Senators urge FCC to preserve neutrality protections for text messages
The FCC is considering classifying texts as an information service in order to give carriers more tools to fight automated messages and spam texts. However, the Senators don't see the need. The Telecom Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) already requires senders to get permission from a receiver before sending an automated text. Additionally, there is concern that carriers might block legitimate bulk messages. Verizon did so in 2007 when it stopped women's rights advocacy group Naral Pro-Choice America from sending a mass text to its members because the content was considered controversial.
Here is the original letter (pdf).
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Senators Urge FCC to Preserve Neutrality Protections for Text Messages
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(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Sunday December 09 2018, @09:10PM (16 children)
On my cellular service (Ting, uses the Sprint network), I've seen delays of 45 minutes between the sending of a text message to me, and the moment my phone received it. There's no good reason for such a long lag. Yeah, going to dump my current service.
Maybe Net Neutrality can help with this problem, but I have strong doubts. Telecoms have made texting a horrendous racket, charging way, way too much for the service. 1 minute of audio is more data than a month's worth of texts, yet they imply that people should pay about the same to send the information whether by text or by speech. Will take more than Net Neutrality to stop that gouging.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Monday December 10 2018, @12:01AM (13 children)
The gouging won't stop until you vote for politicians that will make it illegal, with real prison sentences for the bosses instead of these 'slap on the wrist' fines that are written off as business expenses.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 4, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Monday December 10 2018, @02:37AM (1 child)
I vote for politicians who are for cleaning up Wall Street corruption. Trouble is, there are very few who pledge to do that. The Democratic candidate is often just a Republican-lite, business friendly and pro-abortion, while the Republican is a complete whackjob who wants to roll back the clock to the good old days of Antebellum US when women and dark skinned peoples knew their place. Both completely ignore the sleaze and corruption. I'd vote for a 3rd party, but there seldom is any.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 10 2018, @11:52AM
Sounds like you vote for the current wall street and hollywood status quo then. If you want to "clean up Wall Street" you need to support Ron Paul and projects like IEX, not keep trying to find a DNC member to vote for.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday December 10 2018, @01:01PM (10 children)
Ah, the age of mythology! Stuff of legend, half fiction, half true but good stories anyway.
I'm sure aristrachus would gladly reminisce.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Monday December 10 2018, @04:03PM (9 children)
You gotta make the effort before you start the bitching. Almost 95% still vote for things just the way they are. Continued denial of the obvious will get you nowhere.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday December 10 2018, @10:17PM (8 children)
I hereby inform you that, in Australia, voting is compulsory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday December 11 2018, @12:28AM (7 children)
Nothing wrong with that. Do they tell you who you can vote for? Or can you nominate candidates through petitioning, like in the U.S.?
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday December 11 2018, @03:29AM (5 children)
The way I know (and I may be wrong, but I don't think I am), no.
A candidate has to nominate her/himself to receive votes.
(It's a bit weird that you can propose someone who has no intention to run, much less to do the job if elected)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday December 11 2018, @05:15AM (4 children)
It's a bit weird that you can propose someone who has no intention to run
It's really better that way. We shouldn't vote for people that want the job. We should conscript the ones that don't, make it like jury duty, then they go *back to the farm* after they serve their time.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday December 11 2018, @06:44AM (3 children)
That's forced labor in disguise under the name of "conscription".
Paid forced labor, but forced anyway.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday December 11 2018, @07:09AM (2 children)
:-) We could make it a condition of parole. Otherwise let's just call it "community service". If we are going to have "forced labor", could it be in a better place? We need qualified people. At the very least we need to hang a real Sword of Damocles over their heads.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday December 11 2018, @07:21AM (1 child)
Politicians life: one term in office, one term in jail.
---
TMB - 2018
Gotta love it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2, Interesting) by fustakrakich on Tuesday December 11 2018, @04:19PM
Start with jail. It's the perfect environment. Everybody's a lawyer, and they have a good law library. Once a guy can talk his way past the parole board, you can assume he knows the *art of the deal* and is well qualified to serve the rest of his time in congress. Then people can vote to put him back in jail if he fucks up.
Come to think of it, I kinda like that idea.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by Fluffeh on Tuesday December 11 2018, @04:48AM
To nominate yourself for the vote, candidates for either house must formally nominate with the Electoral Commission. The nomination for a party-endorsed candidate must be signed by the Registered Officer of a party registered under the Electoral Act. Fifty signatures of eligible voters are required for an independent candidate.
A deposit of $1000 is required for a candidate for the House of Representatives, and $2000 for a candidate for the Senate. This deposit is refunded if the candidate gains at least 4% of first preference vote.
Once candidates are on the ballot paper, the following rules apply:
Australia uses various forms of preferential voting for almost all elections. Under this system, voters number the candidates on the ballot paper in the order of their preference. The preferential system was introduced in 1918, in response to the rise of the Country Party, a party representing small farmers. The Country Party split the anti-Labor vote in conservative country areas, allowing Labor candidates to win on a minority vote. The conservative government of Billy Hughes introduced preferential voting as a means of allowing competition between the two conservative parties without putting seats at risk.[citation needed] It was first used at the Corangamite by-election on 14 December 1918.[39][40] The system was first used for election for the Queensland Parliament in 1892. It was introduced in the Tasmanian House of Assembly in 1906 as a result of the work of Thomas Hare and Andrew Inglis Clark.
Preferential voting has gradually extended to both upper and lower houses, in the federal, state and territory legislatures, and is also used in municipal elections, and most other kinds of elections as well, such as internal political party elections, trade union elections, church elections, elections to company boards and elections in voluntary bodies such as football clubs. Negotiations for disposition of preference recommendations to voters are taken very seriously by candidates because transferred preferences carry the same weight as primary votes. Political parties usually produce how-to-vote cards to assist and guide voters in the ranking of candidates.
(Score: 2) by SixGunMojo on Monday December 10 2018, @12:44PM (1 child)
TBH I woundn't blame Ting for that one. When I was on Sprint, text messages would frequently be delayed often to the point where it was just easier to call esp. if it was work related. It once caused a serious dust-up with a girl I was seeing. Every once in a while I'd start a game of phone tag in the afternoon and get the returned call voicemail notification at 3-4 in the morning 8-9 hours after the person called (and when I knew they were asleep).
Other than that, how is your Ting service? I'm currently on T-mobile (I know they also use their network) and frequently think of switching given my phone usage patterns. Last time i checked I think my bill would have been in the $24-$27 range.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 10 2018, @05:26PM
ting is wonderful (if you don't use the slave networks enough to justify an unlimited plan with the normal carriers) and if the op has problems with the sprint service, ting now has at&t too. i use my own voip and xmpp servers most of the time so my bill is ~$14 a month.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Monday December 10 2018, @12:24AM (2 children)
Why the hell are we letting them do that?? Common carrier, dumb pipe, that should be the rule. Anything else is bullshit. We can make our own firewalls.
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 10 2018, @05:21PM (1 child)
hi
please provide a link to an SMS text based firewall for my feature phone that isn't smart; I can't install software on it. but i use the sms texts for alerting and such for family, friends, and work, since its simple, easy to use, and nearly instant in most cases. sms works so well that it was very disappointing to see commercial entities start to abuse it.
also the firewall needs to work for every feature phone that cant install software. kthx
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Monday December 10 2018, @05:29PM
If you don't have it already, you can demand the ability to block unwanted/unknown calls/messages from your carrier. Unfortunately a lot of you have to demand that, enough to make it a business issue. If you get a really big crowd to do it, you can vote it into law. Happy hunting...
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Monday December 10 2018, @12:51AM
Face it, their position is whomever paid them the most. They don't get tech. They often don't use tech. They are typically immune to the shocks their decisions engender. When not immune it's because it works in their favor, which they knew ahead of time.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 10 2018, @05:33PM
"The Telecom Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) already requires senders to get permission from a receiver before sending an automated text. "
that's funny. all i get is text spam...that i'm probably being charged for which makes it theft. i guess the pigs are too busy stealing from working people to do their jobs.
"Additionally, there is concern that carriers might block legitimate bulk messages. Verizon did so in 2007 when it stopped women's rights advocacy group Naral Pro-Choice America from sending a mass text to its members because the content was considered controversial."
scumbags not doing their jobs (including the useless government and it's enforcers that are supposed to be enforcing the law) is a different matter.