Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, believes that every web user has the potential to be a guardian of the Internet — a "Batman or Batwoman," as he put it.

"You don't need to be a billionaire with anger management issues to help save the Internet," said Ohanian at the Personal Democracy Forum on Monday.

"[The Hero] is you, it's always been you, it has to be you," he added. "What [the SOPA debate did] was show that you can be the hero. Millions got together to say, 'these bills shall not pass.'"

Ohanian drew the caped crusader analogy during a meme-filled presentation discussing the Internet community's rise to action against the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, in January. Much of that activity was organized on Reddit, which is now partnering with the Internet Defense League, a group of online organizations that can sound the alarm whenever legislative trouble is spotted.

For Ohanian, every Internet user has some slice of the digital pie they want to protect — a Wordpress blog, a Tumblr page, a Twitter account — that should inspire them to join the League.

"We look to all our Batmen and Batwomen out there because we all have our communities that we care about, we all have our own Gothams," said Ohanian. "We have lots of people that care about their individual communities and will protect them. Every Facebook page I see is a potential Batman or Batwoman."

Even with SOPA gone, Ohanian said it's "not a time to say 'mission accomplished.'" So what does he want these Batmen and Batwomen of the Internet to do? Get active and spread knowledge.

"It's time to gear up. Have those kind of dinner table and water cooler discussions that have always been so powerful," said Ohanian. "This is an incredible opportunity. All of those discussions you have with friends and family now move faster than ever before because of the power of the Internet."

Ohanian added that if Internet users don't organize to protect the Internet, then the League's efforts will be a "catastrophic failure."

"We simply have to do this," he said, while adding that "the thing that gets me so excited about fighting this fight is that it's so fundamentally American. The meritocracy of the Internet, where all links are created equal, is intertwined with what it is to be American."

How can Internet users affect decisions that politicians make about the web in the future? Share your thoughts in the comments below.