![]() | This is a
failed proposal.
Consensus for its implementation was not established within a reasonable period of time. If you want to revive discussion, please use
the talk page or initiate a thread at
the village pump. |
On January 18, 2012, by consensus of editors, the English Wikipedia was blacked out for one day to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a bill in the United States House of Representatives. The process for deciding whether to execute this highly unusual action was put together quickly, and the decision itself also made very quickly.
In the interest of having more concrete guidelines in place for future actions of similar scale, this proposal is being drafted.
Our first pillar is "Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia." Our mission is primarily educational, and a blackout – even one undertaken to educate the public about dangerous legislation – hinders that mission. As such, it should be undertaken only under the most dire of circumstances. Blackouts that recur too often or for too long risk dealing irreparable damage to our reputation and our educational mission. This option should be saved for only the most important of opportunities, and implementing it must garner the most complete consensus possible.
![]() | This is a
failed proposal.
Consensus for its implementation was not established within a reasonable period of time. If you want to revive discussion, please use
the talk page or initiate a thread at
the village pump. |
On January 18, 2012, by consensus of editors, the English Wikipedia was blacked out for one day to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a bill in the United States House of Representatives. The process for deciding whether to execute this highly unusual action was put together quickly, and the decision itself also made very quickly.
In the interest of having more concrete guidelines in place for future actions of similar scale, this proposal is being drafted.
Our first pillar is "Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia." Our mission is primarily educational, and a blackout – even one undertaken to educate the public about dangerous legislation – hinders that mission. As such, it should be undertaken only under the most dire of circumstances. Blackouts that recur too often or for too long risk dealing irreparable damage to our reputation and our educational mission. This option should be saved for only the most important of opportunities, and implementing it must garner the most complete consensus possible.