[victork2]

Well it embodies the best and the worst of internet movements.

While the foundations are good: protecting the web from bad laws, restrictions etc... the execution is really ridiculous. Imagine you're an old style Senator or representative and you see that website with a weird ass looking cat... Do you really think it's going to make them think you're anything but a joke?

I find that the words used are equally ridiculous: "League", "XXX signal".

It really feels like a little club of geeks trying to have an impact in the world and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It could have been a great idea, it's ruined by a poor execution.

edit: I have seen a lot of negative reactions and I appreciate people taking the time to answer to me. I won't edit my previous comment but let me add some things:

I didn't mean to be insulting but if you want it to be a democratic movement you have to avoid inside jokes at all cost. It's literally filled with Reddit/ geek pop culture references and it won't take off in the general public because a very large portion of the population do not understand or don't like it. It's like saying a meme out loud: you feel ridiculous.

For old style senators I am talking about basically any person over 35 that has no idea what reddit/ twitter/ cat facts are and who will find that ridiculous. Yes Senators and representatives are supposed to work for you, but it's like for everything they have to take you seriously. We belong to the Z generation but in order to talk to other generations we have to use common references and avoid cats or internet memes or super hero folklore for what it matters. Serious business in two words.

[rapind]

35? Really? I'm over 35 as are most of my friends, and I seriously doubt any of them are going to be scratching their head at the cat reference. Suggesting we would is a little insulting to be honest. Not to mention the Justice League play is more my generation than yours. I think you need to up your age boundary a bit. Maybe 45, and even then...

Anyways, all of you youngsters who get the cat signal are certainly capable of calling or writing your local representative. I'll cheer for anything that raises awareness and reduces apathy among my generation and yours.

[waterlesscloud]

Kids today. People over 35 invented internet culture.

[rapind]

shakes fist

[rdtsc]

Get off my virtual (VRML) lawn!

[lucisferre]

Oooh boy was that ever a flash in the pan.

[alttab]

"but it's our thing. Get off Facebook grandma"

[Spearchucker]

Kids today. People over 45 invented the Internet.

[chris_wot]

Kids today. People over 60 invented the Internet. Vint Cerf was born in 1943.

[kitsune_]

As if an "old style Senator" would base his support for or against a bill on a website's design.

This is about engaging young nerds and non-nerds, average citizens and making an impact on main stream media. It's a marketing and PR stunt. It will trigger media coverage and thousands of phone calls... politicians fear at least one of those two things like the plague. And it's probably not the phone calls.

We already have a formal projects such as the EFF. They are the backbone of all this.

[mcguire]

...and the EFF hasn't been all that wildly successful at bringing the mass of cute-cat-photo-loving 'net users into the issue.

[crazygringo]

I totally agree that the cat/league/etc. is ridiculous.

The problem is not with old style senators. The problem is with the 95% of the general population that is confused or turned off by it. You're trying to convince the general electorate, which then determines who gets elected.

It does feel like a little club of geeks, which is not effective as a movement that aims to convince/beyond that circle.

[ralfn]

Everybody considers themselves a geek these days. Because they like batman, board games or scifi movies like avatar.

Lets hope a majority of people will be fooled into thinking they are part of a special club of l33t interweb freedom f1ght3rs.

I am being both sarcatic ( about how everyone thinks they are a geek these days ) and honest ( about that it could actually work ) here.

[sukuriant]

Honestly, the 95% of the general population is the percent that still throws around cat pictures as though they're the newest and greatest things. My mother is often sending me cute animal pictures that were popular in the 90's and early 2000's.

[gauravk92]

We start it, early adopters. The mass picks up on it after a few years, only if it gets started in the first place.

[sukuriant]

Exactly!

[kahawe]

> We start it, early adopters. The mass picks up on it after a few years, only if it gets started in the first place.

Which, coincidentally, is a LOT of what you can see happening these days with "social networking" and "cloud computing" and all those other hypes and trends that basically existed very well in the 90s and before but now the public is "catching up" with technical developments.

[ralfn]

I think you have democracy backwards. We are not to serve our politicians, they are here to serve us.

They dont care what a small group of nerds and tech companies want and think. They care what average people think they want.

Symbolism, accessable tone of voice .. Thats extremely relevant.

You shouldnt compare it to lobbyist webites. You should compare it those of political movements and politically oriented charities.

The memification of the message is brilliant marketing, because its funny, accesible and honest.

Rescue the lolcats from the evil clutches of the internet hate league! So load up your meme gun and blast these seniors out of congress.

[alttab]

Rescue the lolcats from the evil clutches of the internet hate league! So load up your meme gun and blast these seniors out of congress.

That right there. Tell me GP when youve found someone who can't get behind that. I think you'll be surprised.

[mcguire]

I think you're looking at it from the wrong side. I believe the point of the goofy "league" and cat are to bring in sites, which are mostly made up of reddit'ors and weird-ass-looking-cat lovers. Once the sites are onboard and the "league" sends out the "signal", this site has to attract the users, who are the redditors and cheezburger-ites. Some small, minuscule fraction of those will do things like call their senators, resulting in tied-up phone lines, angry recriminations, and general panic.[1] That is what your old-style Senator is going to take seriously.

The organizational style is very similar to that of other organizations that attempt to motivate constituents like the NRA and AARP and if you really want to spend some time boggling, check out their communications to their constituency.

In other words, the "general public" is not the target here. Neither are representatives, directly. The target is the "Z generation"[2], which are underrepresented in political debates, I think. And if you want them to do something, you probably want to use some memes.

[1] That's hyperbole, but I do suspect that if .01% of the American readers of icanhascheezburger were to call their representatives,

[2] "Z generation"? I prefer to think of it as "Force Z".

[smokeyj]

> It really feels like a little club of geeks trying to have an impact in the world and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Yeah, there's nothing worse than geeks trying to have an impact. What a bunch of ass holes!

I'm curious, what impact do you have on "old style Senators"?

[jmduke]

You're missing the point. I'd argue initiatives like these should have the aim of educating as many people as possible: things like a 'cat signal' may undermine that effort.

[ralfn]

Im sorry. But a cat signal is awesome.

And the problem with educating people isnt the quality of the informational value of the message, its the lack of entertainment value.

Consider the daily show or colbert report, do they make people read less well informed newspapers? Most of their viewers were not reading those. It is however taking attention away from reality shows.

Likewise this is not to replace the EFF, but to widen its reach, and get people actively involved, that wouldnt get involved otherwise.

[chez17]

What's important is that you've found a way to feel morally superior and do nothing about the problems we face today. A true internet warrior.

[jff]

Wait, are you talking about the GP, or the "Internet Defense League"?

[MSM]

Whoa whoa whoa... Don't act like signing up on a website is equivalent to doing something.

It's literally the absolute least you could do.

[chez17]

No, the least you could do is make snarky comments about the people who are actually trying to do something. This isn't about 'signing up' for a website. This is about trying to mobilize a group of people that often times is not that involved with politics. The idea is that when you sign up, you'll take action on the items that the site informs you about. There is literally nothing like this on the internet for this demographic and the OP gets the most upvoted comment complaining that they used the term 'cat signal'? Politics and protesting can be fun and inviting. This has zero effect on anything except for grump old people who think that they know better. We stopped SOPA with a few days of action and a few big names stepping up. This is simply an attempt to harness that power and dedication. People who are already shitting on this, on day one, while typical is still extremely sad.

[MSM]

> We stopped SOPA

This is what I'm worried about. Who really stopped SOPA? You can bet that anyone who signs up for this will go around touting how they stopped SOPA, just like the guy next to me pretty much single handedly saved Haiti in 2010 with his $5 donation to the Red Cross.

There is a disparity between giving money so that others can continue to do work and being the one doing the work. I want that distinction clear, and to remain clear. The doctor who flew down to Haiti to personally help is infinitely more valuable than someone who donated.

EDIT: I'm not saying that this is useless or dumb. It's a step in the right direction, albeit (IMO) a small one. I just don't want to see "I signed up- I'm going to save the internet!" I think the people who really devote themselves to these causes should be respected on a different level than those that, for instance, sign up for this.

[guelo]

Why? Why do you need to make those distinctions? The doctor couldn't fly to Haiti if he hadn't been funded. You need a lot of different pieces working together to make big change.

[stinkytaco]

But someone who posted "Like this if you love Doctors in Haiti" did very little, just as people signing up for a website do very little. I don't like to belittle "raising awareness" campaigns because I know how important they are. But there is no substitute for getting your feet on the ground or your money from your wallet. I worry that we are creating a generation of people who think posting something in their facebook feed is saving the world. It’s certainly helpful, but it has to be in conjunction with real work.

People who aggravated against SOPA certainly did something -- an important thing -- but people who made hard decisions, called or emailed their representatives and really coordinated this effort did more.

[cbr]

"There is a disparity between giving money so that others can continue to do work and being the one doing the work. I want that distinction clear, and to remain clear. The doctor who flew down to Haiti to personally help is infinitely more valuable than someone who donated."

Really? Let's say I donate enough money that the Red Cross can afford to send an additional doctor to Haiti. How is that not in the same ballpark as volunteering your time as a doctor to go work there?

We should care about the effects of our actions, and donating money to effective charities (see http://givewell.org) is one of the ways we can have the biggest positive effect.

(I take this seriously; I give about 1/3 of what I earn as a programmer to the most effective charities I can find.)

[MSM]

Like I said, if your money is supporting someone doing good and gives them the ability to continue doing good, then it's helpful.

Going back to the Red Cross example: If I'm a doctor in the US I'm making very good money, I get to see my family every day, and I have a very high standard of living.

It takes one of those doctors (not necessarily from the US, but I imagine most doctors live well) to give all of that up and fly over to a country in ruins to help. Without the people who are willing to really make those sacrifices, we've got a bunch of money and that's it. Money in and of itself is not what is usually needed to rectify situations.

[jff]

Like us on Facebook to SAVE THE INTERNET!

[Confusion]

What's important is that you've found a way to feel morally superior and do nothing to address the concerns raised by your parent that it doesn't achieve its goal and thus diverts valuable resources away from better thought-through initiatives that would be effective at reaching that goal. A true internet warrior.

[guelo]

This cat league stuff is marketing for the network itself, the actual message that will be sent over the network will depend on the specific issue being addressed and will probably be tailored for a more mainstream audience.

[dholowiski]

>it really feels like a little club of geeks trying to have an impact in the world

What's wrong with that? Go geeks! Don't you think the first time the "Cat Signal" is activated, it will make the news, and bring attention to the issue?

Also, old senators die. We'll replace them with redditors.

[pnathan]

victork2 has a very good point. There is a massive disconnect between the online nerd world and the offline non-nerd world.

As a marketing strategy - and let me be clear, this is a marketing & people problem, not a technical one - you need to be able to reach the "Joe the Plumber" types. Someone who checks his facebook & email on the weekends, possibly forwarding glurge. Someone who does not own a smartphone, because they are confusing. Someone who will not get troll culture, memes and lulz, seeing them as juvenile foolery.

Put another way: a campaign like this needs to drive on many fronts, including the internet culture drive, the corporate drive, and the blue-collar drive.

[sageikosa]

Well, from my quick glance at the site, the league isn't aimed at "Joe User", but internet savvy "Lance Site-Owner" so they can show solidarity with the fight against evils to be yet illuminated by "Fight for the Future".

Basically they are trying to institutionalize a network of "like-minded" internet activists; which will at least be interesting as a sociology experiment to see how it evolves and what kinds of reaction it gets.

[pnathan]

Yes, but in order to move outside of the Lances, a different approach has to be developed. It needs not to be a geek-only campaign and instead needs to be a campaign that includes non-geeks.

Remember, most of the world are not geeks, and in a representative democracy, that means very few people in power are geeks. Geeks need to be able to communicate these socio-technical issues to non-geeks. I really hope that the Internet defence league works to communicate to the mainstream of the culture - the non-geeks - what's going on, because the mainstream is the primary driver of how we move politically (technically it's a feedback loop with the mass media playing a large part, but mainstream culture carries a large momentum and sway).

[sageikosa]

I believe the idea is that when the Committee for Public Safety decides something so heinous is about to be passed in (some?) legislature somewhere in the world (a little hazy on what will be actionable), they will fire up the cat-signal and provide updated campaign code to League members to demonstrate solidarity via a "hunger-strike" of sorts "going-dark" protest.

Not sure if the cat signal will be involved in this "final-mile" of the distributed protest action or not.

[eshvk]

> It really feels like a little club of geeks trying to have an impact in the world and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

It kind of is though. Also some of these "little club of geeks" have extraordinarily deep pockets and any Senator/representative worth their salt knows how much that matters. I don't want to make demean important movements in the sixties by making comparisons of their oddities but money/power worked then and Senators/Representatives know it.

[dholowiski]

Deep pockets, and web sites with millions of visitors.

[_delirium]

My guess is that the targeting here is aimed more at internet users than at Senators, i.e. it's an attempt to get more people who vaguely care about these issues actively involved in them and feeling that EFF et al represent their interests.

[catenate]

I'll second this. That stupid-looking cat tells me nothing about the goal of the movement, what it's fighting against, or the character of its supporters, other than they probably also like nyancat or hello kitty. If you want a serious symbol, use the liberty cap that Congress couldn't bring themselves to use on their statue of Columbia.

[petitmiam]

Is the Internet Defense League just an American thing?

[catenate]

Don't think so. The liberty cap has been a symbol of emancipation from slavery in Western culture since ancient times. There's a statue of Columbia, goddess of liberty, atop the dome of Congress. She was designed with a liberty cap, but was created too close to the American civil war for the south to accept the symbolism.

[petitmiam]

Thank you for the explanation. I couldn't find a nice succinct explanation in my quick google search.

[Produce]

What? This is an awesome design and approach which will appeal to most people. Everyone's seen Batman, watched cartoons and comedies. This hooks into popular culture and uses it to deliver a message. I don't see references to memes here - can you point any out?

Besides, just what the hell is wrong with cats? Maybe you're a dog person but a lot of us are not. Elitist.

[doc4t]

The easiest position to take when disagreeing with someone is to stick a label on the opposition as if this justifies that you should not take their argument seriously.

I for one think he has a point and if you don't please come up with something better than name calling.

[Produce]

That last sentence was meant as a joke. I sincerely hope that HTML6 gets those <humour> tags.

[sophacles]

I find that the words used are equally ridiculous: "League", ...

To be fair, the following all get a lot of congressional hearing time:

* American League

* National League

* National Football League

[mcguire]

* League of Women Voters

* Anti-Defamation League

[chris_wot]

League of Nations... Oh sorry, that's the UN.

[fleitz]

No but old style senators still like good old fashioned vote buying, vote early, vote often my friends.

If shitty internet legislation costs them popularity or makes them look out of touch then they'll stop doing it.

The key is that this is going to be put in place on many sites so that the power can be readily abused to bring the kinds of legislative changes we want to see.

If it works within a few years you should start seeing earmarks for whoever controls the switch.

[mindcrime]

For old style senators I am talking about basically any person over 35 that has no idea what reddit/ twitter/ cat facts are and who will find that ridiculous. Yes Senators and representatives are supposed to work for you, but it's like for everything they have to take you seriously. We belong to the Z generation but in order to talk to other generations we have to use common references and avoid cats or internet memes or super hero folklore for what it matters. Serious business in two words.

OK, I don't disagree with the general sentiment of what you're saying... but I think you overstate the extent to which you can generalize the youthfulness of the audience here, and/or the extent to which the Internet is only know nto the young. As a 39 year old "Gen X"er, I'm aware of plenty of people my age who know and use Reddit, Twitter, etc. Plenty of people roughly my age were in college in the 90's when the Internet was first becoming widely available, and are 'net savvy.

[humblepie]

I agree with your premise. But I think when it gets momentum and gets picked up by the news media, there will be lots of 'explainers' on TV and the web.

[spanktheuser]

I'd agree if IDL were meant to be a serious policy organization or directly lobby Congress. But that isn't the case - it's a way of applying grass roots pressure by making people like your average redditor aware of issues and motivated to do something about them. That's the target, so thus the geek pop style of communication. Wholly appropriate for what they're actually trying to achieve.

[rwhitman]

Except that the target audience for this launch campaign is other website owners / webmasters, not the senate or the general populace.

I'm sure if they start doing anything in earnest for the general public the campaign materials will change.

[cabalamat]

> Do you really think it's going to make them think you're anything but a joke?

After what happened with SOPA and ACTA, they can regard it as a joke at their peril.

[ondrae]

Where is your internet defense league?

[Shorel]

> It's like saying a meme out loud

Lots of memes are only said out loud. Don't forget the original meme definition.