stickmaker | Buwah-Huh?!

I'm rather astounded by all the bizarre responses to the various site blackouts today. Especially those involving Wikipedia. Many of those who were vaguely aware it was connected to legislation thought the law had already passed and Wikipedia was the first target. Some went into an inverse logarithmic spiral when they tried to find out what was wrong... using Wikipedia. Among the most confused were those who had more than curiosity thwarted. Students were greatly distressed over the notion they'd actually have to _read a book_ to do assigned work. (I wonder how many of these complainers have actually donated to Wikipedia?)

Now, it's easy to laugh at these people. However, you have to wonder how they missed the fact that there are still other online sources available. Not to mention that nearly everything on Wikipedia is available in caches, so people can still use the same articles with just an extra step! I'm actually wondering if most of these responses are real, or just people playing jokes. Also, aren't schools teaching how to do basic research any more?!

And what the *BLEEP!* is wrong with reading a book?!