Page 1 of 5 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 30 of 136

Thread: Net Neutrality is BS

  1. #1

    Default Net Neutrality is BS

    A solution in search of a problem will be litigated in the US court system.

    Has anyone here been harmed by the lack of de-jure net neutrality in Amerika?

  2. #2
    Verizon fucked up Netflix for several months. Comcast did the same thing, except Comcast at least allowed Netflix to return to normal after Netflix caved and forked over cash to support Comast's business, which has shown to have a >90% profit margin. Verizon took months longer to return to normal and still ranks along the bottom. That "last mile" really fucks up a lot of smaller ISPs, one of the many reasons why the US has almost no competition in the broadband arena. Vonage has been blocked by ISPs because it competes against their own services, Verizon has blocked text donations to touchy (pro-abortion) funraising groups, verizon blocks tethering, AT&T blocked Facetime unless you paid more, torrents get throtted all over the place, ISPs inject their own ads onto indepedent websites, verizon's impossible to kill super cookie, comcast's data cap didn't apply to its own xbox app.

    Seriously, does the thread need to continue?
    "In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."

  3. #3
    Let sleeping tigers lie Khendraja'aro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    In the forests of the night
    Posts
    6,238
    Well, Dread, get rid of your def-facto monopolies and we can talk again. Currently you actually need this legislation for the ISPs not to be able to fuck you over further.
    When the stars threw down their spears
    And watered heaven with their tears:
    Did he smile his work to see?
    Did he who made the lamb make thee?

  4. #4
    Telecomm companies on both sides of the pond appear to be some of the most consumer-hostile businesses around. What's that about?
    When the sky above us fell
    We descended into hell
    Into kingdom come

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Dreadnaught View Post
    A solution in search of a problem will be litigated in the US court system.

    Has anyone here been harmed by the lack of de-jure net neutrality in Amerika?
    Again you show that you have no idea about the tech stuff.
    "Wer Visionen hat, sollte zum Arzt gehen." - Helmut Schmidt

  6. #6
    Stingy DM Veldan Rath's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Maine! And yes, we have plumbing!
    Posts
    3,064
    Quote Originally Posted by Khendraja'aro View Post
    Well, Dread, get rid of your def-facto monopolies and we can talk again. Currently you actually need this legislation for the ISPs not to be able to fuck you over further.
    In essence I agree on this point with Khen.

    I feel so dirty.
    Brevior saltare cum deformibus viris est vita

  7. #7
    Let sleeping tigers lie Khendraja'aro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    In the forests of the night
    Posts
    6,238
    Quote Originally Posted by Veldan Rath View Post
    In essence I agree on this point with Khen.

    I feel so dirty.
    Well, damn.

    As an aside, here's obviously not the only place Dread posted:

    When the stars threw down their spears
    And watered heaven with their tears:
    Did he smile his work to see?
    Did he who made the lamb make thee?

  8. #8
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-...usaolp00000592

    In examining Verizon's financial accounting over the last five years, we uncovered that Verizon's entire fiber to the premises (FTTP) networks are being constructed as "Title II", common carriage to get the state-based utility rights-of-way as well as charge phone customers for 'massive deployment of fiber optics' -- I.e., Verizon New York's local phone customers paid for the construction of some, if not most of the costs of upgrading the networks.

    hypocritical assholes
    "In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."

  9. #9
    Net Neutrality Saves Pornland

    So President Obama may just be the most pro-porn president ever to take office. He’s recently protected net neutrality – and the right of the Federal Communications Commission to uphold it, effectively stating that no ISPs should be allowed to restrict or govern access to content on the internet – even if that content is legal pornography.

    Net neutrality – the matter of free movement of information on the internet – is a hot topic, if not always a well-understood one. When Funny or Die released its net neutrality explained by porn stars video in November, online magazines and social networking sites lapped it up like a leaked A-lister sex tape. As we well know, that’s the useful thing about adult content – it captures the imagination and attention in a way little else can – even when it’s explaining download speeds.

    http://FunnyOrDie.com/m/9bhv

    The video came off the back of the announcement that the Federal Communications Commission was proposing to create internet ‘fast lanes’ at a premium for paying clients. PornHub and a maelstrom of other adult and non-adult sites alike joined together to protest. In particular, the proposals would affect streaming services – a mainstay of much online adult content – by putting pressure on them to opt for the fast lanes. It would be creating a tiered and undemocratic internet, where access to funds dictated download speed.

    Shortly afterwards, President Obama came out in favor of allowing the Federal Communications Commission to regulate ISPs more thoroughly under a section of existing communications laws called Title II, leading many in the adult industry to pronounce him the most pro-porn president yet to enter office. The Republicans, meanwhile, proposed a new bill that would inhibit the FCC’s regulation, claiming it would lead to too heavier a restriction on business. But as of today, the White House has pronounced the legislation unnecessary, and that the FCC has the powers anyway.

    The adult industry is in a Master/slave relationship with freedom of information and democratic access to it. Porn is still the number one most searched thing on the internet. It generates $25 billion dollars a year in revenue in the US alone, and pioneers new technology (an irony, then, that the streaming speeds it had a hand in developing could be used against it). And yet it is demonized as a source of social instability and routinely discriminated against for being an ‘immoral’ business. Professionals contracts are mysteriously terminated, personal bank accounts are closed down, and performers suffer employment discrimination if they want to embark on another career post-porn.

    The digital frontier has so far always been Pornland’s nation-home. But if net neutrality is compromised, Pornland would start to find itself on seriously shaky ground. It’s logical that pornography that is legal should not be censored. But given the power that ISPs such as Comcast and Verizon have to control traffic – and have been proved to manipulate – the power for them to kowtow to public taste or to curry favor for being ‘socially responsible’ means they could easily manipulate traffic to adult sites.

    There are plenty on the religious Right that would vocally support that, and plenty of more silent liberal bystanders that would not – but nor would they feel comfortable openly getting behind a porn campaign. Net neutrality maybe dearly held, but it is not readily protected, despite its protection being a mere extension of the First Amendment. Somehow, no matter how much of our lives we spend online, we still struggle to understand that online liberties affect our daily lives as much as offline ones.

    The view held by those wary of ISP power, including the Federal Communications Commission, is that ISPs are not well regulated enough to ensure they keep the information super highway open and democratic. That’s why individuals such as Tim Wu, the academic instrumental in developing the definition of net neutrality, have been pushing for them to be re-categorized as “common carriers”, as they were in the 90s. ‘Common carriers’ are subject to closer monitoring and have more responsibility to their customers.

    What’s more, it’s mot just ISPs that manipulate the access power – but companies such as Facebook and Google which generate so much traffic, they have their own arrangements with ISPs to accommodate it. In many ways, they are just as guilty of compromising net neutrality, yet for now, they are certainly out of the FCC’s direct governance.

    The irony is that there is one key way in which compromising net neutrality could benefit the porn industry – and that’s in relation to porn piracy. Back in 2007, ComCast intercepted a range of file-sharing software, including BitTorrent – a thorn in the side to adult businesses trying to prevent their content being ripped for free. But let’s get real – given the status of the adult industry, could we ever expect to see a time when ComCast et al would use its powers to protect the adult industry’s right to profits?

    Countries such as China and Saudi Arabia have long proved benchmarks for what happens when the internet is censored. Namely, proxies and peer-to-peer networking take over for the rich and the tech savvy, while internet access and freedom of information is curtailed for everyone else. But if you want to see a current living experiment in internet censorship, look to the UK. For the past year, internet service providers have been demanding subscribers opt in to view adult content. Adult content doesn’t just cover porn – other topics include humor and information about war and weapons. Meanwhile, restrictions are so unsophisticated that they have lead to sites on counseling and sexual health being blocked.

    There have, however, been some positives to these restrictions and the publicity they’ve received. Independent ISPs have been able to sell the benefits of their unrestricted services, while the issue of how we keep children safe online has forced a national conversation about parental responsibility and the paucity of sex education.

    But these benefits did not need to come at the cost of net neutrality – a severe to civil liberties, as well as the growth and future of the adult industry.

    The term may not be sexy, nor the technical details. But a future with even more restrictions on internet porn certainly wouldn’t be a hot one. President Obama’s challenge to the Republicans has certainly raised the temperature. Let’s hope he can keep it up – for all of us.

    Can you imagine the headache if US ISPs were free to treat the topic of porn similar to how wall gardens like Apple does?
    "In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Khendraja'aro View Post
    Well, Dread, get rid of your def-facto monopolies and we can talk again. Currently you actually need this legislation for the ISPs not to be able to fuck you over further.
    I don't recall being fucked-over by my ISP. Do you?

    Net neutrality is a beautiful example of a mass strawman.

    Quote Originally Posted by Steely Glint View Post
    Telecomm companies on both sides of the pond appear to be some of the most consumer-hostile businesses around. What's that about?
    Probably because they are products of heavy-handed quasi-monopsonist regulation.

  11. #11
    Its almost as if he just enjoys talking to himself
    "In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."

  12. #12
    Maybe he should talk to Asshole Brown and Super Bitch
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

  13. #13
    But they're busy trying to find a way to pay the rent after their rent check was cashed by their cable company.
    "In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer View Post
    Its almost as if he just enjoys talking to himself
    He is like Khat, just with moderator privilege.
    "Wer Visionen hat, sollte zum Arzt gehen." - Helmut Schmidt

  15. #15
    Net Neutrality discussions... bigger snooze fest than global warming fear mongers. Or like I mentioned in another thread... Y2K. People are more concerned about the principal of the issue than in the actual effects of it. Another year of no legislation on it and another year of faster speeds for the average consumer.

  16. #16
    Hehehe is that "fast" in the imperial system?
    "One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."

  17. #17
    Senior Member Flixy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    The Netherlands
    Posts
    6,435
    Quote Originally Posted by Lewkowski View Post
    Net Neutrality discussions... bigger snooze fest than global warming fear mongers. Or like I mentioned in another thread... Y2K. People are more concerned about the principal of the issue than in the actual effects of it. Another year of no legislation on it and another year of faster speeds for the average consumer.
    That's not entirely true though, the average consumer likely has Netflix which was throttled for a while wasn't it? And your average consumer definitely uses torrents which are often throttled, but since that's often illegal content I won't complain about that as much (though the only things I'm currently seeding are legal*).

    * https://thepiratebay.se/torrent/9989...ANS_EP_(2014)_[v0] , feel free to try it.
    Keep on keepin' the beat alive!

  18. #18
    All my DRM free humble bundle games are still running through utorrent. Which is the point of net neutrality, ISPs shouldn't be deciding, much less making umbrella decisions, concerning what is legal, legalish, and what level of inspection and meddling is acceptable.
    "In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."

  19. #19
    Let sleeping tigers lie Khendraja'aro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    In the forests of the night
    Posts
    6,238
    Quote Originally Posted by Lewkowski View Post
    Net Neutrality discussions... bigger snooze fest than global warming fear mongers. Or like I mentioned in another thread... Y2K. People are more concerned about the principal of the issue than in the actual effects of it. Another year of no legislation on it and another year of faster speeds for the average consumer.
    My dear, the median is actually important and not the average.
    When the stars threw down their spears
    And watered heaven with their tears:
    Did he smile his work to see?
    Did he who made the lamb make thee?

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Lewkowski View Post
    Another year of no legislation on it and another year of faster speeds for the average consumer.
    Real download speed or just the number on the contract. Because that's what the discussion is all about.
    "Wer Visionen hat, sollte zum Arzt gehen." - Helmut Schmidt

  21. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer View Post
    All my DRM free humble bundle games are still running through utorrent. Which is the point of net neutrality, ISPs shouldn't be deciding, much less making umbrella decisions, concerning what is legal, legalish, and what level of inspection and meddling is acceptable.
    As long as a goodly portion of that material is illegal, complaining about companies whose actions hamper it, regardless of whether it also hampers other legal goods/services, is a non-starter OG and you know it.
    Last night as I lay in bed, looking up at the stars, I thought, “Where the hell is my ceiling?"

  22. #22
    Let sleeping tigers lie Khendraja'aro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    In the forests of the night
    Posts
    6,238
    Quote Originally Posted by LittleFuzzy View Post
    As long as a goodly portion of that material is illegal, complaining about companies whose actions hamper it, regardless of whether it also hampers other legal goods/services, is a non-starter OG and you know it.
    What kind of nonsensish argument is that supposed to be?

    Next up: Fuzzy is all for a blanket ban on guns because a goodly portion of those are used illegally, even used for killing people! A pirated movie never killed anyone, so banning all guns is even more important!
    When the stars threw down their spears
    And watered heaven with their tears:
    Did he smile his work to see?
    Did he who made the lamb make thee?

  23. #23
    And we close all the banks while we are at it.
    "Wer Visionen hat, sollte zum Arzt gehen." - Helmut Schmidt

  24. #24
    Let sleeping tigers lie Khendraja'aro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    In the forests of the night
    Posts
    6,238
    And close the borders to Switzerland!
    When the stars threw down their spears
    And watered heaven with their tears:
    Did he smile his work to see?
    Did he who made the lamb make thee?

  25. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by Khendraja'aro View Post
    What kind of nonsensish argument is that supposed to be?

    Next up: Fuzzy is all for a blanket ban on guns because a goodly portion of those are used illegally, even used for killing people! A pirated movie never killed anyone, so banning all guns is even more important!
    Are a goodly portion of guns used illegally? What's the current best statistic on torrent traffic, 50% of files (not bandwidth, which I believe is even higher) transferred via torrent were movies and tv last year right? Is that what you think the gun statistics are Khend?
    Last night as I lay in bed, looking up at the stars, I thought, “Where the hell is my ceiling?"

  26. #26
    A more apt comparison would be gas stations deciding what type of gas you're allowed to buy based on your car, your past driving, and the driving of everyone using their station (cause fuck, who doesn't speed?).

    Except that wouldn't fly because competition would drive those morons into the ground, but if the Comcast-TWC merger goes through ~70% of americans would have no choice for their broadband provider, so these companies have plenty of opportunities to reach far past what their intended purpose is and screw everyone over in the meanwhile by making the service as crippled, unreliable and useless as possible.
    "In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."

  27. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by Khendraja'aro View Post
    And close the borders to Switzerland!
    And let's get of rid of cars. Because honestly, everyone is speeding now and then!
    "Wer Visionen hat, sollte zum Arzt gehen." - Helmut Schmidt

  28. #28
    Let sleeping tigers lie Khendraja'aro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    In the forests of the night
    Posts
    6,238
    Quote Originally Posted by LittleFuzzy View Post
    Are a goodly portion of guns used illegally? What's the current best statistic on torrent traffic, 50% of files (not bandwidth, which I believe is even higher) transferred via torrent were movies and tv last year right? Is that what you think the gun statistics are Khend?
    And? When exactly did a pirated movie kill someone? I dare say that the issue of guns illegally killing people is a bit more serious.

    Not to mention that you're trying to combat a symptom and not the cause, but hey, feel free to wave your hands at windmills because you can't grasp what's really behind it.
    When the stars threw down their spears
    And watered heaven with their tears:
    Did he smile his work to see?
    Did he who made the lamb make thee?

  29. #29
    Stingy DM Veldan Rath's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Maine! And yes, we have plumbing!
    Posts
    3,064
    No he's not. He was pointing out to OG that complaining about having difficulty using torrent to rip off the movie industry is not the best argument for net neutrality.

    But you just want a fight, carry on.
    Brevior saltare cum deformibus viris est vita

  30. #30
    Let sleeping tigers lie Khendraja'aro's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    In the forests of the night
    Posts
    6,238
    Quote Originally Posted by Veldan Rath View Post
    No he's not. He was pointing out to OG that complaining about having difficulty using torrent to rip off the movie industry is not the best argument for net neutrality.

    But you just want a fight, carry on.
    I have several programs which use Torrent techniques to control larger downloads and updates. WoW is a pretty prominent example. I also used uTorrent to get 30 GB of high-res textures for Space Engine. OG pointed out Humble Bundle. YOU are the one who accused him of pirating. But maybe you could point out where OG was saying that he pirated movies? Don't expect me to hold my breath, though.

    Maybe you should work on your reading skills because the current ones don't paint a very flattering picture of your character if you have to descend into such character assassinations. Seriously.
    When the stars threw down their spears
    And watered heaven with their tears:
    Did he smile his work to see?
    Did he who made the lamb make thee?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •