Wondering to yourself about SOPA & PIPA -- now explained in carrot terms :) 

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Imagine to yourself, 

you google something. 

Let's say "Eating Carrots in Chemistry Class" 

you find an image

like this one ---> Click Me

See, but that image has a copyright on it. 

So let's say that a company in Bora-Bora googled this image as well and wants to make a website about how to properly eat carrots in chemistry and they'd like to use that image, so they snike it. And now that image is serving as the prime advertising for the company: H2C3, How to Eat Carrots in Chemistry Class.

H2C3 is now infringing on copyright laws. 

Now, you see, there are many people wondering how to properly eat carrots in Chemistry, so they buy the book that H2C3 produces, and learn how to do it. 

The image producer tries to file a lawsuit against them for creative rights. 

They can't because the US courts have no control over the company in Bora-Bora. 

Let's say now if someone in the U.S. had come up with an innovative way to eat carrots while in Chemistry class. 

Let's say instead that company in Bora-Bora stole the idea and is now profiting off someone else's idea in the U.S, a lawsuit is still useless because the country of Bora-Bora may be more hospitable to copy infringement. 

This H2C3 has now become what congress calls, a "rogue website". 

And there is nothing dashing about this rogue, it steals rights for ideas and creative works from Americans. 

So now what happens? 

SOPA happens. The Stop Online Privacy Act. 

-- SOPA would make it possible to block these rogue websites or links. It would allow corporations, or private owners to site those websites and then force servers to take them down, take them of their search engines (like Google, or Yahoo, or even Bing - if you even use that thing). 

So what's the problem? Why not support SOPA?

Because it takes freedom away from you. 

It demands that those websites be taken down -- immediately. 

Essentially it takes an ideal we've always had, innocent until proven guilty and flip-flops it. 

Where is the due process of law for the web? 

It takes away a voice. 

And what if someone posts a comment with a link to one of those rogue websites, 

say bye-bye to your blog, you're now in violation of PIPA (a similar act in congress). 

Imagine a world where.....

-the links you share on social networks will be monitored & censored. 

-All those images that make us all laugh from iwastesomuchtime.com? Say goodbye. And this isn't a perfect science, actual links that would pass legislation may get deleted on accident.

- Imagine Pinterest, how many of those ideas you're saving for later are copyrighted or may have "illegal" links posted to the websites you used them from. 

-Laws can limit the content on your blog, links passing through your e-mail, sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Google, Yahoo and Twitter would be monitored in censored in what you could share. 

So yes, it's not fair or legal that those "rogue websites" are stealing American ideas, 

but didn't your mother teach you - once you put it on the web it's out there, it's not yours anymore. 

A lot of it's about big business, but it affects all of us. 

So forget about the money, use your voice and say something, 

because otherwise we might not be able to say anything anymore. 

So I hope this idea gets out there, because without it --

without the freedom on the web the flow of communication and ideas stops. 

Don't let congress sever our connection and communication with the world. 

For more information visit these websites: 

http://techland.time.com/2012/01/18/dont-understand-sopa-help-is-close-at-hand/

https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

http://americancensorship.org/infographic

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-57329001-281/how-sopa-would-affect-you-faq/

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/how-sopa-pipa-can-affect-you/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203735304577167261853938938.html?mod=googlenews_wsj