Fark.com Takes Humorous Approach To SOPA Blackout

While some of the clueless minions who populate Twitter try and figure out where their Wikipedia went, the rest of us who actually pay attention to trends that might fall outside of our interests have...
Fark.com Takes Humorous Approach To SOPA Blackout
Written by
  • While some of the clueless minions who populate Twitter try and figure out where their Wikipedia went, the rest of us who actually pay attention to trends that might fall outside of our interests have noticed that many popular websites have gone “dark” in order to protest the apparently undying SOPA bill that, for some reason, Lamar Smith insists on resuscitating.

    One site in particular, however, has taken another approach. Instead of “blacking out” to protest SOPA, Fark.com has “gone white” in order to support the anti-piracy acts. In typical Fark fashion, frivolity reigns, but their message echoes what many other site owners are saying: “We don’t support SOPA,” only this time, it’s done with a tongue-in-cheek approach. Over at Fark.com, their white out in “support” of SOPA is for one reason and one reason only: the anti-piracy acts give them a perfect excuse to quit.

    From Fark’s “white out” explanation:

    While a bunch of other sites are going “dark” to protest SOPA/PIPA, we’re over the moon about the whole thing. Why? Honestly, we’ve been bringing you the latest news happening across the internet for 12 years, and we’re tired. And SOPA/PIPA is the perfect excuse to quit.

    The Fark admins continue their lament:

    While SOPA might be “almost dead,” it’s not quite all the way there, and under various drafts of both SOPA/PIPA, Fark could have its DNS assignment (the thing that turns an IP address, like 10.0.0.1, into words like Fark.com) revoked without notice simply for linking to content that could come under foreign copyright claims. This means, even if it is actual news in and of itself, if we link to it, we can be shut down. And thank God, cause we’re about ready to crack under the strain of being on top of the news all the time.

    A screenshot of the Fark.com welcome screen demonstrates their commitment to SOPA support:

    Fark SOPA

    Offering a quality website does take a lot of work, so Fark’s position is understandable. Drew Curtis’ crew also post a video explaining why we, the people, should support SOPA. It’s some compelling stuff that we should keep in mind the next time Lamar Smith explains why his anti-piracy act is worth supporting:


    I hope that’s clear enough for you to comprehend. If not, ask yourself this question, “Why should I support SOPA?” and watch it again.

    It should also be noted that, unlike other sites that have blacked out protesting SOPA, you can still access Fark.com’s content, and if you navigate to the fark.com/index.html address, you’ll bypass the site’s whiteout splash screen.

    Get the WebProNews newsletter delivered to your inbox

    Get the free daily newsletter read by decision makers

    Subscribe
    Advertise with Us

    Ready to get started?

    Get our media kit