ASK PG: Could you make a short video about SOPA?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3383624

by blhack • 15 years ago

17 27 15 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Part of the problem with a lot of the anti-SOPA stuff coming out right now is that it's coming from early to mid 20s guys who are web developers and the like.

No offense (I am a mid 20s guy who is a web developer), but for the general population, it's really easy to just write those people off.

YOU, however, are a respected businessman carrying the title of "Successful Venture Capitalist". A video of you explaining why this is bad is going to carry a LOT more weight than a video of me explaining it.

If you have the time, I think the internet would appreciate it a lot.

steventruong• 15 years ago

I like the general direction of the idea, but unfortunately outside of the tech and startup scene, I doubt many would know of Paul in any way, shape, or form. He'd have as much weight as you. And I say that while personally keeping in mind that I don't think the general public, who aren't into the tech/startup world, would care who he is much like many don't know what an Android is (or care), but know they own a Samsung or HTC something something.

nitrogen• 15 years ago

It'd be pretty easy for pg to quote the numbers, like, "With Y Combinator, we've invested in X separate companies with X*n founders, and those companies have gone on to create a total of Y jobs." Just the big-name YC companies like Reddit might be enough to get noticed.

pg2• 15 years ago

I was going to write something about it. Would that be enough? Essays are more my thing than videos.

blhack• 15 years ago

It's just easy to get people who aren't technical at all to watch a video.

If it's "Hey, family members, check out this minute long video", it's something I can show them all over Christmas.

Anything would be appreciated, though.

Natsu• 15 years ago

> It's just easy to get people who aren't technical at all to watch a video.

I'm an avid reader myself, but I've seen how some people object even to subtitles. I think you'd get a lot more of an audience if you could put up a video.

But I can understand wanting to do an essay, because you're very good at those. Also, I just want to say thanks for opposing SOPA. It's important that Congress hears from the people driving job creation about the impact this would have. Something from you will do a lot to represent the rest of us who merely get form replies from Congress extolling virtues of the bill we just told them we hated.

jcr• 15 years ago

Paul, you're strong with the essay-force, but with essays, you only reach the audience that already knows you and is willing to read your works.

I recall your comments about public speaking after the NYC-YC event, so I'm guessing you're hesitant, but for what it's worth, I think you do great at public speaking.

An important point to realize is you are one of the rare few people here in the US that is actively "Creating Jobs" and this gives a great deal of weight to your words, both practically and politically.

Though I'm twenty years past being a twenty-something, a non-notable nobody like me could not do what you can do.

pasbesoin• 15 years ago

Yes, please.

I find your essays quite effective, and I think that to communicate most effectively and compellingly on this, you may be best sticking to the tools you know and have mastered.

Hmm... reading others' comments, I'll add the idea of keeping in mind that many of us may try to share the resulting essay with our less/non-tech friends. So if you could make it approachable to them, as well, that might help.

And maybe it would introduce a few more people to your writing and engender their interest in looking at more of it. :-) (E.g. the (high) school essay -- please, world, read the school essay.)

bcjordan• 15 years ago

Your Bloomberg interview was the first time I'd seen or heard you speak publicly and you came across as likable and intelligent. Doing an interview about SOPA would be free and easy.

But an essay would be better than a presidential-address-style prepared speech. That has the potential to jump the shark and be a time sink.

RichardBennett4• 15 years ago

Before you write an essay on SOPA, it would probably be a good idea to get a really solid handle on what it does and doesn't do. The comments of yours I've seen lead me to the conclusion that your understanding of the bill and its likely implications isn't up-to-date. Some of the points you might like to address would be:

What does SOPA do that DMCA doesn't do?

How do Pro-IP and SOPA differ with respect to Internet domains?

Does SOPA apply to .com domains?

Is it possible to implement domain blacklisting without affecting DNSSEC? (hint: the answer is "yes" as long as redirection isn't required.)

Does SOPA include language protecting DNSSEC?

What due process protections does SOPA have for domain blacklisting?

Does SOPA apply to US-based sites?

How much of a burden does SOPA compliance place in ISPs, ad networks, credit card processors, and search engines?

Are Internet firms registered in .com and/or based in the United States that are not in the category above (payments, ads, search, ISPs) have anything to fear from SOPA? Show your work.

There's a lot of misinformation floating around the Internet about SOPA, and I think you'll agree it's best not to add to it.

earbitscom5• 15 years ago

PG, I suspect that you'll do a better job of explaining why SOPA is bad than some other people, and you have more credibility than most, but taking a stand against SOPA by itself isn't enough. The root cause of SOPA is a culture of piracy and a lack of participation by leaders in technology to develop better enforcement regulations.

Laws like SOPA are going to continue to be proposed until a better solution to copyright protection is enacted. If we leave those proposals to be constructed by media companies who don't care as much about the integrity of the internet as they do about their bottom line, you'll just keep getting new laws that overreach and threaten our freedoms. The fact that we're facing SOPA is bad, but it's the direct result of too many people pretending that copyright protection isn't an important issue that deserves better solutions, both by arguing against the rights of creators, and failing to proactively help create a better system of enforcement.

If you really want to do something powerful to stop SOPA-like legislation in its various forms, your essay should also aim to remind people that we're facing this legislation because people engage in piracy, and that we need leaders in the tech community to be more proactive about improving the DMCA if they want to have a voice in what shape copyright protection takes. It might seem like SOPA is "the problem" but it's really one party's proposed solution to a very real issue. An argument for why SOPA is bad without proposals about how to meet the needs of the party for whom SOPA is a solution only sends those people back to their misguided drawing board.

I respect the stand you've taken against SOPA. I'll be really excited about it if you use this time to push the dialog forward on behalf of tech and content creators.

jey5• 15 years ago

> The root cause of SOPA is a culture of piracy and a lack of participation by leaders in technology to develop better enforcement regulations.

There's a tacit assumption in your post that copyright is still a valid notion that should be protected. That's not at all clear, and society should really re-examine the basic assumptions behind copyright. It's possible that copyright just doesn't make sense anymore and the business models that rely on copyright monopolies should just be allowed to die.

I'm certainly open to being wrong. What are some valuable things that would be lost without decent replacements if we abolished copyright monopolies?

pg2• 15 years ago

What do you feel is missing in existing laws?

_ud4a• 15 years ago

here is one i found which is done very nicely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9oeJgrVrq0&feature=relat...

RichardBennett4• 15 years ago

It's nicely produced, but seriously inaccurate.

ASK PG: Could you make a short video about SOPA?

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