Octang Frye

Very sad:

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sto...7-2862,00.html

I believe Obama supports Net Neutrality.

paul1968mcr

Scary stuff!

So when the powers that be don't want you to know something, and have the power to make that thing illegal so you can't see it under that policy - **** that!

paddingtongreen

For those of us who are not techies, please explain, Net Neutrality sounds good, what is wrong with it (Obama does support it, it says so on the website). Why is it sad?

Octang Frye

This isn't a right or left issue.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality

Why do we have to tinker? Let's just let the Internet be.

paddingtongreen

I read the Wiki page before I asked the question, but my problem is that the terms are not self-explanatory, and may be misleading (like "Pro-life" and "Pro-choice"). I had an email today from freepress.net to the effect that:

"This Halloween, the powerful lobbyists at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) are trying to scare Washington with horror stories about "white spaces" -- vacant TV channels that can be used to bring high-speed Internet to rural and low-income Americans across the country.

The NAB’s hired guns have bombarded policy makers with false claims in a desperate, last-ditch attempt to hoard these airwaves and to disrupt a critical FCC vote taking place in just six days."

I presume that freepress.net is in favor of "net neutrality", and that it is a good thing.

I was confused by your opening post as to what it was that was sad, I thought it might be net neutrality!

Octang Frye

The sad part was what was going on in Australia. The net neutrality name is misleading. It means well but will have unintended consequences. I'm against it. Just leave the Internet alone.

fatbrit

But this isn't about net neutrality....it's about a proposed national internet filter. I don't support it BUT it's a totally different concept from net neutrality, which I strongly support. Net neutrality stops corporations from having preferential treatment on the web, whereas a national internet filter allows the government to censor content.

Manc

from the article.

fatbrit

You get some real morons on the right. I was wondering where the hell our friend got this idea from, and after much Googling I tracked this down:

http://torchlight.blogtownhall.com/2...r_behind.thtml

To save you trying to decipher, the gist of the incredible argument is thus:
Australia is going to have a national internet filter.
The Australian government is liberal.
Obama is a liberal.
Therefore Obama supports a national internet filter for the US.

Seems the moron was listening to Limbagh!

fatbrit

Net neutrality is good. It means corporations can't pay to have preferential treatment on the web.

Octang Frye

Limbaugh? Nope, this moron has been talk radio free since 2004. (Well, if you don't count local talk radio.) Also been Air America free since 2006.

I haven't looked for McCain's stance on Net Neutrality. I don't think he has one.

Yes, I agree that censorship and NN are different issues.
My business is software and my reasons for opposing Net Neutrality are not partisan. Read a few of the arguments opposing NN here, fatbrit.
http://www.handsoff.org

Goodnight.

Octang Frye

No offense, dude - and no insults either - but I don't think Net Neutrality means what you think it means.

Octang Frye

It's a pragmatic thing and I don't think you understand the subtleties of the arguments.

What you're advocating for is similar to equality of outcome, rather than equality of opportunity.

fatbrit

Well you need to tell me what you think it means. Otherwise there's nowhere to go with this!

I work with the definitions given at Wikipedia but understand that they may be a touch technical for some.

Here's the definition at Conservapedia for the flat-earthers which, surprisingly, is actually very accurate if rather simplistic. (I was there a few minutes ago reading their take on Obama and have only just stopped laughing.)

So basically, the one who's all confused is you.

Octang Frye

Well, what do you expect? I'm a moron.