The (day)long national nightmare is over.
After midnight on Thursday, 24 hours after the Wikipedia blackout began as part of a protest against two online piracy bills, the site returned to normal. Gone was the spooky black and white Web page from Wednesday, along with an accompanying message: "Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge."
Across its banner on Thursday, Wikipedia thanked visitors for "protecting" the site. "We're not done yet," a new message read, parenthetically.
Critics of the bills, the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect IP Act in the Senate, fear the legislation -- intended in large part to curb illegal downloading of TV shows and movies online -- may give media companies too much power to shut down sites they deem to be copyright abusers.
According to Wikipedia, more than 162 million people had seen the site's protest on Wednesday. More than 12,000 commented on a blog post announcing the blackout, with a "breathtaking majority" supporting it, the site said. Wikipedia also cited some of the day's popular topics on Twitter: #factswithoutwikipedia, #SOPAstrike, and #wikipediablackout.
And about eight million visitors, the site added, looked up their elected representatives' contact information Wednesday using a tool provided on Wikipedia.
"You shut down Congress's switchboards," the site said. "You melted their servers. Your voice was loud and strong. Millions of people have spoken in defense of a free and open Internet."
The site warned that "SOPA and PIPA are not dead" but merely "waiting in the shadows."
"As Wikipedia went dark, you've directed your energy to protecting it," the message continued. "We're turning the lights back on. Help us keep them shining brightly."