Operation: Blackout
| Event | |
|---|---|
| Event: | OPERATION: Blackout |
| Participants: | Jade, Billy C |
| Date(s): | 13 May 2000 |
| Type: | Fan campaign |
| Fandom: | Buffy the Vampire Slayer X-Files |
| URL: | www.geocities.com/spookyweb/backout.html (Archvied Link) |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
OPERATION: Blackout was a fan campaign started by Jade (an X-Files fan) and Billy C. (a Buffy fan). This action was a response to FOX cracking down on fansites, particularly sites sharing images, sound bites and short video clips from television shows. The organizers wanted to see an end to the crackdown and supported improving copyright laws to allow for the fair use of media clips.
The Blackout involved fans shutting down their websites for 24 hours in protest.
About
Our Plan....OPERATION : Blackout is trying to get a portion added to the copyright that will allow the use of still images and media clips* to be on unofficial fan sites. There is nothing about fair use on the internet of copyrighted material as of now (that is what are trying to get added). Right now, these fan sites are getting shut down and the webmasters are being threatened with lawsuits. In my honest opinion, still images, sound files, and video clips are the internet equivalent of quotes. As long as credit is given (Like the disclaimers) everything should be happy and cool. The shutting down of the sites for the day will show FOX what the end result would be: a drab and lifeless internet. It also helps to gain attention to the operation. For the operation to be noticed is extremely important if we want to be successful.
"I know that just shutting down our sites for a day will not make FOX just drop everything they have been doing. What it does is draws attention to this organization and gives us a good reason for wanting the copyright law to be upgraded. What I have to do is to get a good supporting case that would basically state that the companies are not loosing money because of the existence of fan web sites. That in fact, it is helping their product." - Jade
There has been a lot of debate between copyright and free speech on the internet, where that fine line is drawn between expressing their opinion and stealing copyrighted material. Basically the copyright law was created long before there was the internet as we know it today, an infinite place of knowledge and free speech.
Times have changed. They have changed dramatically, and they will just keep changing. This is why we need to get the copyright law changed. When the copyright law was made, they had no idea that the internet would be this big and powerful force that would be seen and participated in by billions of people.
Participants
In the lead up to the Blackout, one publication named Angela DiPrima (co-creator of SlayMe.com) as the founder of Operation: Blackout, but she was in no way associated with this campaign.
As of May 31 2000, 264 sites had signed up to Operation Blackout. These included:
- 140 Buffy and Angel Sites
- 65 X-Files Sites
- 16 Simpsons Sites
- 6 Music Sites
- 4 Young Hercules Sites
- 33 Other Sites
While many of the sites which had signed up for the Blackout did not participate, many other sites took part in the Blackout without signing up.[1] This makes it difficult to gauge the level of fan involvement in this campaign. For example the number of Xena sites involved in the Blackout could be much greater than the number which had signed up.
References
- ^ Message Board Comment, 5/13/00.