(I apologize for the length of this post now)
I wish to make you aware of an issue that could affect how all of us in the United States and possibly many other countries use the Internet on an everyday basis. It could have a major affect on the main thing that all of us on this forum are interested in- viewing porn and/or working in the Internet porn business.
The issue is “Net Neutrality.” Or as I prefer to call the concept…
The Open, Free Market, Anti-Discrimination Internet.
What is it? As it is, every bit of information carried over the Internet is treated equally. You could be reading an article on CNN.com or playing Warcraft or downloading something from BitTorrent or watching a camgirl on MFC and all the data that is coming to you or any data that you send out is not limited or slowed down by your Internet Service Provider. It is only limited by the amount of existing traffic on network.
However, if the ISPs get their way, they would be able to limit how you access the Internet. They would be able to charge you for varying levels of Internet access. They could charge Internet sites for being available to more users or charge them based on how much data they send out.
Last week, this became a real threat after Verizon and Google jointly created a blueprint for federal legislation for maintaining an “open” Internet. I put open in quotes because it does not apply to wireless access, meaning public wi-fi or cellular networks. That means they could still place limits on your netbook, iPhone or Android phone, for example.
It also states that ISPs could “prioritize general classes or types of Internet traffic” in order to manage their network. That could mean that someone playing a game online could have the flow of data to and from their computer slowed down in the name of “managing the network.” It could mean that a camgirl putting on a show could all of a sudden have her connection quality lowered, leading to lower cam quality (and we know what happens to most girls with bad cam quality). And if you think it won’t happen, Comcast did it 2 years ago to BitTorrent users.
But imagine what would happen if websites had to pay to be available to more users. Do you think that MFC (which sends out a ton of data every second, is very broadband intensive, and is essentially an independent operation) would pay that premium without having it affect the income of the models? I don’t think any cam site would do that. Of course, if the public found out that any porn site was paying for priority or improved access to any network, the ISPs customers and shareholders would probably have a shit fit.
What if ISPs said to their customers “hey, you pay us an extra $40 a month and we’ll let you have access to all those porn sites you love,” would it work? For some, yeah. I read somewhere that Internet porn is a $3 billion per year industry. But the businesses would suffer has fewer people would pay for the access and even fewer would be able to pay for subscriptions or membership.
In summary, this issue will have a major effect on how you use the Internet on an everyday basis. It is important to know what’s going on and let the government know that you want an open, unfiltered Internet that doesn’t discriminate. An Internet that treats every website, every file, every user equally.
Websites worth reading for more info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality - covers the basics pretty well, even though it's Wikipedia
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35599242/Veri ... k-Proposal - the Verizon/Google deal
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/08/ ... nkey/all/1 - Wired magazine editorial on the proposal
http://arstechnica.com/telecom/news/201 ... llapse.ars - How Google flip-flopped on this
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/08/go ... neutrality - An analysis of the proposal from the Electronic Frontier Foundation
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-a ... -exploiter - A more humorous look at the issue
I wish to make you aware of an issue that could affect how all of us in the United States and possibly many other countries use the Internet on an everyday basis. It could have a major affect on the main thing that all of us on this forum are interested in- viewing porn and/or working in the Internet porn business.
The issue is “Net Neutrality.” Or as I prefer to call the concept…
The Open, Free Market, Anti-Discrimination Internet.
What is it? As it is, every bit of information carried over the Internet is treated equally. You could be reading an article on CNN.com or playing Warcraft or downloading something from BitTorrent or watching a camgirl on MFC and all the data that is coming to you or any data that you send out is not limited or slowed down by your Internet Service Provider. It is only limited by the amount of existing traffic on network.
However, if the ISPs get their way, they would be able to limit how you access the Internet. They would be able to charge you for varying levels of Internet access. They could charge Internet sites for being available to more users or charge them based on how much data they send out.
Last week, this became a real threat after Verizon and Google jointly created a blueprint for federal legislation for maintaining an “open” Internet. I put open in quotes because it does not apply to wireless access, meaning public wi-fi or cellular networks. That means they could still place limits on your netbook, iPhone or Android phone, for example.
It also states that ISPs could “prioritize general classes or types of Internet traffic” in order to manage their network. That could mean that someone playing a game online could have the flow of data to and from their computer slowed down in the name of “managing the network.” It could mean that a camgirl putting on a show could all of a sudden have her connection quality lowered, leading to lower cam quality (and we know what happens to most girls with bad cam quality). And if you think it won’t happen, Comcast did it 2 years ago to BitTorrent users.
But imagine what would happen if websites had to pay to be available to more users. Do you think that MFC (which sends out a ton of data every second, is very broadband intensive, and is essentially an independent operation) would pay that premium without having it affect the income of the models? I don’t think any cam site would do that. Of course, if the public found out that any porn site was paying for priority or improved access to any network, the ISPs customers and shareholders would probably have a shit fit.
What if ISPs said to their customers “hey, you pay us an extra $40 a month and we’ll let you have access to all those porn sites you love,” would it work? For some, yeah. I read somewhere that Internet porn is a $3 billion per year industry. But the businesses would suffer has fewer people would pay for the access and even fewer would be able to pay for subscriptions or membership.
In summary, this issue will have a major effect on how you use the Internet on an everyday basis. It is important to know what’s going on and let the government know that you want an open, unfiltered Internet that doesn’t discriminate. An Internet that treats every website, every file, every user equally.
Websites worth reading for more info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality - covers the basics pretty well, even though it's Wikipedia
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35599242/Veri ... k-Proposal - the Verizon/Google deal
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/08/ ... nkey/all/1 - Wired magazine editorial on the proposal
http://arstechnica.com/telecom/news/201 ... llapse.ars - How Google flip-flopped on this
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/08/go ... neutrality - An analysis of the proposal from the Electronic Frontier Foundation
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-a ... -exploiter - A more humorous look at the issue
