Net neutrality

Yes. The ONLY benefit it will have is for the giant companies that provide you with your internet. Not only financially, but politically.

It's almost fascist.

Yup. Good luck to small businesses after. :/

The term "net neutrality" in itself is kind of vague. It almost sounds like the opposite of what it is. I don't think people are aware of what's at stake here. Between the nonsense being spewed on a daily basis from the White House and the ballistic, hypervenventalive (i made that word up just now) nature of the media of late, I think people are becoming numb. I also wonder if, as a result, the media is losing it's power. There's an analogy or anecdote to all this somewhere but it escapes me right now.

I's like to think that when people realize what's been proposed they will get their collective panties in a big gooey wad. I mean, that would be the logical conclusion, right?

Perhaps if statues were erected to illustrate corporate dominance and dictator-like control of the internet, then people might take notice.

naps wrote:It almost sounds like the opposite

It is the opposite. Net neutrality isn't coming, it's going away.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_neutrality
https://www.eff.org/issues/net-neutrality

I remember the topic being a serious point of concern and debate back when I was in college (my major was computer science). That was a long time ago. I think Obama wasn't even campaigning yet.

This is a big deal. It was a big deal back then, and, obviously, it is a big deal now more than ever. Legally-validated content discrimination is pretty much the corporate-friendly equivalent of the kind of internet they have in China. The technical details involved are very similar.

At least where I live the law is specifically meant to protect net neutrality. Though the problem is that the law in general isn't always all that effective here... But I think people here are fed up with corporations and corporate-friendly policies. And politicians always want votes. So there's that. For one thing, there's been a move recently to ban monthly data caps. It hasn't been definitely banned yet, but it's been temporarily banned for a while.

naps wrote:I think people are becoming numb.

I think people have lost the sense that actions have consequences. Having their unfounded opinions validated has become a higher priority than considering any type of real-world causality.

emillionth wrote:

naps wrote:I think people are becoming numb.

I think people have lost the sense that actions have consequences. Having their unfounded opinions validated has become a higher priority than considering any type of real-world causality.

Maybe I meant "dumb" instead of "numb".

They're calling this net-neutrality repeal “Restoring Internet Freedom”. That's the phrase they're using to describe their push to limit internet access to everyone: “Restoring Internet Freedom”.

I have no idea how the internet works, or how IP providers would block content should this happen, but I wonder if there will develop some accessible corner of the internet where people will gather to share data that would otherwise be inaccessible. Vaguely similar to the early days of cable TV, when there were ways of stealing cable, be it by illegal hookups or unscrambler boxes. These sites would likely move around a lot once they're discovered, but always pop up again somewhere.

Another problem is that I suspect it may be true that a great many people don't really use much of the internet. Smartphones and social media have hypnotized the millions of ignorant dullards out there to a point where all they really need from the internet can be posted of Facebook or Instagram.

Fewer and fewer people are buying desktops these days. They're happy with tablets because they don't want or need the memory to store data. In a way, this and media like Facebook have narrowed down the internet to a tiny corner; people go there to get all their news and music, and they think that that is all there is to see. Kind of like this:



Also I wonder if ending net neutrality will give rise to the deep, dark web, where home shopping, nun/goat porn, news/weather and orphan mutilation videos will exist side by side.

naps wrote:They're calling this net-neutrality repeal “Restoring Internet Freedom”

Freedom™

I wonder if there will develop some accessible corner of the internet where people will gather to share data that would otherwise be inaccessible.

Not really a "corner", but that's VPNs. It's how people in places like China or Iran access Youtube and whatnot, or how you can use an open WiFi access point without being snooped on. (Not paranoia, btw. For one purpose or another, open WiFi spots usually monitor what their users do.) Though the problem with VPNs is that the VPN itself can be snooping on you (which isn't uncommon) and even adulterate the content that you get, since all your traffic goes through it. So you need to be able to trust the VPN service that you're using.

Btw, this is kinda funny. Or... "funny". I hadn't seen this list before, but, apparently, Reporters Without Borders ranks the US right there along with China and Iran as one of the current "enemies of the internet". The UK too.

Wikipedia wrote:The organization classifies a country as an enemy of the internet because "all of these countries mark themselves out not just for their capacity to censor news and information online but also for their almost systematic repression of Internet users."

It's a little bit of a stretch to put China and the US in the exact same list, but anyway, if it's about trends and negative potential, then yeah, it actually makes sense.

naps wrote:Also I wonder if ending net neutrality will give rise to the deep, dark web, where home shopping, nun/goat porn, news/weather and orphan mutilation videos will exist side by side.

That's Tor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVcbq_a5N9I

More on the subject:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRYzre4bf7I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiR2mvep_nQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joxQ_XbsPVw

Tor isn't the only thing you should use to access the deep web. A VPN, as you have mentioned, is needed. I would also download Tails just to be safe. Can't be too paranoid.

I support net neutrality simple because I want these guys to shut the ###$ up and stop shoving all their propaganda up my browser's sorry butt. As if being the millionth visitor 1239141 times in a row seemingly doesn't insult my intellect enough, I now have to deal with self-righteous revolutionaries who seemingly enjoy using the never-flushed public toilet they lovingly call "internet".

Or maybe it should be against? I don't really keep up. I'm happy as long as they are mad.

EmpathySucks wrote:I support net neutrality simple because I want these guys to shut the ###$ up and stop shoving all their propaganda up my browser's sorry butt. As if being the millionth visitor 1239141 times in a row seemingly doesn't insult my intellect enough, I now have to deal with self-righteous revolutionaries who seemingly enjoy using the never-flushed public toilet they lovingly call "internet".

Internet as a microcosm for society is a flawed concept because the rules are different. If anything, society is becoming a microcosm for the internet, which will eventually result in complete social breakdown, which is pretty much what society deserves. That's fine since I'll be long dead by the time that happens, although I'm unsure if it would be nice to witness the resulting chaos.

naps wrote:Perhaps if statues were erected to illustrate corporate dominance and dictator-like control of the internet, then people might take notice.

Their phallic temples reaching out greedily from the city skyline isn't visually telling enough?