Being “the lighter side of Steampunk”, we generally shy away from all matters political. But SOPA (a bill that’s been “shelved” for now), and it’s equivalent PIPA, are directly relevant to us — because if either of them pass, we might not be able to exist.

In short, these bills would put the onus on Brass Goggles to check every single site we link to in order to be sure they don’t have any material that infringes copyright on them. If we fail, we could be taken offline in the US, even though we don’t host any of the material ourselves. This is not something we have the capability to do – our volunteer staff is hard-working, but there’s no way we could check every single link.

If PIPA passes, it’s likely only a matter of time before our beloved blog and forum are taken offline.

If you care about this site, too, please:

• If you live in the US, contact your Senators about PIPA and your Representative about SOPA. You can use the link in the black bar at the top of the blog and forum to find them.  Phone calls are best!
• If you live outside the US, contact your State Department. Telling them that these bills will affect you negatively can lead to international pressure; and it will send the message that such legislation wouldn’t be desirable in your country either.