How Did the Web Protest SOPA? Let Us Count the Ways

January 19, 2012 • 5:30 am PST
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Sure, a blackout may not necessarily change things in the House or Senate. C’mon—does artwork and fancy javascript really make a difference? Do these petition forms really go anywhere? Are we simply a bunch of ridiculous web people changing stylesheets? I went into this week thinking no real statement would be made. I was wrong.

Tuesday night, I had just finished dinner. Typically, my laptop is open across the table to check in with the news missed over the course of the day. At 9 p.m. PST, I typed in Wikipedia.org to see if their blackout had kicked in yet. And there it was—the first blackout of many over the next 12 hours. It’s weird, because, well… it was simple. That’s all it takes. It’s not the interface. It’s the action. The emotional ripple that streamlines from the stance alone awaits me.

I accidentally fell asleep with the lights on and laptop on my belly. From the moment I woke up on Wednesday, it was an intense sugar rush. Dozens of Firefox tabs were open, and click click click. URLs were entered, and there it all was.

You have never seen #000 (black) applied in a more meaningful way. Click through to check out screenshots I took yesterday morning showcasing the designs used in the great internet blackout.

Doris Yee
Senior UI Designer

See Gallery

This post was adapted from the original on Yee-dor.com

Posted in: Design,; Technology

Tags: internet,; censorship,; sopa

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