NationStates Jolt Archive

I just read about this site: http://www.savetheinternet.com/. It says that some large phone companies are pushing to allow them more control over their internet services, allowing them to slow down traffic toward websites they have no interests in or even prevent their users from accessing them completely. Charge more money for freedom (of speech) on the internet. And mute everyone who does not agree with them. Instead of a free, open information highway the internet will be a street lined with virtual toll booths. The people at this site plan to pressure politicians into refusing large companies these rights and maintain what is "Net Neutrality". I don't know how US companies will affect people in Europe, but if in America the internet becomes a thing run by companies instead of being for anyone and everyone then the danger wil quickly bleed across the globe.

And I thought China was restrictive...

That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. They can't really do that can they?

I just read about this site: http://www.savetheinternet.com/. It says that some large phone companies are pushing to allow them more control over their internet services, allowing them to slow down traffic toward websites they have no interests in or even prevent their users from accessing them completely. Charge more money for freedom (of speech) on the internet. And mute everyone who does not agree with them. Instead of a free, open information highway the internet will be a street lined with virtual toll booths. The people at this site plan to pressure politicians into refusing large companies these rights and maintain what is "Net Neutrality". I don't know how US companies will affect people in Europe, but if in America the internet becomes a thing run by companies instead of being for anyone and everyone then the danger wil quickly bleed across the globe.

And I thought China was restrictive...
You ain't SEEN "restrictive" until someone realizes they can make a profit off of being restrictive.

I was very disappointed that my Representative here in NC voted to allow this nonsense. Sigh! :(

what do you thing google is for? First you get used to getting best results than slowly dont realize that there are a lot of results that are filtered from you and much later you are directly send to wherever they want you to go. Its better than openly forcing you for them, being herded like sheep by a piece of program without even realizing. Thats called matrix too :D

Well I can't really take action since I live outside the USA. But if people are aware of it hopefully they'll nip it in the butt before that scam spreads to other unwitting countries and governments. There's still time to act.

thats pretty much what happened to tvs too. We think that media is free but its not, its only a device of propaganda and whomever gains control of it gains control of information, herds the people. The only thing that makes it seem free is clash of interests inside the system and high ups secretly using media to destroy each other. But they sometimes agree on sharing the loot and we sleep like daisies knowing nothing about how we are ripped off :D

Luckily they invented satelite dishes for TVs. Might be expensive, but being ripped off by TV companies bites. My parents managed to dodge the fee they had to pay the cable company because those buffoons lost their data. But when they found out and then also announced they'd spam the cable with just commercial networks they got a dish. Now they can even watch Italian state television, this time indoctrinated by Silvio Berlusconi to believe commies are everywhere and watch his new hair implants!

Anyway, they can do with TV the same thing as they did with Internet at its conception. Open the floodgates to information, destroy the tyranny of corporate interest!

It should have been obvious that one of the most dangerous lobbies was the telecom lobby when it stopped an entrepreneur from offering free broadband wifi to a major city.

That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. They can't really do that can they?
They can, did, and will again. By the time we get people in office that arn't ignorant dicks, it will be too late.

thats pretty much what happened to tvs too. We think that media is free but its not, its only a device of propaganda and whomever gains control of it gains control of information, herds the people. The only thing that makes it seem free is clash of interests inside the system and high ups secretly using media to destroy each other. But they sometimes agree on sharing the loot and we sleep like daisies knowing nothing about how we are ripped off :D

Yeh! Fight the system! Or just watch channel 4, whatever. Not all programming is what you describe- im thinking of the daily show, things like the guardian.

http://www.askaninja.com/tags/special-delivery-4

Essentially, he's right.

Liasia']Yeh! Fight the system! Or just watch channel 4, whatever. Not all programming is what you describe- im thinking of the daily show, things like the guardian.

Doesn't that channel show you movies like the Matrix and all the conspiracy stuff? They are taunting you! They're saying "what you see here on television is happening to you, in your own nation! And you are way too gullible to notice. Pathetic wretches, keep channel surfing while we raise the bill again!". Awake, slaves to the system! Rise up and defeat the corporate suits that had you sitting there like zombies!

I used to use AOL, and they wouldn't let me go on newsgroups (i tried to join the IIDB newsgroup, but DENIED). Have to say i was a bit puzzled.

Doesn't that channel show you movies like the Matrix and all the conspiracy stuff? They are taunting you! They're saying "what you see here on television is happening to you, in your own nation! And you are way too gullible to notice. Pathetic wretches, keep channel surfing while we raise the bill again!". Awake, slaves to the system! Rise up and defeat the corporate suits that had you sitting there like zombies!

Thing is.. i bet you own a TV. And buy a pc. If you seriously wanted to fight the suits, the best thing to do might be to stop giving them money.

Liasia']I used to use AOL, and they wouldn't let me go on newsgroups (i tried to join the IIDB newsgroup, but DENIED). Have to say i was a bit puzzled.

Yar, AOL sucks ass. I mean, it sucks Goatsy's ass. That's an ass that's difficult to suck, but they pull it off with flying colors.

Yar, AOL sucks ass. I mean, it sucks Goatsy's ass. That's an ass that's difficult to suck, but they pull it off with flying colors.

AND everyone on AIM is 12. It's wierd.

No, they're pushing for relaxed regulations. Interestingly enough, Canada has none of the restrictions they're talking about lifting placed upon their internet companies, and yet these doomsday scenarios have not occured there to my knowledge. At least not on a continuous scale.

Liasia']AND everyone on AIM is 12. It's wierd.

Yeah, basically. 12-year-olds can easily gain access to the internet by using one of the millions of hours of free AOL they get from the CD's.

Yeah, basically. 12-year-olds can easily gain access to the internet by using one of the millions of hours of free AOL they get from the CD's.
Well, i am on NTL now. So its just as bad, but they are at least subtle about it.

No, they're pushing for relaxed regulations. Interestingly enough, Canada has none of the restrictions they're talking about lifting placed upon their internet companies, and yet these doomsday scenarios have not occured there to my knowledge. At least not on a continuous scale.

Ah yes. The businessman would never screw anybody argument.

Yes, Internet should be free. Companies should be not be taking what belongs to everyone.

Yes, Internet should be free. Companies should be not be taking what belongs to everyone.

The fact you are able to say that indicates it isn't as bad as some people think.

It'll never pass. The minute it does, these companies are going to be sued and an army of hackers is going to bankrupt them, I 'spect.

Liasia']The fact you are able to say that indicates it isn't as bad as some people think.

Well, it hasn't passed yet. If it did, his ISP could extort a fee from nationstates.net and if they didn't pay up, they could lower the speed of information being sent to the site or cut it off completely.

That's extortion, yes. Kind of like what the mafia did/does.

Well, it hasn't passed yet. If it did, his ISP could extort a fee from nationstates.net and if they didn't pay up, they could lower the speed of information being sent to the site or cut it off completely.

That's extortion, yes. Kind of like what the mafia did/does.

So change ISPs, or set up your own. Or use a host in a different country. *shrugs*

Liasia']So change ISPs, or set up your own. Or use a host in a different country. *shrugs*

Won't work. The wire is owned by the companies that would control the speed.

Setting up in a different country would not help because again the dampers would be on as soon as you hit these shores.

Liasia']So change ISPs, or set up your own. Or use a host in a different country. *shrugs*

A: You can't readily change ISP's, especially if you're under contract. Even if you could - most, if not all, ISP's will be taking advantage of this situation. The amount of profit and power to be gained from it is simply unnerving, and I'm sure they can't resist.

B: Great. You got a couple million dollars to get started and buy the offices and servers and customer service and pay the employees? Great. You'll be able to last a week, just before the bigger companies buy you out like Microsoft did in the 90's.

C: Good luck with that. Getting shitty connection because your ISP is halfway across the world, being charged long distance everytime you call for tech support.

Won't work. The wire is owned by the companies that would control the speed.

Setting up in a different country would not help because again the dampers would be on as soon as you hit these shores.

Thing is, the American government already owns the internet. They can shut it down anytime they like, and effectively microsoft can do the same with their huge reach. I just don't believe it will ever happen, as people rely far too much on the internet. Buisness and stuff are stupidly reliant on it,a nd i couldn't live without wikipedia.

A: You can't readily change ISP's, especially if you're under contract. Even if you could - most, if not all, ISP's will be taking advantage of this situation. The amount of profit and power to be gained from it is simply unnerving, and I'm sure they can't resist.

B: Great. You got a couple million dollars to get started and buy the offices and servers and customer service and pay the employees? Great. You'll be able to last a week, just before the bigger companies buy you out like Microsoft did in the 90's.

C: Good luck with that. Getting shitty connection because your ISP is halfway across the world, being charged long distance everytime you call for tech support.

A:You can always assume that not everyone is an evil corporate bastard, but i guess that is a bit of a stretch.

b:Computers are getting better, i read somewhere that soon PC will have the capapbility to be individual ISPs. Don't know if it was bullshit or not.

c:That's the price of freedom, my friend :p

Liasia']Thing is, the American government already owns the internet. They can shut it down anytime they like, and effectively microsoft can do the same with their huge reach. I just don't believe it will ever happen, as people rely far too much on the internet. Buisness and stuff are stupidly reliant on it,a nd i couldn't live without wikipedia.

Not really. The internet is an expression of free speech, so it would be nigh-impossible for the government to just "shut it down", as it were.

Microsoft would never shut the internet down. They would, however, do whatever it takes to suck as much money from us as possible, and if that requires extorting all the popular sites (wiki and google included) then so be it.

Liasia']A:You can always assume that not everyone is an evil corporate bastard, but i guess that is a bit of a stretch.

b:Computers are getting better, i read somewhere that soon PC will have the capapbility to be individual ISPs. Don't know if it was bullshit or not.

c:That's the price of freedom, my friend :p

A: You could assume it. You'd get fucked in the ass the moment you did it, but you could assume if you wanted to.

B: Yeah, bullshit.

C: Too bad we don't have any freedom in the USA where it's supposed to be, right?

Not really. The internet is an expression of free speech, so it would be nigh-impossible for the government to just "shut it down", as it were.

Microsoft would never shut the internet down. They would, however, do whatever it takes to suck as much money from us as possible, and if that requires extorting all the popular sites (wiki and google included) then so be it.

The internet relies on communication by wires and satellites, the same as telephones and faxes. Its not some abstract concept, so of course the government could shut it down if they were determined. Wasn't there an example of this in the 70's where they did just that to repair it?

I'm not sure on the microsoft thing, they get more bad press than they deserve.

Microsoft is not a telecom company and has no interest in this. All this can serve to do is hurt Microsoft. Microsoft is a tech company, this move hurts tech companies. Telecoms profit, fucking telecoms always trying to screw some one over.

A: You could assume it. You'd get fucked in the ass the moment you did it, but you could assume if you wanted to.

B: Yeah, bullshit.

C: Too bad we don't have any freedom in the USA where it's supposed to be, right?

Dude, i said '*shrugs* i don't care or know enough about this to argue.

Liasia']Dude, i said '*shrugs* i don't care or know enough about this to argue.

Then don't. =)

Then don't. =)
Thought i might as well, beings as i know as much as anyone else on here (i suspect). Blind vs the blind, y'know.
+1 *runs away*

Liasia']Thought i might as well, beings as i know as much as anyone else on here (i suspect). Blind vs the blind, y'know.
+1 *runs away*

S'okay, I <3 you for the Bill Hicks quotes.

S'okay, I <3 you for the Bill Hicks quotes.
:p he rules. I agree with alot of the stuff he says, and it's still true today despite the fact he was talking about the first Iraq war and 90s culture.

I just read about this site: http://www.savetheinternet.com/. It says that some large phone companies are pushing to allow them more control over their internet services, allowing them to slow down traffic toward websites they have no interests in or even prevent their users from accessing them completely. Charge more money for freedom (of speech) on the internet. And mute everyone who does not agree with them. Instead of a free, open information highway the internet will be a street lined with virtual toll booths. The people at this site plan to pressure politicians into refusing large companies these rights and maintain what is "Net Neutrality". I don't know how US companies will affect people in Europe, but if in America the internet becomes a thing run by companies instead of being for anyone and everyone then the danger wil quickly bleed across the globe.

And I thought China was restrictive...

" It says that some large phone companies are pushing to allow them more control over their internet services, allowing them to slow down traffic toward websites they have no interests in or even prevent their users from accessing them completely. "

Has been happening with Time Warner AOL. They will completely block your ass from some sites. But AOL sucks anyway.

No, they're pushing for relaxed regulations. Interestingly enough, Canada has none of the restrictions they're talking about lifting placed upon their internet companies, and yet these doomsday scenarios have not occured there to my knowledge. At least not on a continuous scale.
Candians watch alot of American TV stations and see alot of American commercials. If Posinet ran commercials in the US saying that you got unlimited 5MB/s access for $29.95, but in Canada ran commercials saying you got access to A Group sites @5MB/s B Group sites @1MB/s and Bittorrent @ 1B/s for $29.95, Canadians would demand what the USians had by either switching to a company that provided the wanted services or by directly stealing access from across the border (like how we did with satellite TV about 5 years ago).
But that doesn't stop them from doing it quietly. Shaw already throttles bittorrent transfers.
Liasia']A:You can always assume that not everyone is an evil corporate bastard, but i guess that is a bit of a stretch.
Of course, but economic darwinism takes care of them. The companies that do not exploit these freedoms will be nowheres near as profitable as the ones that do. They will not have as much money to expand and advertise and will lose market-share until they either a) adapt and rape their customers or b) perish.

Microsoft is not a telecom company and has no interest in this. All this can serve to do is hurt Microsoft. Microsoft is a tech company, this move hurts tech companies. Telecoms profit, fucking telecoms always trying to screw some one over.
To be fair I bet they are hoping the telecoms restrict illegal software downloads.

Because as soon as companies have the freedom to do this the government will be leaning on them to do it in the interest of the “public”

Of course, but economic darwinism takes care of them. The companies that do not exploit these freedoms will be nowheres near as profitable as the ones that do. They will not have as much money to expand and advertise and will lose market-share until they either a) adapt and rape their customers or b) perish.

Imagine that. A company worker crawling across the street as if he's in the desert, whimpering "must...rape...consumers...!". Then he spots an innocent person and hurries over, pulls his pants down and enters her from behind. "*groan* Can I interest you in our hardware? Ours will never slack. Switch now and we'll give you S33D as an extra!"

The greedy telcos want to go timed phone calls and internet connections where you pay per second/minute. They want to cover "infrastructure" costs although in reality they only do this when things break down so minimize spending. This would drive up costs of Skype-ing and other communications which compete with normal phones services - they win both ways.

The greedy telcos want to go timed phone calls and internet connections where you pay per second/minute. They want to cover "infrastructure" costs although in reality they only do this when things break down so minimize spending. This would drive up costs of Skype-ing and other communications which compete with normal phones services - they win both ways.

Exactly. Not a one person can say that companies are greedy and would go to such lengths as talked about in this thread if the profit and personal benefit was great enough.