of those things, I think its safe to say that the site isn't going anywhere :)

Now while I don't support bootleg movies and/or illegal downloads, at the same time I don't have any sympathy for companies/corporations that want to overcharge people for sub par music/movies in these tough times.

And even if this does pass, people are just going to find another way around it anyway so I find this bill pointless.

I'm just waiting for the day when enough people say "you know what? I just don't care about the content you provide anymore."

My father used to tell me about growing up in the 1940's and all the family knew how to play some instrument. You could just fart around any make your own music. I'm teaching myself classical guitar for that very reason. Am I any good? Hell no! But I'm having way more fun than dropping $15 of a new thing barfed out by a "major star". The music I do listen to is wide ranged, but I'm pretty much done buying anything new that's mainstream mass-produced.

LOL Firmus. But it's not just music. It's also movies and television among other things. But the thing is, is that the entertainment industry mass-produces media that is half-assed and then expect people to pay full price for it. That's how file sharing sites like Napster came about in the first place.

The main problem with the act is that it can take down (or block, for sites hosted outside the US) sites without notice or proof that there was ever anything illegal posted there.

So yeah, it could affect sites like this if some prude decided to pretend there was copyrighted material being misused here to "protect" passing children or some shit.

I don't think that will happen because that will then be a direct violation of the 1st Amendment. If they can take this site down, then they could do away with anything. This is just like all those time politicians tried to introduce legislation to further restrict video games but are never able to pass in the end.

Well, dubz, there are states in the U.S. where doctors are prohibited from discussing abortion with patients. Is that First Amendment or does it not matter because it only has to do with women's health?

All I'm saying is that Congress can't pass a bill that shuts down any website they want just because they think that there's illegal material they want.

As for the other thing, the 14th Amendment is supposed to cover things like that since that's where women's rights reside, so I don't know what to say since I'm not a Constitution scholar . I didn't even know that there were states that could do that...

[QUOTE=Brandye;276351]Well, dubz, there are states in the U.S. where doctors are prohibited from discussing abortion with patients. Is that First Amendment or does it not matter because it only has to do with women's health?[/QUOTE]In States where religious beliefs are anti-abortion, the laws will reflect this view. State medicial boards do set standards for physicians, and they must comply with these rules. Even when Federal and State laws differ, do you really think Federal Lawmakers will touch religious issues, no way. The woman has her rights, however the physician is prohibited from addressing this issue.

"The woman has her rights......" But she cannot talk to her physician about what she chooses to do with her body. This is not constitutional, legal, religious or morals. It is simple sexism. Can you name one medical issue unique to men which is prohibited discussion with a male patient?

When did this become a topic about women's rights? OP asked whether or not this bill has the possibility to shut this site down and all I was saying is that the odds that it will happen are nearly zero, assuming that this bill even passes at all.

Let's just try not to derail this further okay?

[QUOTE=Brandye;276362]"The woman has her rights......" But she cannot talk to her physician about what she chooses to do with her body. This is not constitutional, legal, religious or morals. It is simple sexism. Can you name one medical issue unique to men which is prohibited discussion with a male patient?[/QUOTE]No matter which way you look at it, I feel it is wrong. The woman has her rights....peroid ! All issues aside...anything one wants to call it, she still has the right to decide on her own. If she wishes to talk to her physician, she should be able to anytime she wishes. Law makers should stay out of the physicians world, our health care would be a lot better off.

[QUOTE=g-dubz;276363]When did this become a topic about women's rights? OP asked whether or not this bill has the possibility to shut this site down and all I was saying is that the odds that it will happen are nearly zero, assuming that this bill even passes at all.

Let's just try not to derail this further okay?[/QUOTE]

Sorry, lets get back on topic. Even if it does pass, we are not talking about products, copy rights. We are sharing our views, thoughts and idea's !

*Facepalm! I forgot that the site was hosted from Canada. So SOPA wouldn't affect it anyway lol :)

Isn't this site Canadian? Therefor can't be affected by a US bill?
http://www.sexinfo101.com/forum/general-discussion/30494-site-genesis-br...

no SOPA gives the ISP the right to remove a website from their DNS which means if they wanted they could make it so you couldn't access this site through typing sexinfo101.com, you could still access the site by typing in the numerical listing for the site but that would hinder the amount of people visiting.

After reviewing a summary of the bill, I do not believe that it would apply to us. We create all of our own content (the positions and written content), and purchase licenses for the photography used on the website.

I will give the full bill a proper read over the holidays to ensure that SexInfo101.com is above board.

Your concern is appreciated!

Here's some emerging info on the source of SOPA, for those interested. The guy is a bit batty but he makes a good point about where the support is coming from.

[url=http://youtu.be/WJIuYgIvKsc]Be a HERO and Help STOP SOPA Now!! I'll tell you How! This Video that Must Be SHARED! - YouTube

The unique thing about copyright, patent or intellectual property as something that is to be traded but that has no physical existence is that unlike something like tasteless Hush Puppies that still need to be sold they don't have to find their natural market value. Well, if you look at the typical price of music CD's these days they have actually tumbled because of market pressures, film DVDs less so. Personally, and entirely arbitrarily, I find that to be inequitable. As a consequence, you can find yourself paying more for downloading a music album than going into a supermarket and buying it. Go figure!