What is the Five Colors Campaign?
As you may have seen on this page, there are a handful of colorful ribbons available for download. You may wonder what they signify. It turns out, each of the five colors represents a hex number. Here is what each color stands for:
| 09F911 |
| 029D74 |
| E35BD8 |
| 4156C5 |
| 635688 |
So what's the big deal? Well, if you connect all those hex numbers in a row, and if you add C0 to the end, you get the censored hex code that is used to view HD-DVDs. Why would such a code be censored? Well, apparently it was a secret code, and it allows Linux users and others to play their legally-purchased HD-DVDs, even if their systems do not have an officially-approved HD-DVD player.
So this is all about playing DVDs?
The colors have come to signify a lot more. They represent resistance to censorship and abuse of power. Huge numbers of sites have been censored over this, and what is amazing about it is that the charges are trumped up! You cannot copyright a randomly generated number, yet the powers-that-be have been issuing copyright violation notices left and right.
The truth?
The truth is that HD-DVD systems suffered from weak security, and now the people behind the HD-DVD system are trying to cover up their mistake. But the honest truth? The law does not protect them from making unwise decisions. But of course they don't want you to know this.
By placing a five-color ribbon on your Web site, you actively resist censorship. You are, in a creative way, publishing the hex code that they want kept secret. It is civil disobedience that says:
- We know you have no legal basis to censor us
- There are more of us than you can possibly sue in this lifetime
- We believe in free speech
- We are not intimidated by people who wrongly abuse the legal system