On Wednesday, January 18th, we will be blacking out the Twitter and Facebook widgets on our sign in page. This blackout will last for 24 hours, from midnight to midnight.  This will coincide with Wikipedia's blackout and Google's protest.

You will still have the ability to sign in to your website, and your fans will not see this blackout.

We're doing this to raise awareness of the issue of Internet censorship. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is set to be voted on in Congress later this month, and we are hoping it fails.

At its outset, SOPA was a bi-partisan bill that seemed destined to pass easily. But thanks to the efforts of many companies in the tech industry, opposition to this potentially destructive law is growing.

We believe there are effective strategies to target offshore piracy websites. We also believe the provisions contained in SOPA, which basically gives the government wide-ranging power to censor the Internet, are irresponsible and would have lasting consequences.

If passed, SOPA could affect you as both an Internet user and a website administrator. For example, if your field hockey team makes a YouTube video of its season highlights with its favorite song in the background, your site would potentially be open to a lawsuit.

Here is a video that explains how the SOPA and PIPA bills could hurt you in layman's terms:

Thank you for understanding our stance on this very serious matter.