Jenn Arkens

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Wiki Two: Jenn Arkens

Using this week’s assigned readings as a starting point, give a succinct explanation of what Anonymous, SOPA, and PIPA (Protect IP) are.

The first thing I saw in the readings for this week is this acronym SOPA. SOPA stands for the Stop Online Piracy Act. This bill was first introduced to help law enforcement crack down and combat the online copyright infringements and the online trafficking of counterfeit good. SOPA was a proposed bill introduced to the House on October 26, 2011. SOPA makes it legal for copyright holders to seek court orders against these pirating websites which are outside the United States jurisdiction. The main goals of this bill are to protect the intellectual property of content creators and to protect against counterfeit drugs. This proposed bill would hold a maximum of five years in prison for the unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content. Opponents to this proposed bill state that it would have an effect on free speech and innovation.

Then we take a look at the, PROTECT IP Act (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act, or PIPA) which was first proposed and stated that its goal was to give the United States government and copyright holders more ways of protecting their work from these rogue piracy websites, which made it possible to illegally download and trade goods. People who object this proposed law state that it would impact free speech, impact business and innovation ideas, and have a bad impact on online communities. This bill the Protect IP Act (IPA), was a proposed law introduced to the Senate on May 12, 2011.

Lastly we dive into Anonymous, a loosely associated, discrete, international network, of hackers. This group s anonymously states their opinions on the web and has the ability to hack into virtually any website they would like. They pursue online attacks as a form of nonviolent protest. The group has no leadership, but appears well-organized to the public eye. In a broad perspective, Anonymous opposes internet censorship and control. In the past, Anonymous has hacked into websites and exposed individuals who have done bad things. An example of a hack done by this group was in regards to the Chris Forcand arrest. In this case, Anonymous exposed an individual of sexual crimes against a child well before the police were able to. Anonymous can be looked at as a vigilante group who exposes individuals who do bad things. Many of their "attacks" have been against governments, organizations, and corporations. Large companies could benefit financially because of an increased amount of protection towards their copyrighted materials.


2) How do groups of hackers, like Anonymous, relate to movements to protect online privacy?

There are hundreds upon hundred of things that people use the internet for on a daily basis. We do anything from online shopping to paying our credit card bills to putting in private information. Privacy is just one of the many things that is constantly invaded when using the internet. We have hacker groups like Anonymous that protect everyone and their privacy. Anonymous stays hidden and private so in turn their privacy is not jeopardized in anyway. We use groups like Anonymous to help secure and protect ourselves. Based on past hacks by these hackers we are able to make the government more aware of the power smart hackers have. The web is just a virtual library where with the right tools you can get and receive any information that you want. If you cant get it then there are people out there that can. They have broken codes, encryptions, and much more to find and do whatever they want. Technology is always growing at a rate that is so fast we cant even catch up. The internet is just one of those things that is also growing at a rapid pace and it will forever be broken unless we do something to protect ourselves and our privacy.


3) How do these readings relate to and illuminate the recent events surrounding Edward Snowden?

This all ties together with Edward Snowden and online privacy. Edward Snowden was a former CIA employee who leaked classified information from the U.S. National Security Agency to the public in 2013. The leaked information told the public about how much power the government holds in surveillance over the Internet and phone. Much like the Anonymous group, Snowden was an expert hacker. After working for the CIA and NSA, he was exposed to a numerous amount of private information that could potentially harm the United States if released. After Snowden released some of this top secret information he was, at times, called a hero, whistleblower, and a patriot. Much like the Anonymous group of individuals, many people perceived Snowden’s actions in different ways. Proposed laws such as SOPA and PIPA restrict freedom of speech. The US Patriot Act infringes on personal freedoms, giving the government the ability to look at peoples personal information. While some thought he was helping the citizens of the United States see what was actually going on, others thought he was a terrorist for releasing information that was kept private for a reason. The US Patriot Act infringes on personal freedoms, giving the government the ability to look at peoples personal information. Snowden worked for top government agencies and was able to find out, learn, and then access that secret information. There are many hackers like Snowden in the United States and all around the world that could potentially harm us.


Work Cited:

"Anonymous." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 30 June 2015.

"Protect IP Act." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 30 June 2015.

"Stop Online Piracy Act." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 30 June 2015.

Harvey, Jason. "A Technical Examination of SOPA and PROTECT IP."

Blog.reddit. N.p., 17 Jan. 2012. Web. 30 June 2015.

Williams, Brian. "Edward Snowden Interview." NBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 June 2015.

Wiki Article #1: Seeing Like SimCity

SimCity’s History:

SimCity is an open-ended city-building computer and console video game series was first designed and developed by Will Wright. In 1989 it went on to be published by Maxis now know as a division of Electronic Arts. The beginning of SimCity was sold worldwide in many different editions including spinoffs like The Sims. Within the game you are given the control and power to create a city and manage everything from budgets to bulldozers, taxes to tornadoes - all with more control than ever before.

Seeing Like SimCity Article Summary

In Rob MacDougall’s article “Seeing like SimCity” we are presented with this argument about the game Simcity. It is referenced to as an example of an anti-educational environment type game despite being all the awards it has won. MacDougall’s informs us about the danger in using simulations to teach our model or history. Alan Kay who is a computer scientist believes that the assumptions of the game are what destroy it and ruin it in terms of being an educational lesson. He is quoted saying that, SimCity a “pernicious … black box.” MacDougall does argues that simulation games can be used for educational purposes, but in the right way. Kids should be taught to "open the black box" and to be able to hack the simulation. We then supply them with a far more productive learning experience than any simulation alone. Mark Sample says, “If you open up a simulation, hack it, tweak it, and then recompile it with your own assumptions and algorithms inside, you still end up with a simulation. You’re still engaged in top-down systems thinking, in turning history into code.” Which is completely true, yet still delivers the goal of being an educational type game.

Importance of SimCity

Within the article we are brought through many different outlooks, ideas, and motives people get out of SimCity. Robert MacDougal discusses SimCity and the way we should look at it to be an educational game unlike Alan Kay, the computer scientist, who believes it this “pernicious back box.” Socially we can look at this video game as a tool to deepen certain personal skills that can help enhance ones real life. SimCity is a game where as said before you are given the control and power to create a city and manage everything from budgets to bulldozers, taxes to tornadoes - all with more control than ever before. You are in control of the city and citizens and you have to use certain things in order to stay in your budget and keep your city afloat. This helps players use new ways of thinking and develop new strategies in order to reach a certain outcome. The cultural importance of SimCity in known as the staple of childhoods, as most kids grow up playing video games. Everyone as a youngster plays and interacts with some sort of gaming device or video games in their life. Kids learn different things through different video games and their critical thinking its put to the test. A debate in this article as in the world today is that video games politically speaking can view certain current events in a certain way. This can makes one perception of the world change. In the game they can be taught and they can learn what to do in certain situations making them more prepared for the world we live in today.

SimCity Debate

In reading this article we see that Rob McDougall expresses his opinions about other simulation games and their educational impact with their players. We hear that MacDougall never agreed with Alan Kay and his outlooks on video games. MacDougall has his own thoughts on the educational aspects of the game. In reading through the comments there was not much debate on MacDougalls viewpoints. One of the best comments was, “Well then open the black box!” This explains everything that the article was trying to portray and show. These video games do serve as an educational outlet where kids are learning and becoming more knowledgeable on the “real world.” In my opinion I agree with Rob MacDougall.


Works Cited:

MacDougall, Rob. "Seeing Like SimCity." Play The Past RSS. N.p., 26 Jan. 2011. Web. 10 June 2015.