Important: Net Neutrality

[Twily]

I'm not here to spout politics, however this is a very serious issue that affects everyone*.*but mostly people in the US

Net Neutrality is a series of restrictions which requires Internet Service Providers(ISPs) to treat all data on the internet equally and prohibits charging or discriminating in any way. This prevents ISPs from doing things like blocking websites, slowing down websites, or charging additional fees to gain access to websites(think cable TV, how you have to pay to gain certain channels).

The current chairman of the FCC, Ajit Pai, voted against Net Neutrality back in 2015, and now that he is chairman of the FCC he has called for a vote to end Net Neutrality.


Net Neutrality is what keeps the internet a free and open place.

If you live in the US and either have or don't mind making a change.org account, Please sign the petition in my signature to say you don't want Net Neutrality to end.
The vote is scheduled to occur on Dec14.

[WanderingPoet]

What can not-US people do to stop USA-votes from doing things that effect the rest of us? Also important information, how does this effect non-US people?

[Twily]

I did some quick research and it seems like the only effect it'd have on those outside the US is indirect.

If an ISP were to start charging companies like Netflix(A US based company) to have their streaming services included by the ISP, Netflix would have to raise their price on the consumers to make up for the cost, and expenses like this could end up affecting Netflix users outside the US.
There's no guarantee ISPs would do this(although I certainly wouldn't put it past them either)


I imagine it'd be a relatively minor impact for those outside the US all things considered.
I don't know of anything non-US individuals can do to help in the fight sadly.

[Black Wendigo]

I don't see how it would effect anyone other than customers of the ISPs that want to end net neutrality. You can connect to the internet in a lot of ways that don't involve the major isp's wanting this. Would that be practical or possible?

Would it be possible for customers to vote with their pocketbook and not subscribe to ISPs that want to do what the OP mentioned? Perhaps if people lost customers for doing this it might help.

[One Two Three Five]

That's.. no offense, awfully naive. Name a couple ways to connect to the internet, in the US, that doesn't go through a major corporation. I'll wait.

Would it be possible for customers to vote with their pocketbook and not subscribe to ISPs

1. In several, increasingly large areas, there isn't a non-large-corporation option. Where I'm at, for instance, there is only Comcast. It's bad service, and bad internet, but it's also the only literal option for internet service.

2. Comcast/Time Warner/etc have been chomping on smaller ISPs for years now, and will only speed up if there's options for people beyond 'pay out a whole hell of a lot of cash more suddenly.'

3. Small isps will start doing what the big ones do because there's money in it and money generation is the sole and only purpose of every corporation in the entire world.

There's no safe harbor other than not letting them do it.

[JediMindTrix]

yep

[High Primate]

Vote blue in the 2018 mid-term elections and hope they get the chance to reverse whatever catastrophic damage the current government manages to wreak by then. That's all you can do.

Oops, did I say something political? Well shoot me.

[Wytchee]

Vote blue in the 2018 mid-term elections and hope they get the chance to reverse whatever catastrophic damage the current government manages to wreak by then. That's all you can do.

Oops, did I say something political? Well shoot me.

You said something political and sensible.

And I'm so far to the left of Democrats I make (popular liberal politician) look like (popular conservative politician).

(Communism will win.)

[High Primate]

I'm not here to spout politics, however this is a very serious issue that affects everyone*.*but mostly people in the US

Can I nitpick this for a second? Do you mind?

I'm not here to spout politics,

1. Yes you are.

2. You're posting on a topic that's politically relevant.

3. What's wrong with that, anyway?

however this is a very serious issue that affects everyone*.*but mostly people in the US

4. Isn't politics, generally speaking, about very serious issues that affect people?

When did it become the norm to qualify overtly political views as apolitical, when there is nothing wrong about having and expressing political views? It shouldn't matter either way.

The issues and problems that affect people, including the people in the Arelith community, are largely political. You can try to pretend they're not. But they are.

[Wytchee]

Yah.

Politics isn't some bogeyman that should be avoided in conversation at all costs. Essentially, anything important to large numbers of people (hence the 'poli' prefix) is politics.

That being said, this is the forum for an escapist roleplay community so I understand the preface.

[JediMindTrix]

"I'm not here on these boards to spout politics as my primary passtime"

[Black Wendigo]

It's irrelevant that net neutrality is political in part. Most things of importance have a political aspect to them anyways. If the forum mods don't have a problem with it, then who am I to say otherwise?

The topic is important to everyone I believe.

[Marsi]

when there is nothing wrong about having and expressing political views? It shouldn't matter either way.

Sprawling political debates are tiring at best and outright destructive to a community at worst. Most people grossly overestimate their ability to hold an informed, non-buzzword opinion and communicate it in a civil manner.

What's more is that all these life-threatening, world-shattering political qualms that just GOTTA be argued about are always, funnily enough, American. What if, I dunno, a bunch of Serbians started spamming the forums about some minute political undertaking in their country, arguing hatefully between each other and hectoring anyone apathetic towards their politics? What if every single member of the Arelith community began to feel it appropriate to bring their own country's political matters to the forums? There are places for that kind of thing, but the forums of a 15 year old hobbyist D&D server is not one of them.

Now, I think when it comes to Net Neutrality it's a little different. I think most people, American or not, have an opinion about it and can understand the wide-reaching implications of such a matter even though it's distinctly an American problem at this time. But otherwise I think it's pretty clear why the forum admins and most of the server thoroughfare are quick to shutdown and avoid political debate.

[FrozenSolid]

I think taking the argument and simply saying

"Yeah it's all bad because of X people"

Doesn't offer a solution or provide any sort of meaningful info to the Net Neutrality. It's unproductive when that is so often what political conversation turns into.

From what I've read about this it seems like it'd be a poor change. From what I understand if a coperation doesn't like X websitr they could essentially slow them down.

More over, none of these companies need more money and that's what this is for it doesn't benefit anyone or keep anyone safe etc it's about money.

Atleast, that is my understanding of the issue so far.

Does anyone have an argument supporting ending Net Neutrality.

[High Primate]

Now, I think when it comes to Net Neutrality it's a little different. I think most people, American or not, have an opinion about it and can understand the wide-reaching implications of such a matter even though it's distinctly an American problem at this time. But otherwise I think it's pretty clear why the forum admins and most of the server thoroughfare are quick to shutdown and avoid political debate.

Like it or not, the reason net neutrality is under threat is because of the current situation in DC. As such, it is rather difficult to hold a constructive conversation about how to address it without talking about the root of the problem which is, ineluctably, political. If you want to see net neutrality preserved, the most effective way to do it is to vote against lawmakers who support its repeal. That is a completely logical reply to the concern voiced in the original post--much moreso than signing a petition, in fact.

[RedGiant]

This is one sided and sad. Recommend lock for the decidedly partisan tone.

[Kuma]

This is one sided and sad. Recommend lock for the decidedly partisan tone.

Anyone who sincerely opposes net neutrality in favour of megacorps is a species traitor.

I don't like that we live in the age of easy-offense-taking-hyper-sensitivity.

[Black Wendigo]

I see where this is going. Without adding to the hate already here, I agree: Lock the thread.

[MoreThanThree]

Allow Google+Facebook to swallow the internet or allow ISPs to do it. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[Dunshine]

We don't want politics discussed on our forum, take it elsewhere.

[Irongron]

I think being politically engaged is a great thing, and I would encourage it of everyone, but as Dunshine says this isn't the place for it. Not because we don't care, but because Arelith caters to a broad community, of many disparate views. Our engagement with one-another here should ideally be limited to the subject of the game, role-play, and light-hearted chatter.

Topics like that this can breed conflict, which can bleed into in-game animosity or resentment between players, and we really don't need anything else fuelling that between members of the community.