We're a bit late to the party, but for those who haven't seen on the Internet, today is a protest day for Net Neutrality, where sites across the internet are disrupting their normal operations to get the word out and get people to send a message. Ars Technica already has a fairly decent summary of who's doing what, and we stand with them and the rest of the Internet.
Due to real life issues, I was late on getting this together, but for the rest of the day, this article will remain on the top of the page and we will be blacking the theme of the site in protest [Technical issues among others precluded our doing so today --martyb].
If you're a US citizen, and want to get the word out, check Battle for the Net, and get the word out. In addition, there are long discussions going on reddit and other sites throughout the internet
Let's get the word out!
~ NCommander
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday July 13 2017, @06:48PM (1 child)
Imagine if libel wasn't libel if it was written using a quill and squid's ink on vellum.
Imagine if child pornography wasn't child pornography if it was done using a mosaic of Skittles.
Imagine if pickpocketing wasn't pickpocketing if it was done using magnets on strings on fishing-rods (sorry, too much Beano as a kid).
Imagine if murder wasn't murder if it was performed with a plastic knife.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Thursday July 13 2017, @08:01PM
The issues surrounding this are a little more complex than that. There were historical reasons for the more stringent regulation of "telephone lines" (DSL). Whereas that wasn't the case for "Cable TV"
Because of the interstate nature and monopoly status of the old AT&T, the FCC had much more involvement in the use of "telephone lines" as compared with Cable TV lines, as those were generally governed by local government franchise grants.
History and context matter. What's more, we're talking about lawyers and lobbyists drawing up the regulations, not engineers. Without historical context, it may seem ridiculous to you in hindsight, but looked at in the context of prior regulation, historical events and the boot licking of the Bush II Administration to all and sundry corporations, it makes more sense.
That there was only a three year lag before the rules were normalized between DSL and cable Internet shows that this was recognized (in governance terms) pretty quickly.
The fact that the regulations (reclassifying to Title I) were anti-competitive and encouraged abuse of customers is a different issue.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr