Saturday, December 16, 2006

NTodd explains net neutrality

NTodd:
"you're asking me to "trust corporate daddy" not to change the rules midstream.

What do you think protects you from that now? The FCC is already doing exactly what you want.

As one example, an ISP in NC tried blocking VoIP because they wanted to offer their own service. FCC got complaints and nailed them. And that's without any "net neutrality" on the books right now. It's not about blind trust in a corporation. Remember, I'm as anti-corporatist as they come. But I cannot abide the technical bullshit and ignorance that is driving the debate from both sides.

Until you can point me to language in an actual bill that will enable corporations to "change the rules midstream" when it comes to how a fucking global network operates, then I have to say you're misinformed and I don't know what else to do.

You won't accept my analogies, and rather go for your inflammatory ones. You won't accept my technical explanations, and rather "trust" other "informed" people because their descriptions fit your worldview. It's just like arguing about the moon landings with people who don't understand the physics of light in atmosphere versus no atmosphere, etc...

The best analogy is First Class Mail versus FedEx, as I already observed: just because there is FedEx doesn't mean you cannot send a letter for a few cents [ntodd]...this is fine (and already happens, why the need for a change?) as long as first class doesn't start charging based on what the letter says.

Sorry, but that's the shittiest analogy one could come up with. Nobody's charging more for the fucking first class letter, let alone based on the content. They're letting you send it faster if you want, for a premium.

E-mail and voice and video are all different applications with very different network requirements. E-mail doesn't change its meaning becuase it's delayed 3 seconds or 3 minutes. Delay changes the actual meaning of voice (try this at home: next time your SO says "I love you", wait 1 minute before responding). And video requires huge amounts of bandwidth for the full-service, HD stuff people want delivered.

The Post Office charges more for heavier items, and for faster service. Pizza Hut charges more if you put more toppings on your pizza, or for larger pizzas. The phone company charges you more for a variety of value-added services. There is absolutely no reason that ISPs cannot do the same. This doesn't point to a nefarious purpose."

For more information, read the comments.

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