Wikipedia Absence Is Noted, but as a Brief Inconvenience

The day of protest at English Wikipedia brought measurable results, the site’s administrators reported: four million people used the tool Wikipedia had provided to find their member of Congress by entering their ZIP code; 90 million came to the site and learned about the antipiracy legislation that Wikipedia and other Web sites are protesting. But a visit to the fourth floor of the Mid-Manhattan Library, where dozens of people were at computers or using the free Wi-Fi, was to witness the hurdle Wikipedia faces in trying to urge offline action. Most people using the Internet there said they had not given much thought to Wikipedia or Internet regulation. Instead, they were writing e-mail, watching YouTube clips, poring over sports statistics.