Bad news for anyone writing a term paper this week. The Wrap reports that Wikipedia is going dark on Wednesday as part of a coordinated protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a Congressional measure that would force Internet Service Providers to block foreign domain names accused of hosting illegal content.

In doing so, Wikipedia joins a long list of web companies such as Reddit and Mozilla that are taking similar measures against the proposed legislation.

Wales used his Twitter account to spread the news, writing “Student warning! Do your homework early. Wikipedia protesting bad law on Wednesday! #sopa”

In place of Wikipedia, users will see instructions for how to reach local members of Congress, which Wales hopes “will melt phone systems in Washington.”

Entertainment industry groups like the Motion Picture Association of America are big proponents of the bill, while content-hosting websites like YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter, Reddit, the Wikimedia Foundation and many others, are rallying against it. The White House has said it won’t back SOPA either.

But it appears that’s just pushed the showdown between Hollywood and Silicon Valley further along. Students, you’d best follow Wales’ advice if you’ve got homework due in the next couple days or if you just want to look up details from that episode of Battlestar Galactica you watched the other day. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck using a traditional encyclopedia on Wednesday.