Dragi čitatelji, pozivamo Vas da podržite borbu protiv predloženog SOPA zakona koji direktno zadire u sve ono što se  smatra normalnim na internetu. Taj zakon, između ostalog, direktno utječe na sve ono što je gaming scena danas. Svi bismo se trebali udružiti protiv spornih zakonskih regulativa. SOPA može napraviti presedan u svjetskom pravnom poretku na način da regulira online rasprave, objave raznih multimedijskih materijala i slično. Ukoliko ovaj zakon prođe u SAD-u, neće dugo trebati da EU i ostatak svijeta prihvate isti.

Da budemo jasni, ne zalažemo se za piratstvo ili bilo kakvu povredu autorskih prava. Jasno nam je da svaki developer treba biti plaćen za ono što radi, no ovaj se sporni zakon ne bavi isključivo tim problemom. Protiv SOPA-e su se javno izjasnili Google (YouTube), Yahoo, Facebook, Wikimedia Foundation, Twitter i razne druge internet i IT kompanije.  ESA (The Entertainment Software Association)  je službeno podržala ovaj zakon, što znači da su i svi članovi tog udruženja dali svoju “tihu” podršku. Detalje spornog SOPA zakona možete doznati ovdje.

Pitate se “kako ja mogu pridonijeti ovoj borbi?”. Na način da pošaljete protestni e-mail svim izdavačima/developerima vaših omiljenih franšiza (bez obzira na njihovo ESA članstvo ili ne). Kolege s Destructoida su napisali predložak e-maila za “borbu” kojeg prenosimo u cijelosti. Mail možete poslati identičan predlošku, a možete dodati i svoj osobni “štih”.

To Whom It May Concern,

As you may already know, the Stop Online Piracy Act is currently attempting to steamroll its way into law. This vaguely written bill claims to want to protect American intellectual property, but its potential to significantly damage the Internet as we know it is too great to blindly support, no matter your stance on piracy.

You are a member of the Entertainment Software Association, which means you support this bill regardless of your own individual sentiment (or lack thereof).

Yes, theft of intellectual property is an issue, but aligning with SOPA is not the way to go. SOPA will allow corporations to force websites offline with very little due process, and could make felons of users who share content in even the most benign of ways. A chilling effect could be seen across the Internet, as important social networking sites like Twitter, Reddit and YouTube become directly threatened and creative individuals grow to fear the invisible boundaries placed around them. Jobs will be at stake in one of the most dynamic and successful sectors of this nation’s economy.

Internet service providers oppose this bill. Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, Mozilla and the Wikimedia Foundation all oppose this bill. More importantly, developers in the games industry, not to mention millions of gamers around the world, oppose this bill. I am one of them. I love videogames, and I love this industry, but I also love the Internet and what it has become. It pains me that the industry I love wants to threaten the Internet, and freedom of speech at large. I like to think better of this industry and of you.

As a videogame publisher, there is no doubt that your own marketing departments have utilized the Internet to promote your products — be it via social networks such as Twitter, videos on YouTube, or even live streaming games through sites like Twitch TV. I fear many companies do not understand that SOPA could work counter to their own interests, as these wonderful methods of advertising and communication come under fire. By supporting SOPA, even indirectly, you could be cutting your own legs out from under you.

I ask, humbly, that you therefore raise awareness of this bill among fellow ESA members, and help us pressure the ESA into withdrawing its support. As SOPA’s allegiances continue to dissolve in the face of overwhelming popular opposition, we ask that you do the right thing and help protect the freedom of your customers, as well as preserve the open, creative, dynamic nature of the Internet. It is doubtful that SOPA will significantly harm piracy. What is less doubtful is the harm it could do to everybody else, no matter what side of the debate they occupy.

Thank you,
A Concerned Gamer

 Otvoreno pismo koje je Destructoid (Jim Sterling) uputio ESA-i isto tako prenosimo u cijelosti.

Dear Entertainment Software Association,

Last year, when free speech in the videogame industry was threatened, you asked for help from gamers. The famous Brown vs. EMA/ESA case provided a landmark ruling that protected videogame content under the First Amendment. You appealed to gamers for their support and coverage, and many gamers rallied around the industry.

Now, when free speech at large is threatened, you not only refuse to fight the threat, you actually join forces with it. You operate a group that claims to protect free speech — the Videogame Voters Network — and pretend to champion the rights of gamers, but until you stop supporting the Stop Online Piracy Bill, that’s all the VGVN is — a pretense.

It is hypocrisy on a most despicable level to continue supporting SOPA after asking gamers to fight for the rights of the game industry. You are sending the message that you want exclusive freedom for your stable of publishers, while the freedom of others means nothing. You are sending the message that the ESA is an organization that begs for help from a community, only to abandon and betray that community at the earliest convenience. You are the Starscream of trade associations.

I find it wholly disgusting that you support SOPA in light of what you pretend to fight for, and what you asked of us all just months before. As other companies dissolve their allegiance with this poorly written, glaringly broken bill, I ask you to do the same. Do not be Starscream. Do for the Internet what you asked the Internet to do for you.

Thank you,
Jim Sterling
Reviews Editor, Destructoid.com

Ako ste gamer, nebitno casual ili hardcore, imate odgovornost, ne samo prema sebi, nego i prema cijeloj gaming zajednici da reagirate i pošaljete svoj protest svima koji su za uvođenje ovog spornog zakona.

Uredništvo GoodGame.hr portala ovim putem podržava inicijativu kolega s Destructoida i već je poslana gomila e-mailova, kako ESA memberima, tako i ostalim izdavačima i developerima.

Izvori: Destructoid, Wikipedia.