Net Neutrality, Why We Must Fight For It

[KansukeKojima 0]

Ok, I've really been looking into this a lot lately. Honestly, it is a very scary thought. Let me explain what I am talking about.

Ok, we all know how vast the internet is right? So imagine, with all those billions and billions of web pages, if your the owner of a large company, it must be very hard to shove your product down the throats of everyone through use of the internet. Unlike the television, the internet allows people to decide for themselves, we have access to tonnes of information and conflicting opinions, where as before the internet, we had television, which was largely owned by the same people, and we had the same messages continually thrown at us.

So, if we have more freedom because of the internet, what does this mean for those companies? Well it means that they begin to lose money, it means that they no longer have such a large control over a vast population. So how do they solve this? Well, what the companies and our Internet Service Providers (ISP) have been planning is to offer us packages. These packages will be along the lines of '29.99 for 60 websites'. Ok, so its not so bad at first glance, but what are all the results of this?

1) You have to pay an extra fee to access websites like Xisto, game faqs, etc. etc. All these small websites that have a specific audience. Ok, so big deal right, I'll just pay a little extra per month. Ah, you may, but I can guarantee you that the majority of users will not go that extra mile. The result is, the viewership of those smaller websites gets majorly cut. Those websites ad money goes down because they are getting less viewers, and eventually, there really won't be a point to having the websites exist anymore (no one visits them after all), so the owners shut them down. So we have the loss of tonnes of communities, etc.

2) Small businesses, bands, etc. lose the medium through which they are able to sell their products.

3) We lose freedom. Think about it, the internet gives us access to countless ideas, conflicting beliefs, debates, etc. It allows us to choose based on what WE look at. If the internet becomes another t.v. service, we are back to square one: we have no alternative but what those in power show us.

If this happens, it will be a very terrible loss. I have included some links below, and it should explain more and better than I have. This is something we should all be concerned about, and we need to get ACTIVE about it now. Once it happens, it may just be too late.


http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/
http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/
http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/
http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/
http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

If you have any more links, information, etc. please post it below. And please, I would like to hear your opinions on this all.


*EDIT: IF A MOD COULD PLEASE FIX TOPIC TITLE* --> done - jlhaslip

[PhyberOptycs 0]

....
So, if we have more freedom because of the internet, what does this mean for those companies? Well it means that they begin to lose money, it means that they no longer have such a large control over a vast population. So how do they solve this? Well, what the companies and our Internet Service Providers (ISP) have been planning is to offer us packages. These packages will be along the lines of '29.99 for 60 websites'. Ok, so its not so bad at first glance, but what are all the results of this?
....

I highly doubt that will be put into effect if anything like this is even being proposed. What is keeping companies afloat is providing what people want. You don;t have to shove it down peoples throats. If you make something they people want, they ill eat it themselves.

This leads me into what I quoted. Companies cannot/will not do somrhting like charge money for a set amount of web sites. If a internet company simply does what is currently available ( $50/month for DSL broadband speed, no dl limits ), then all those who are using the $XXX for XX websites will be run out of business. This is why I believe it cannot and will not happen.

[shadowx 0]

I agree, admittedly i havent read your links but im tired and drinking :)There is no logic behind this system as far as i can see. Big companies make money online, thres no doubt about it, and given the cheapness of the internet (lets face it, i can get hosted for ?5/month... A big company needs more than me so lets say 10x that amounts, its still only ?6k per year, now given the cost of employing someone is about minimum ?14k per year the website is a lot cheaper, even if you have to pay ?30k a year for a site admin youre still looking at ?36k per year for massive exposure, huge amounts of space to advertise your product in place of 2 or 3 employees who will advise customers you now have 2 or 3 pages of text and images that do a better job and cheaper. Its the reason you get online discounts, because its cheaper to work online than offline. so given that fact id say that all companies benefit from the internet, sure there are people like moi that compare products and change our minds but at the end of the day for every customer that chooses a competitor one chooses their product so it doesnt affect them im sure.Not only that but no-one in their right mind would pay to see a certain number of websites... its just silly. you would just tap a phone line and have free access.

[KansukeKojima 0]

http://www.savetheinternet.com/sti-home

please check out this website, it has a great amount of information on the subject, and should help you to understand more fully the situation. It also has a petition that you can fill out.

I'm surprised that more people haven't posted in this thread... I figured this would be a little more important to you all.