• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

Net Neutrality - thoughts?

FCC rules today. Expected to rule in favor of net neutrality along a 3-2 party line vote.

Good discussion on Diane Rehm right now.
 
It's clear to me from the callers that the Republicans have done a great job of scaring their base. Some idiot just tried to claim that the FCC was paving the way for the Fairness Doctrine on the Internet and it would target conservative websites. One of the net neutrality advocates correctly pointed out that without net neutrality, your internet provider could partner with MSNBC and throttle access to conservative websites.
 
Can anyone explain concisely what this ruling means? I read a few articles but how will this affect us should it stand in the long run?
 
It shouldn't change much. The main thing is that Verizon, TWC, etc can't shakedown Amazon, Netflix, etc to force them to pay more money to you can access them at the same speed as everything else. The big fear without net neutrality is that ISPs will make exclusive deals to give favorable access to some companies and not others. For example, Verizon could strike a deal with ESPN so you could get faster access to ESPN.com than competing websites. In other words, without net neutrality your ISP could decide that you can check scores and your fantasy team, etc faster on ESPN.com than on Yahoo Sports.

The really big thing is that it would keep the somewhat level playing field for people looking to start a business on the internet. If someone wants to start the next Etsy, they just need to start it. Without net neutrality, ISPs could require payment from new businesses to make sure people could access their websites efficiently across different providers.

To be fair, I'll post the opposing perspective. This is an article that a Tunnels poster "liked" on Facebook.
https://freethefuture.org/blog/2015/02/26/fcc-can-now-regulate-and-censor-the-internet/

Some of the funnier bits.
If the FCC doesn’t like the way you’re running your online business? You’ll have to do what it says. If the FCC doesn’t like the content on your website? You’ll have to change it.
Click to expand...

How you know this is complete BS? Conservatives would definitely be behind an effort to force internet sites to change their content. Imagine Scott Walker's FCC being able to wipe all the pron off the internets.

Last year, GenOpp drove 3,300 people to Facebook bomb the FCC Page to protest this government takeover, but that’s nothing compared to the grassroots uprising that’s coming.
Click to expand...

4 million people wrote to FCC in favor of net neutrality.
 
We've had net neutrality for the history of the internet (a booming industry) except for the past year. In that year, ISP's started shaking down Netflix, and customers suffered with slower downloads. Going back to net neutrality is the more 'conservative" position (going back to the past, not changing things that work). Republicans have taken the wrong side. Who wants to align themselves with the most hated businesses in America?
 
awaken said:
We've had net neutrality for the history of the internet (a booming industry) except for the past year. In that year, ISP's started shaking down Netflix, and customers suffered with slower downloads. Going back to net neutrality is the more 'conservative" position (going back to the past, not changing things that work). Republicans have taken the wrong side. Who wants to align themselves with the most hated businesses in America?
Click to expand...

How have we had it for the entire history of the net except for last year? That doesn't make sense.
 
And how does that demonstrate net neutrality for the entire history of the Internet until that decision?
 
As it is, I still don't have much of an opinion on this issue. It seems to me that neither side is being particularly honest. Obamacare for the internet? Not sure I see that. I also don't see the necessity of this because some millenials are ticked that their Netflix streaming is spotty. To me, I don't see much difference between that and ESPN hiking their rates on cable providers. I guess you purchase net access assuming you're going to get upload/download speeds across the board, but how many people buy cable thinking that ESPN may get dropped? It seems that transparency is the big issue here. Be transparent, and the customers will speak for themselves. Netflix can advertise to their customers that if they have X cable company they may be getting screwed, just like cable channels advertise that Direct TV or Dish is going to drop their channel unless their supporters act.

Regardless of pro/con net neutrality, does anybody else find it frightening that the FCC can just classify something and have it be under their jurisdiction without a vote from an elected body? Regulatory powers can be a bit scary.
 
A lot of people have no choice in their ISP.

Look up the history of the Internet. The government has been very hands off.
 
EatLeadCommie said:
As it is, I still don't have much of an opinion on this issue. It seems to me that neither side is being particularly honest. Obamacare for the internet? Not sure I see that. I also don't see the necessity of this because some millenials are ticked that their Netflix streaming is spotty. To me, I don't see much difference between that and ESPN hiking their rates on cable providers. I guess you purchase net access assuming you're going to get upload/download speeds across the board, but how many people buy cable thinking that ESPN may get dropped? It seems that transparency is the big issue here. Be transparent, and the customers will speak for themselves. Netflix can advertise to their customers that if they have X cable company they may be getting screwed, just like cable channels advertise that Direct TV or Dish is going to drop their channel unless their supporters act.

Regardless of pro/con net neutrality, does anybody else find it frightening that the FCC can just classify something and have it be under their jurisdiction without a vote from an elected body? Regulatory powers can be a bit scary.
Click to expand...

regulators regulating things is scary?
 
The reality is that much like transportation (roads / railroads) or other utilities (power, water, sewer) there is no market need to create enormously expensive competing infrastructures, and so customers are left at the mercy of de facto monopolies. Because of this, it's in the best interest of society as a whole for us (again, as a society - a freely elected government is our way of doing something as a whole) to put in place sensible regulation to control those monopolies.

No matter which side of the political spectrum, the people who actually work in this industry almost universally support the regulation of carriers as utilities. That should say something. If you actually understand how the infrastructure works and is built, it's really the only option which makes any sense.
 
EatLeadCommie said:
Regardless of pro/con net neutrality, does anybody else find it frightening that the FCC can just classify something and have it be under their jurisdiction without a vote from an elected body? Regulatory powers can be a bit scary.
Click to expand...

There is nothing the government cannot find a way to hog. Expect the internet to become more expensive and less useful than it otherwise would have been, just like education and health care.
 
You do realize the government built the Internet, right?
 
vadimivich said:
The reality is that much like transportation (roads / railroads) or other utilities (power, water, sewer) there is no market need to create enormously expensive competing infrastructures, and so customers are left at the mercy of de facto monopolies. Because of this, it's in the best interest of society as a whole for us (again, as a society - a freely elected government is our way of doing something as a whole) to put in place sensible regulation to control those monopolies.

No matter which side of the political spectrum, the people who actually work in this industry almost universally support the regulation of carriers as utilities. That should say something. If you actually understand how the infrastructure works and is built, it's really the only option which makes any sense.
Click to expand...

tjcmd said:
There is nothing the government cannot find a way to hog. Expect the internet to become more expensive and less useful than it otherwise would have been, just like education and health care.
Click to expand...

These posts back to back are golden.
 
PhDeac said:
Look up the history of the Internet. The government has been very hands off.
Click to expand...

Yes, which belies the earlier contention that the government has had any sort of policy at all (to include "net neutrality") until now, or when they tried to step in a few years back.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top