Call Congress, tell them you support Net Neutrality


  • New here, but I thought I read somewhere that political posts like this weren’t allowed on A&A forums. Not trying to be a jerk, but there’s really no good reason for this to be here.


  • It’s not really political in a way. Has to do with changes that may happen to Internet in a few years.

    Big D the site creator will chime in to let u know.

  • Liaison TripleA '11 '10

    @LincolnsTopHat:

    New here, but I thought I read somewhere that political posts like this weren’t allowed on A&A forums. Not trying to be a jerk, but there’s really no good reason for this to be here.

    You’re right it’s against the rules - if we expect us peasants to be treated equally with the king around here. :)

    This is Djensens site and his thread.  So No matter how hard you try we won’t win that argument :)


  • @SS:

    It’s not really political in a way. Has to do with changes that may happen to Internet in a few years.

    The title of this post is asking people to call their local Congressmen and ask them to halt the repeal of FCC regulations, sending us back to the internet dark ages of 2 years ago. That’s the definition of political, and then some.

    @Gargantua:

    This is Djensens site and his thread.  So No matter how hard you try we won’t win that argument :)

    I didn’t see this was posted by the owner of the site. Darn, I hate it when mod’s don’t read their own rules.

  • Sponsor

    < grabs bag of popcorn and leans back in chair.


  • He has a very good point…calling a politician to voice concerns about an agenda is political.
    Suggesting what to say is lobbying.


  • @LincolnsTopHat:

    @SS:

    It’s not really political in a way. Has to do with changes that may happen to Internet in a few years.

    The title of this post is asking people to call their local Congressmen and ask them to halt the repeal of FCC regulations, sending us back to the internet dark ages of 2 years ago. That’s the definition of political, and then some.

    @Gargantua:

    This is Djensens site and his thread.  So No matter how hard you try we won’t win that argument :)

    I didn’t see this was posted by the owner of the site. Darn, I hate it when mod’s don’t read their own rules.

    Ya like I said your right in away but he’s just letting you know what may happen to site. So then from now on He is not allowed to bring it up and when the cost goes up and or site disappears then you will not get any warning due to being political post.

    Just lettin you know what may happen. Fine Bye.

  • Liaison TripleA '11 '10

    The rule isn’t what’s important to remember and enforce.  The spirit behind the rule is.

    The reason political discussions were forbidden was because of the explosive forum wars they would cause over items that quite frankly couldn’t be resolved at A&A.org and almost never had anything to do with the site.  We used to have a political/open subsection and every imaginable issue was discussed in extreme flame there.  The battles would then seep into all of the other areas of the forum and cause chaos.

    That is why such discussions were stopped; and similar to the reasons replicants were outlawed in 2017.


  • Then I request the Mods or creator to remove it .


  • @Gargantua:

    The rule isn’t what’s important to remember and enforce.  The spirit behind the rule is.

    I agree, but then where does one draw the line on exceptions? Better to kiss

  • Liaison TripleA '11 '10

    So, I learned today about a site that had it’s Domain name SEIZED recently; and it got me into reading more about Domain Name Seizures AKA the shutting down of a site for whatever reason.

    Turns out this happens all the time, and was even an issue as far back as 2012 - check out this article for example
    https://www.wired.com/2012/03/feds-seize-foreign-sites/

    In other words,

    Net Neutrality is fake news. because if you’re speaking out about extremely controversial issues, running a site the gov wants to tax, or simply have a site that someone else really wants, the domain name can just be taken from you and you can be shut down or blocked out.

    I think that’s a far greater risk for A&A.org than net neutrality.  Hopefully we never have to deal with it, but even if it happend, there would probably be no warning, and no way for the community to rally to respond.

  • '18 '17 '16

    @Gargantua:

    So, I learned today about a site that had it’s Domain name SEIZED recently; and it got me into reading more about Domain Name Seizures AKA the shutting down of a site for whatever reason.

    Turns out this happens all the time, and was even an issue as far back as 2012 - check out this article for example
    https://www.wired.com/2012/03/feds-seize-foreign-sites/

    In other words,

    Net Neutrality is fake news. because if you’re speaking out about extremely controversial issues, running a site the gov wants to tax, or simply have a site that someone else really wants, the domain name can just be taken from you and you can be shut down or blocked out.

    I think that’s a far greater risk for A&A.org than net neutrality.  Hopefully we never have to deal with it, but even if it happend, there would probably be no warning, and no way for the community to rally to respond.

    What the hell does any of this have to do with net neutrality? That’s like saying it’s not an issue because they upped the price of Girl Guide cookies and that hits us all closer to home. Did Verizon put you up to this? :roll:

  • Liaison TripleA '11 '10

    Net neutralitiy is the idea that all internet traffic should be treated equally, and all websites equally accessible to the public.  No pay for premium models, or blocked content.

    It’s a great idea.

    But the truth is it’s a friggin lie, even when net neutrality law was in place domains could just be seized arbitrarily to stop those trying to speak freely etc.  Traffic was shut down and blocked etc.  The law did nothing to protect the public.

    What I’m saying is that all the noise about net neutrality, is just that - noise.


  • @Gargantua:

    {snip}
    What I’m saying is that all the noise about net neutrality, is just that - noise.

    It is a lot of noise, isn’t it? A whole lot of people are talking about it. But you don’t think it will affect you. So you don’t see the point.

    There is a difference between a nation state seizing a web site and a corporation slow rolling you every time you try to visit a website. But the difference is moot if you can’t get to it either way. I suspect that the government is not going to shut down myISPsucks.net. But a world where ISPs can decide for themselves how much bandwidth different websites get, is a world where ISPs can keep their customers from viewing such a website.

    In an example much more closer to home, a world where ISPs can decide for themselves how much bandwidth different websites get, is a world where ISPs can accept money from large corporations to shut down small sites that they don’t agree with. In such a world, if Hasbro were to be irritated at A&A.org for not always fawning over every decision made by Hasbro then Hasbro could pay ISPs to throttle down A&A.org’s bandwidth. If it took a minute for any page here to load, a lot of people would quit coming here. And in that way, Hasbro could keep their customers from viewing such a website.

    You might say: “That could never happen, A&A.org is way too small for Hasbro to care about.” To which I say, I’d rather have a world where ISPs don’t have this power in the first place.

    You might say: “But there’s nothing stopping ISPs from doing this before.” Before, you could sue your ISP for blocking access to your traffic. Now, all you can do is launch a campaign on the internet about what a crappy job your ISP is doing. You know, the type of website they don’t give easy access to anymore.

    -Midnight_Reaper

  • Official Q&A

    And what’s to stop your ISP from throttling back websites (including news services) that don’t agree with its political bent, giving you easy access to only those that do?  Ultimately, net neutrality is an issue of freedom of speech, not simply one of commerce.


  • @Midnight_Reaper:

    @Gargantua:

    {snip}
    What I’m saying is that all the noise about net neutrality, is just that - noise.

    It is a lot of noise, isn’t it? A whole lot of people are talking about it. But you don’t think it will affect you. So you don’t see the point.

    There is a difference between a nation state seizing a web site and a corporation slow rolling you every time you try to visit a website. But the difference is moot if you can’t get to it either way. I suspect that the government is not going to shut down myISPsucks.net. But a world where ISPs can decide for themselves how much bandwidth different websites get, is a world where ISPs can keep their customers from viewing such a website.

    In an example much more closer to home, a world where ISPs can decide for themselves how much bandwidth different websites get, is a world where ISPs can accept money from large corporations to shut down small sites that they don’t agree with. In such a world, if Hasbro were to be irritated at A&A.org for not always fawning over every decision made by Hasbro then Hasbro could pay ISPs to throttle down A&A.org’s bandwidth. If it took a minute for any page here to load, a lot of people would quit coming here. And in that way, Hasbro could keep their customers from viewing such a website.

    You might say: “That could never happen, A&A.org is way too small for Hasbro to care about.” To which I say, I’d rather have a world where ISPs don’t have this power in the first place.

    You might say: “But there’s nothing stopping ISPs from doing this before.” Before, you could sue your ISP for blocking access to your traffic. Now, all you can do is launch a campaign on the internet about what a crappy job your ISP is doing. You know, the type of website they don’t give easy access to anymore.

    -Midnight_Reaper

    If an ISP were to agree to a proposition from Hasbro like that, then they would be required (by law) to publicly disclose that information, creating public backlash that would undoubtedly result in more consumer money shifting to their competitors than Hasbro could ever possibly hope to compete with. As to them blocking a negative ad campaign, that would require basically shutting down every news/forum site on the internet, which for any ISP interested in staying in business is unlikely.

    @Krieghund:

    And what’s to stop your ISP from throttling back websites (including news services) that don’t agree with its political bent, giving you easy access to only those that do?  Ultimately, net neutrality is an issue of freedom of speech, not simply one of commerce.

    Funny you should mention free speech. As a matter of fact, there is a large Free Speech battle on the internet going on right now. Only it’s not from the “Anti-Net Neutrality” crowd, it’s from corporations like Google (especially YouTube), Twitter and Facebook, all heavily in favor of Net Neutrality, and all of which censor conservative content on their sites. For example, YouTube blocks channels like PragerU (Educational, conservative content) from being accessed in school by placing them in restricted mode.

    And to be perfectly honest, there should be nothing illegal about companies screening content however they want (your platform, your rules. Free Speech doesn’t apply). As long as they are legally obligated to be upfront about it, it’s up to consumers as to how they feel about it.

  • '18 '17 '16

    Here is a very easy explanation of what net neutrality really is for people who are fooled by the B.S. being fed to them by those who stand to benefit from the new laws and their supporters who don’t know any better but just spew the same rhetoric because of their affiliation or because they think it makes them sound smart;
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oInAlTKlw64

    Please stop spreading disinformation, you are hurting us all even if you haven’t figured that out yet.

  • Founder TripleA Admin

    If an ISP were to agree to a proposition from Hasbro like that, then they would be required (by law) to publicly disclose that information, creating public backlash that would undoubtedly result in more consumer money shifting to their competitors than Hasbro could ever possibly hope to compete with.

    The public backlash would only happen under specific circumstances. First, you have to be able to find the information. A public disclosure need only be public, it need not be easy to find. You would have to rely on a site like Open Secrets to find and publish that on the internet, which could be blocked by ISPs.

    Second, the public would have to care. If you block Facebook or your favorite news site, yes, there will be backlash. The public won’t care  about Hasbro shutting down our site. Plus, there would also people who actually support it as “free market forces,” which is itself incorrect because the free market assumes competition not the lack thereof.

    As to them blocking a negative ad campaign, that would require basically shutting down every news/forum site on the internet, which for any ISP interested in staying in business is unlikely.

    Although that is the simplest solution to blocking negative ads about your ISP, there are both technical and contractual ways around this.

    0. You only have to block ad networks and shut down VPN traffic.

    1. You write some tech to block ads that link to sites known to be critical of the ISPs practices. There are a few different ways I would go about creating this tech. The simplest being a browser extension that has a heartbeat to keep your internet on/fast. Now that you have a browser extension, you have access to ALL the web browsing content and you can do anything you want with each page; including blocking only specific ads.

    2. Require all your customers to install a ROOT CA from the ISP. Now the ISP can read all your SSL traffic and decide what is censored and what is not.

    3. The easier solution, block all ad networks unless they sign a contract that says they cannot publish ads that hurt the ISP. Or you give the ad networks a free fast lane if they comply. Carrot or stick works here.

    When you let a monopoly ISP do whatever they want with the traffic and consumer, everything imaginable is on the table. Some are technically more difficult than others but nothing is impossible.

  • Founder TripleA Admin

    Another way of thinking about Net Neutrality is as anti-trust regulations. In the 90s, there was competition for dial-up internet and more competition for broadband. As broadband consolidated and got faster, regulation was needed to maintain the original spirit of the internet.

    Finally, in modern life, the internet is a utility and should be treated as such.

  • Founder TripleA Admin

    @Bob77:

    He has a very good point…calling a politician to voice concerns about an agenda is political.
    Suggesting what to say is lobbying.

    Good point. I should add a footnote to the rules, which wouldn’t actually change much for this thread. For instance, I think I put a pink ribbon on the site in October several years ago.

    I made an exception here for a number of reasons. First, I believe it affects the existence of this site. You may disagree but even if you disagree, you should at least concede there is still a minuscule chance of the site being affected. Second, in the US there is roughly 80% support for Net Neutrality; it’s simply not that controversial. What I didn’t expect (and I really should have) was for the minority opinion to be more complainy than the majority opinion.

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