Net Neutrality and You

[Gansasalite]

I was browsing through our spectacular tool of expression called the internet when I came across this warning that our days of freedom could be numbered.

http://foureyedmonsters.com/neutrality/

So this video got me thinking about how the freedom of the internet is changing. We have the harsh copyright policies of Youtube, the Bias in Gamespot, big corporations eyeing up websites and now the suggestion that what we submit will be monitored by a board of executives, or require a toll fee.

So, I put it to you My Escapist friends. Are we losing our voice? What is your opinion on how the internet is growing and what its biggest players are becoming? Are the predictions in this video valid?

 

[Hey Joe]

There's legislation on the table in the US which should restrict ISPs, but big business will always find a way. I actually wrote an article on this about two months ago http://3degree.ecu.edu.au/articles/1663

 

[Gansasalite]

Thanks for the link, good article. It's pretty scary to consider that what we view would be Chosen or "Encouraged" by someone else.

 

[Aries_Split]

I was browsing through our spectacular tool of expression called the internet when I came across this warning that our days of freedom could be numbered.

http://foureyedmonsters.com/neutrality/

So this video got me thinking about how the freedom of the internet is changing. We have the harsh copyright policies of Youtube, the Bias in Gamespot, big corporations eyeing up websites and now the suggestion that what we submit will be monitored by a board of executives, or require a toll fee.

So, I put it to you My Escapist friends. Are we losing our voice? What is your opinion on how the internet is growing and what its biggest players are becoming? Are the predictions in this video valid?

"HARSH" Copyright law's? you mean the thing that stop's people from COPYING someone's music, that they have a RIGHT, to keep? And gamespot stopped being reliable sometime around 2002. If by corporation's eying websites you mean THEIR websites?Or their COMPANIES websites?
*face-palm*
Good article, but the example's YOU called out on are really...bad.

 

[ElephantGuts]

Thank you for the link and spreading awareness, that's really what needs to be done in order to combat this internet censorship. The more people that know about it, the harder it is for the companies to get what they want.

What really needs to happen is for the government to get smart and impose restrictions on the companies to preserve net neutrality.

 

[the_tralfalmadorian]

yeah this is an EXTREMELY important issue, so any and all attention that can be called to it should be.

 

[Karisse]

Spread the word, Escapists. Post it wherever you can.

 

[John Galt]

Thanks for the link, now I'm even more fearful of Corporate America. Dangit Capitalism, you're not giving me many tools to sing your praises with. Come on free market, leave room for people to be free.

 

[Saskwach]

Thanks for the link, now I'm even more fearful of Corporate America. Dangit Capitalism, you're not giving me many tools to sing your praises with. Come on free market, leave room for people to be free.

That's the thing, "capitalists", or the men who actually make money (it's the wrong term I know), don't believe in free market capitalism: they believe in freedom for them. I believe in a free market too, but it's this kind of stuff that leans me towards (some) regulation, which, sadly, isn't totally free.
Net Neutrality, I choose you!

 

[Knight Templar]

I was browsing through our spectacular tool of expression called the internet when I came across this warning that our days of freedom could be numbered.

http://foureyedmonsters.com/neutrality/

So this video got me thinking about how the freedom of the internet is changing. We have the harsh copyright policies of Youtube, the Bias in Gamespot, big corporations eyeing up websites and now the suggestion that what we submit will be monitored by a board of executives, or require a toll fee.

So, I put it to you My Escapist friends. Are we losing our voice? What is your opinion on how the internet is growing and what its biggest players are becoming? Are the predictions in this video valid?

"HARSH" Copyright law's? you mean the thing that stop's people from COPYING someone's music, that they have a RIGHT, to keep? And gamespot stopped being reliable sometime around 2002. If by corporation's eying websites you mean THEIR websites?Or their COMPANIES websites?
*face-palm*
Good article, but the example's YOU called out on are really...bad.

If I say you stole my copyright on youtube, your vid gets closed and you have to prove I'm lying. Somebody got banned for talking into a screen, no-name clothing and black backround. Dude just think outside a box.

 

[Fire Daemon]

I think someone needs to send this link to 4chan. If someone can do something about this it's them.

 

[The Anti Noob]

can someone please define net neutrality to me? I don't wanna sound dumb, but it's not a term i've heard before.

 

[Lord Krunk]

Just a question:
We've been fighting communism for a long time now, we people of Western culture (Although I'm in the far East).
Thing is, the very flaw, the only problem with communism is actually now being used in Capitalist countries.
So, if you REALLY want to brag about being a free nation, America, don't do this to people.

 

[Saskwach]

can someone please define net neutrality to me? I don't wanna sound dumb, but it's not a term i've heard before.

Net neutrality is a belief that Internet Service Providers shouldn't be changing how fast pages on the internet take to load. If they could, they'd sell fast loading speed to sites that could afford it and all others would be forgotten. While this is great for the businesses at the top of the food chain it's bad for net-goers and anyone trying to bust into the market with only a crazy idea. Imagine net neutrality weren't around when Youtube was trying to establish itself: since the owners couldn't have paid for faster loading times many new visitors would have been put off by the slow download speed and left. Youtube might have stayed a curious site with a quirky idea. Hell, it might have been aped by a bigger company with the dollars to throw at the project and a much more mercenary system. Basically, those who want to erase net neutrality are almost all about making money in a very lazy way and keeping their market position entrenched through money- not through innovation, customer service, good design, etc.

 

[Anarchemitis]

In a sentence:
If you pay for the internet and somebody else pays for it to, you can go to the big fun ball of tubes.

If Net neutrality dies, every single tube you go through will be monitored. If you go to something you want, you'll have to pay for it. If you go to something that they don't want you on, you could be charged and arrested.

The Internet would die and become a corporate vegetable, completely soulless like television. Youtube, Myspace and Facebook would dissapear, save for the users like 'NBC', 'CBC' and other big media companies that can afford it. The Blogosphere would instantaneously collapse.

MUST DESTROY CORPORATE MONSTERS. ROBOT ARMY ASSEMBLE. ATTACK CORPORATE MORONS. DESTROY. DESTROY.

I think someone needs to send this link to 4chan. If someone can do something about this it's them.

Totally. Like, totally. That would have SO much more sway that a featured video on the Youtube.

 

[Aries_Split]

In a sentence:
If you pay for the internet and somebody else pays for it to, you can go to the big fun ball of tubes.

If Net neutrality dies, every single tube you go through will be monitored. If you go to something you want, you'll have to pay for it. If you go to something that they don't want you on, you could be charged and arrested.

The Internet would die and become a corporate vegetable, completely soulless like television. Youtube, Myspace and Facebook would dissapear, save for the users like 'NBC', 'CBC' and other big media companies that can afford it. The Blogosphere would instantaneously collapse.

MUST DESTROY CORPORATE MONSTERS. ROBOT ARMY ASSEMBLE. ATTACK CORPORATE MORONS. DESTROY. DESTROY.

I think someone needs to send this link to 4chan. If someone can do something about this it's them.

Totally. Like, totally. That would have SO much more sway that a featured video on the Youtube.

have you seen what happened with project chanology? yeaaaaa no.

 

[Anarchemitis]

have you seen what happened with project chanology? yeaaaaa no.

Never heard of such a beast.

 

[PurpleRain]

Ok, just say we break the 'internet law' is there anyway we can be tracked from our accounts if it has no name or details? Can they shut down our servers?

 

[DeadMG]

They don't have to. They just make them unloadable, either by slow speeds or just completely unloadable, because you can't afford prioritization over paid-for traffic from big companies.

That's what net neutrality is about. Basically, if the ISPs had their way, people would pay to make their sites load faster. This means that you could pay an ISP to make your website easier to use than a competitors. This means that you win because you've got more money, and smaller users have no chance because your traffic is prioritized up it's fat, expensive ass.

 

[Hey Joe]

Well here's the rationale behind the business thinking.

Right, at the moment in the US and Asia, there's a tradition of selling unlimited bandwidth to customers, whereas here in Oz, it's a pay for how much you use system.

The fact of the matter is that renting out unlimited bandwidth to customers is just not good business, and they have to find a way to post a profit without passing the costs onto the consumers. In that way, charging certain sites for access privileges makes a whole hunk'o sense to them.

Still, it's a slippery slope once we start practicing this.

Already ISPs such as Comcast have been accused of curbing the speed on torrent downloads, and the reason they give to do this is so they don't get absolutely crushed by the sheer number of downloads at any given time. P2P apparently creates HUGE bandwidth issues for the ISP, but I'm not so sure.

Scary times netizens, scary times.