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99.7 Percent of Unique FCC Comments Favored Net Neutrality, Independent Analysis Finds (vice.com)

When a Stanford researcher removed all the duplicate and fake comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission last year, he found that 99.7 percent of public comments -- about 800,000 in all -- were pro-net neutrality. From a report: "With the fog of fraud and spam lifted from the comment corpus, lawmakers and their staff, journalists, interested citizens and policymakers can use these reports to better understand what Americans actually said about the repeal of net neutrality protections and why 800,000 Americans went further than just signing a petition for a redress of grievances by actually putting their concerns in their own words," Ryan Singel, a media and strategy fellow at Stanford University, wrote in a blog post Monday. Singel released a report [PDF] Monday that analyzed the unique comments -- as in, they weren't a copypasta of one or dozens of other letters -- filed last year ahead of the FCC's decision to repeal federal net neutrality protections. That's from the 22 million total comments filed, meaning that more than 21 million comments were fake, bots, or organized campaigns.

75 of 137 comments (clear)

  1. Finally I'm heard! by Arzaboa · · Score: 2

    It's terrible that they threw away all the results and claimed they were simply "fake." I'm glad someone has looked at this data. The entire process was a sham when we were told that our comments mattered.

    --
    Come on, Come all -- B. Bailey

    1. Re: Finally I'm heard! by Darinbob · · Score: 2

      It does indicate maybe that duplicate comments (templates) might not be given the same weighting as unique comments by those who make decisions. As such, spending 10 seconds to fill out an online petition may make someone feel good about doing something, but spending time to actually write something down will count a whole lot more.

    2. Re: Finally I'm heard! by Darinbob · · Score: 2

      However I think that just signing a form letter does not mean as much to lawmakers as if you wrote the letter yourself. It's the difference between someone who is tepid on the subject versus someone who really cares about it. When lawmakers care about being re-elected based on their actions, why won't worry much about tepid voters who signed a petition.

    3. Re:Finally I'm heard! by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Nonsense. Different big money interests rallied to make net neutrality the law*, despite the internet being built and running for decades without it.

      * law, executive order...what's the difference between 'friends'.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    4. Re: Finally I'm heard! by jd · · Score: 2

      It's an academic study, so the method is published. Examine it and write a letter to the journal editor in rebuttal if you think the method is fraudulent. People do and bad science is removed.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    5. Re:Finally I'm heard! by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      And then there was a 10-15 years of hyper-commercialized internet, then someone decided NN 'had to be' or the sky would fall. Then before NN was implemented it was repealed.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    6. Re: Finally I'm heard! by careysub · · Score: 2

      ... but spending time to actually write something down will count a whole lot more.

      Clearly not in this case.

      --
      Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj
    7. Re:Finally I'm heard! by careysub · · Score: 1

      And throttling problems were seen, and were becoming more prevalent. It is not as if everything was super keen. Net neutrality was introduced to address a real and growing problem.

      --
      Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj
    8. Re:Finally I'm heard! by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Which brings the discussion back to it's start. The big money pro NN corporations. Like Netflix etc that paid for NN executive orders.

      All to avoid Netflix having to pay for rackspace at the ISPs, like everybody else that wants space on a rack they don't own.

      NN has never been the practical 'law' on the ground.

      In my experience, many of its proponents can't even define NN. Think it bans QoS, rather than putting it's legal definition into the hands of DC shysters (what could go wrong?).

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    9. Re: Finally I'm heard! by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      Either way, as long as an actual individual, a citizen, z unique citizen tried to make their voice heard and were actively purposefully ignored and lied about, well, 100% of an entirely corrupt government. A government who sold out hundreds of millions of citizens to favour, what three individual, three corporate entities and fuck everyone else, WOW, corruption is as corruption does.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    10. Re: Finally I'm heard! by jrumney · · Score: 2

      Strange though, that practically everyone who felt strongly enough to put it in their own words was on one side. So employees of Telcos, did your employer give you a template letter and ask you to send it, or did they send it on your behalf without asking?

    11. Re:Finally I'm heard! by Rhipf · · Score: 1

      Its rather difficult to repeal something before it exists.

    12. Re: Finally I'm heard! by parkinglot777 · · Score: 1

      Many people used templated [sic] letters from various organizations, possibly from both sides. It means that the remaining 21m COULD be legit but could be fake

      And don't you see that there is a problem with the people you are talking about? These people comments shouldn't be counted anyway. If they needed to use template letters from organizations, it meant that they don't care enough for the issue or they don't completely understand what Net Neutral is. As a result, why should they be voting for when they have no idea what it is? Better let those who understand the issue/impact of the issue (either support or against) and really want to make their voices heard be counted. Others who don't understand or just follow their leader without a complete understanding of what would impact them (or others around them) are just noise in this case.

    13. Re:Finally I'm heard! by parkinglot777 · · Score: 1

      And then there was a 10-15 years of hyper-commercialized internet, then someone decided NN 'had to be' or the sky would fall. Then before NN was implemented it was repealed.

      Sudden change could be a sky fall when vulnerable are found; especially in the digital age. When someone found a way to do something (in this case, it is throttling) and proved that it could make more money, then something has to be done or sky would fall. NN is an attempt to stop that even though it is not a complete solution at the time.

      10-15 year for Internet world is very long time. Also, the exploitation wasn't exist back then, and so was streaming (Netflix launch it in 2007).

      Then back to your pro corporations, you said as the anti-NN aren't corporations as well. You attempted to mislead others to think that this is a corporations (pro NN) v. people (anti NN), but it is actually corporations+people (pro NN) v. corporations+people (anti NN). However, there seem to be more people who are pro NN than those who are against. Thus, it is more of people (pro NN) v. corporations (anti NN) instead, which is the opposite of what you are claiming.

    14. Re:Finally I'm heard! by DeVilla · · Score: 1

      I'm still not heard. I'm not listed in my state under my name or zip code. I pull the zip file with all the pdfs. If I'm in any of them, then my name is misspelled. Some of my neighbors are there.

      I'm bummed. I gave it some thought instead of using a form letter campaign though I did mention the link of the one that got my attention. It was in favor of neutrality so I'm not accusing them of leaving out anti-neutrality posts. Maybe tl;dr? Still, my ego is dashed.

  2. ...feels wrong... by ole_timer · · Score: 2

    on no issue, including net neutrality, is it believable that 99% were in favor...sounds wrong.

    --
    nothing to see here - move along
    1. Re:...feels wrong... by 110010001000 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What consumer would consider net neutrality to be bad? There is literally no reason to want to get rid of it if you are a consumer. The only people for it are the ones that want to charge more.

    2. Re:...feels wrong... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Quite literally, not just consumers, it is a free market protection as well. The companies as a whole support it.

      it is only the ISPs that are against it because they have monopoly control over it and they are also the media companies so they try and prevent too much about it hitting the air waves so the public doesn't really think or know about it.

    3. Re:...feels wrong... by SirSlud · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It doesn't mean 99% of all people were in favor of a certain side of an issue, just that 99% of the people who left a comment with the FCC felt about the issue. I don't think there were many citizens against net neutrality who were concerned that the repeal of net neutrality was not going to occur.

      --
      "Old man yells at systemd"
    4. Re:...feels wrong... by PuddleBoy · · Score: 1

      Even if the true figure were 90% or 80%, it is still pretty overwhelming.

      It really grinds that it becomes such a challenge in our Information Age to separate truth from truthiness.

    5. Re:...feels wrong... by ole_timer · · Score: 1

      actually it was 99.7% of 4% after the all the 22 million so-called copypasta were removed. and of either number, how many were real people?

      --
      nothing to see here - move along
    6. Re:...feels wrong... by davecb · · Score: 1

      It's after removing duplicates, so if there was an anti-NN campaign with 100,000 signatories, it would still count as a single vote against.

      800,000+ raw comments yeilded 646,041 unique ones, filtering out 154,000 duplicates. If all the dups were pro-NN, the numbers wouldn't change. If they were all anti-NN, the anti-NN percentage would be 19%.

      My wild-ass guess? There were about 10% anti-NN messages, mostly people clicking "OK" on a site. Ditto pro-NN folks doing the same thing.

      --
      davecb@spamcop.net
    7. Re:...feels wrong... by AlanBDee · · Score: 1

      I've met several people who supported the repeal and all of them for the same reason; the belief that internet access would be cheaper if ISP's didn't have the regulation to "bog them down". Not all of them were ignorant of technology either. It's for this reason I also suspect the 99% figure.

    8. Re:...feels wrong... by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      it would still count as a single vote against.

      This is a misconception. This was not a vote. This was a public comment system. It doesn't matter how many yays and nays there are. The system was intended, and is still intended, to get input from the public, not make the decision. Ten million people all saying the same pro-NN thing isn't ten million votes for NN, it is one piece of information to take into consideration. Saying it ten million times doesn't make it righter or wronger.

    9. Re:...feels wrong... by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      What consumer would consider net neutrality to be bad?

      Any consumer who understood that "zero rating" is a target of the pro-NN people and who was benefiting from an existing zero rating system. For example, I don't care if Flurble ISP throttles NetFlix because I don't subscribe to NetFlix, but I do make a lot of use of the Snorklewhack streaming audio service that is zero rated on Flurble's network. If NN means I have to pay more, then NN is bad, in my opinion.

      It is rare to find someone who is pro-NN and who also understands that zero rating is not a violation of true net neutrality principles. Like the CA law, which includes a prohibition on zero rating, but is painted as "net neutrality".

    10. Re:...feels wrong... by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Well, those who could be bothered to state an opinion either way are already a self-selecting group. If this were a randomized poll then I would agree with you, but for self-selected data points they can often be highly skewed. Ie, those pro-net-neutrality felt they needed to spend proactively 10 seconds clicking on buttons on the web, whereas those anti-net-neutrality just needed to passively do nothing and let the status quo remain.

    11. Re:...feels wrong... by ole_timer · · Score: 1

      actually you did agree with me...not only was the analysis self selecting the original data was too...

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      nothing to see here - move along
    12. Re:...feels wrong... by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 2

      the belief that internet access would be cheaper if ISP's didn't have the regulation to "bog them down". Not all of them were ignorant of technology either.

      However, they were all hopelessly naive.

    13. Re:...feels wrong... by davecb · · Score: 1

      I'm using "vote against" in the everyday-language sense: I 'm not suggesting that these were votes in the electoral sense. If 100,000 people send in identical comments against NN, it would still count as one comment. If you didn't remove duplicates, it would count as roughly 10% against, which is the kind of number one would expect in the absence of form-letters and petitions.

      --
      davecb@spamcop.net
    14. Re:...feels wrong... by Shaitan · · Score: 1

      True but you can end up with a screwed sample set like this a number of ways. It is definitely true that the public was overwhelmingly onesided at the time and maybe even 90% one sided. Today it wouldn't be 90+% but only because the issue has been politicized to dupe the public.

    15. Re: ...feels wrong... by jd · · Score: 1

      You're assuming those against would comment. People are lazy and need motivation. There's no motivation when it comes to the default.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    16. Re:...feels wrong... by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      like you said, it's opinion-based: in my undestanding, zero-rating infringes NN

    17. Re:...feels wrong... by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      like you said, it's opinion-based: in my undestanding, zero-rating infringes NN

      Whether NN is bad or good is an opinion. Whether zero-rating infringes NN or not no longer is. It is codified into the CA NN bill as infringing. It will now be the opinions of the court that matter.

    18. Re:...feels wrong... by mmascari · · Score: 1

      What consumer would consider net neutrality to be bad?

      Any consumer who understood that "zero rating" is a target of the pro-NN people and who was benefiting from an existing zero rating system.

      The problem is, it's more nuanced than just "zero rating" is a violation of NN or not.

      As an entire type of service, "zero rating" isn't always a violation of NN. However, that just means some "zero rating" is a violation and others are not.

      Zero rating for an entire class of something, or available to all providers at no cost, or at the customers control without the third party provider needing to care are all perfectly find zero rating schemes that do not conflict with NN at all.

      Examples:
      All video from any source, perhaps in exchange for limiting the speed or quality, controlled by the user or open to all video providers to sign up for at no cost.
      All streaming audio from any source, perhaps to entice customers onto the network. Maybe audio providers still need to sign up, but at no cost to them.
      All "data X" from any source, at a reduced quality, with no choice by the user or the data providers, applied to all providers of "data X" with no exceptions.

      Zero rating is a violation of NN when it's used to create winners and losers. When it creates a barrier between a network customer and a third party that's not involved in a business relationship with the network provider. In this scenario, the network provider is treating it's customers as a product to be sold to new content providers instead of as paying network customers looking for access to all content providers.

      Examples:
      All video from provider X is zero rated and provider X pays the network provider for this privilege.
      All video from provider X is zero rated and provider X is owned by the network operator.
      All audio from provider X is zero rated and audio from other providers quality limited while provider X pays the network provider for this privilege.

      In all the cases where it's an acceptable thing, it's a neutral network management practice. Something available for an entire class of data independent from whomever provides it. In all of these, the practice may impact the network provider in the market but it doesn't have any impact on the content provider market. One market isn't creating any advantage in the other market.

      In all the cases where it's a violation, it's an example where the network customer is turned into a product with access to them being sold to a third party. It's using the network market to influence and distort the content market (or the reverse, but less likely). When the third party is the content arm of a large muti product corporation, it's using the one market to distort the other to give one an unequal advantage.

      While the customer is currently enjoying the zero rating of Snorklewhack streaming audio on Flurble's network. It's a short term benefit that's actually not in the customers interest. In the long term it means that Snorklewhack doesn't need to provide as good a service as the next provider. After a time, the customer will be getting inferior service from Snorklewhack, locked in unless they change network providers in addition to streaming audio providers, assuming any other streaming audio providers can overcome the advantage Snorklewhack has and even exist.

      There's probably other ways beyond NN to solve this problem. But, they all require regulation of some type. It's a choice of which regulation is the preferred one.

    19. Re: ...feels wrong... by fbobraga · · Score: 1

      +1 informative

  3. In Fairness.... by Luthair · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Form letters have long been a popular method for political causes. Though I personally believe there were a significant number of fake submissions too.

    1. Re:In Fairness.... by Darinbob · · Score: 2

      A popular method, true. But is it an effective method?

    2. Re:In Fairness.... by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      And yet a good indicator of if you truly care about something is if you put the effort to voice your own opinion or just do the FCC equivalent of re-tweeting.

  4. This is surprising? by smooth+wombat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We already knew the public wanted to keep net neutrality, but it was the con artist and his cabal who went out of their way to use dead people to prove otherwise.

    The FCC, headed by Ajit Pai, lied about having a meltdown because of "being under attack", lied about the number of people who were for repeal, and lied about the need to protect the people from the "scourge" of net neutrality.

    And yet, their supporters will simply shrug their shoulders and yell, "BUT HILLARY!!!!", because lying is all they have.

    --
    We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
  5. Ooh! Copypasta! by DalM · · Score: 1

    yum!

  6. 100%! And more! (Re:...feels wrong...) by mi · · Score: 1

    on no issue, including net neutrality, is it believable that 99% were in favor...sounds wrong.

    Elections in North Korea — and in Saddam Hussein's Iraq — were "won" with the winners getting not the measly 99%, but the nice and round 100% of the vote.

    But that's nothing compared to a feat Putin has once accomplished — winning 146% of the vote...

    Simply put, as Stalin once said it, "those who vote do not matter — those who count the votes matter". If it is the Vice (or a "researcher" Vice found acceptable) counting, 99.7% may be too low. Indeed, according to TFA, he accepted only 800K out 22 million (merely 3.6%!) of the comments — dismissing the other 96% as "noise".

    What exactly was his methodology and could it, possibly, have been biased against those supporting the abolition?..

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    1. Re:100%! And more! (Re:...feels wrong...) by dgatwood · · Score: 1

      The sample are people who cared enough about net neutrality to submit comments to the FCC. Of THOSE, 99% favored it.

      ... who cared about it enough and who knew enough about it to actually write something themselves, rather than regurgitating a prewritten statement.

      The surprise is not that 99% were in favor of it. The surprise is that there are 800,000 Americans who actually understand net neutrality enough to write something meaningful. I would have expected one fewer digits than that, and maybe two.

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    2. Re:100%! And more! (Re:...feels wrong...) by mi · · Score: 1

      The sample are people who cared enough about net neutrality to submit comments to the FCC.

      There were 22 million comments submitted. Of those the researcher cited by TFA accepted only 800K — 3.6% — as valid. Of these 800K, he found 99.7% to oppose the abolition.

      We know neither the criteria he used to pick the 800K, nor how exactly he discerned the commenters' point from those he did pick... It is impossible for him to have read them all — so he must've used software to parse the comments. The actual blog-post mentions using "data science", without much detail — and without the code we could use/audit ourselves. It is even harder to understand, how he concluded, that the commenters "understand the issue".

      "Are you sure you guys are smart?"

      You sure aren't, coward...

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    3. Re:100%! And more! (Re:...feels wrong...) by Rhipf · · Score: 1

      Too bad they didn't release a report that showed the methodology used to come up with their findings.

  7. Copypasta by Kaenneth · · Score: 4, Funny

    So 'Copypasta' is a cromulent word now?

  8. Public Comments are not... by bobbied · · Score: 2, Informative

    A way to vote for something you want or don't want.

    The number of comments entered into the system has zero impact on the decision. Nobody at the FCC is counting them, nor should they. This isn't some official opinion poll being conducted here.

    The PURPOSE of the public comments at the FCC is to obtain INFORMATION from the public that the FCC may not already have. So unless you are providing a unique prospective or some unique facts about the question being considered that you entered some unique comment into the system your opinion of the question doesn't mean anything. If you are just voicing an opinion in your comment, figure it gets round filed and you just wasted your time and the time of the poor slob at the FCC who's job it is to read and classify all these comments.

    I'm sorry if you don't like this, but that's how the FCC works (actually not just the FCC, but other government "public comment" processes too). Most government processes don't care about doing opinion polls, that's the role of the political appointees anyway. So if you didn't like this result, or if you did, you need to vote accordingly.

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    1. Re:Public Comments are not... by ole_timer · · Score: 2

      Actually most public comments on proposed rule making are in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The FCC does not have to solicit public comment if they propose to end a regulation. Thus any comment does not count in any case. It was a a waste of breath to think it did.

      --
      nothing to see here - move along
    2. Re:Public Comments are not... by careysub · · Score: 1

      The FCC does not have to solicit public comment if they propose to end a regulation.

      Making stuff up are we?

      "If an agency decides to amend or revoke a rule, it must use the notice and comment process to make the change."

      --
      Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj
    3. Re:Public Comments are not... by ole_timer · · Score: 1

      hence the cfr notice is the only thing they look at - not web comments...

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      nothing to see here - move along
    4. Re:Public Comments are not... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      > Nobody at the FCC is counting them, nor should they. This isn't some official opinion poll being conducted here.

      The fuck? Democracy 101: Public institutions are obligated to act as the people wish.

  9. That's not going to happen. by OrangeTide · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's because liberals aren't violent, contrary to what talkshow pundits say for listeners and clicks. And conservatives tolerate liars as long as they are playing for the "right" team.

    Either you're happy with Trump and his administration, or you're too feckless to do anything about it.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    1. Re:That's not going to happen. by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      Well I'd recommend starting with voting. Maybe write some letters. Why do people have to start at violent extremes, even if only rhetorically.

      I think the DNC losing the 2016 is the original mistake here. They theoretically had the numbers to win, but couldn't motivate voters to come out. Too many people gave up when Bernie didn't make it through the primaries, and a handful of pinheads voted for Trump because they couldn't stand the idea of Hillary being president. I mean I agree to a point in the sense that we shouldn't permit a Clinton dynasty when we were so critical of the Bush dynasty.

      If you say so. Anyone happy with this treasonous moron pretending to be a dictator is either A: Nazi sympathizing in plain sight or B: A retarded traitor generally.

      Overwhelmingly the "retarded" part of option B. But there are a few A types taking advantage of the useful idiots and have seized significant power over us.

      It's important to remember that conservatives have a direct line of communication to their voters. While moderates and liberals have to filter their subdued and watered down message through the so-called mainstream media. The GOP is far more effective at firing up their base. All the DNC can manage is to work out a carpool schedule for African American voters.

      My main concern is that if the DNC couldn't motivate people during 2016, why would the 2018 mid-terms have a better turn out? Basically what has change? And unless there is an amazing Democrat turn out, they can expect to fall short of the necessary goals to take back the Senate and House. The Senate they may do, but it's more a roll of the dice than up to any superior strategy. In the Senate, the Democrats are as likely to lose more seats than they gain.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    2. Re:That's not going to happen. by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      Someone voting for Trump because they didn't like Hillary was a bit like throwing the baby out with the bathwater, off a cliff, then lighting it on fire.

      I'm not denying that people didn't do this, but it doesn't seem all the rational. Sometimes I hate our system, but I'm not one to think that blowing it up and starting over is an improvement.

      But you're probably right. At least I hope so. And people are more motivated during this mid-term than usual. I guess depending on how this turns out, we'll see if there is any consequences for pissing off a whole lot of folks with anti-woman bullshit.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    3. Re:That's not going to happen. by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      I let myself in, because this is AMERICA. (Fuck yea)

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    4. Re:That's not going to happen. by jeff4747 · · Score: 1

      It's interesting that you'd say it's FECKLESS to NOT try to assassinate our dictator-in-chief.

      It's interesting that you are completely unaware that it is possible to oppose someone politically without killing them.

      We've got 3 equal branches of government. You guys are in charge of all of them. Congress can easily reign in the vast majority of the Trump shitshow. They don't, because you do not want them to.

    5. Re:That's not going to happen. by cyberchondriac · · Score: 1

      Recent video prove otherwise. Assault isn't the same as battery, but it's still assault.
      Maxine Waters and Eric Holder, among others, are on video calling for confrontations.
      Ted Cruz and Sarah Sanders get harassed by screaming yelling mobs, right out out of restaurants.
      Antifa always gets downright violent when they show up.
      Who shot Senator Scalise again?
      And you're about to get a whole lot worse.
      But then, these aren't classic liberals, this is the new breed of Progressives/Leftists.

      --

      Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
  10. One's organ by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

    or organized campaigns.

    I would hesitate to claim the anti-side wasn't often driven by organized campaigns, either, with many sites exhorting users to go file a letter.

    Which is fine, but it's hardly unorganized.

    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  11. rates are set by the local gov... by ole_timer · · Score: 2, Informative

    net neutrality had nothing to do with what an isp charges you, it said isp's could not charge netflix more for using up all the bandwidth. rates charged you are set by the local government who signs an exclusive contract with the local isp. doh.https://tech.slashdot.org/story/18/10/15/2024241/997-percent-of-unique-fcc-comments-favored-net-neutrality-independent-analysis-finds#

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    nothing to see here - move along
    1. Re:rates are set by the local gov... by jeff4747 · · Score: 1

      net neutrality had nothing to do with what an isp charges you,

      Since the point of ending net neutrality is to charge consumers more, this is a lie.

      it said isp's could not charge netflix more for using up all the bandwidth

      This is lie number 2. Netflix's ISPs have peering agreements with your ISP. Those agreements can include financial compensation if Netflix actually "used up all the bandwith".

      The reason to end net neutrality was so that your ISP could get paid via peering agreements, and get paid again by charging you.

      rates charged you are set by the local government who signs an exclusive contract with the local isp

      This would be yet another lie. Local governments set up monopolies for cable TV service. ISPs are not cable TV service. And if you are particularly dense you can figure out there is not a legal monopoly because more than one company is offering you Internet service in most areas. Spectrum can't have a ISP monopoly at my house if AT&T is also offering Internet service, right?

      Also, the overwhelming majority of these monopoly agreements expired decades ago.

    2. Re:rates are set by the local gov... by ole_timer · · Score: 1

      what did internet access cost when it was de-regulated in 1996? 2006? Today? was that due to regulation or de-regulation?

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      nothing to see here - move along
    3. Re:rates are set by the local gov... by ole_timer · · Score: 1

      while you're at it - what year did fiber optics undergo a revolution, what was it, and what did that do to rates and supply?

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      nothing to see here - move along
    4. Re:rates are set by the local gov... by jeff4747 · · Score: 1

      what did internet access cost when it was de-regulated in 1996?

      Mine cost $15/mo.

      Also, what the hell are you talking about with "de-regulated in 1996"? Which specific act do you think "de-regulated" ISPs?

      2006?

      Around $30/mo, IIRC.

      Today?

      $50/mo

      was that due to regulation or de-regulation?

      Neither. It's due to the natural monopoly that is created when one utility has already installed coverage of an area. I'd be paying a lot less without that.

    5. Re:rates are set by the local gov... by jeff4747 · · Score: 1

      Perhaps you could first try to explain why I should follow you off the rails when you try to distract from your lies?

  12. Re:Copypasta by Aighearach · · Score: 1

    Copypasta isn't as old as enbiggen, but it might be older than cromulent.

  13. It Looks Like... by rally2xs · · Score: 1

    ...the American People are now all-in for big gov't and eventually the socialist then communist results of too much of that. Again, like a previous post on a different but similar thread concerning the death of freedom on the USA, I'm glad I'm 71 and either won't see it, or won't be enslaved for long or on my way to one of the resultant death camps from that 20th century ideology responsible for 100 million deaths worldwide. Of course that won't happen because they will have to try to collect up all the guns first, and I will shoot the MF's that show up for mine, and they will kill me there, so no death camp for me...

    Just keep heaping on the big gov't, sheeple.,..

    1. Re:It Looks Like... by tbannist · · Score: 1

      Yeah, sure, Net Neutrality obviously leads to death camps. That's why Finland is the happiest country in the world, it's all the grinning skulls...

      Do you even read the stuff you write?

      --
      Fanatically anti-fanatical
    2. Re:It Looks Like... by rally2xs · · Score: 1

      The country is heading for totalitarianism of the communist variety. There's the current effort by gov't agency people such as Jim Comey formerly of the FBI and others to overthrow the duly elected President of the United States, while getting support from the leftists who don't want freedom and democracy and seem to be on the ascendancy. Seems we're tired of freedom, and the struggles it brings, and want cradle-to-grave easy street no matter if the price is slavery and for some a quick death. Few seem to see the danger in recent developments. The fabric of the greatest nation on the planet is under attack from the left, and they may yet succeed. As I said, I'm glad I'm 71. I'll have fewer battles to fight.

    3. Re:It Looks Like... by jeff4747 · · Score: 1

      When you look around and see a world you do not like, remember one thing: You made it.

      We were the kids. You were the adults, making all the decisions. So that shit you see strewn all over the place? You and your generation put it there.

      So either pick up a shovel and help us clean it up, or get the fuck out of the way.

    4. Re:It Looks Like... by rally2xs · · Score: 1

      I did nothing to encourage bigger gov't, quite the opposite. I will however, do everything I can to oppose continuously at the ballot box, and physically when the time comes.

  14. so now what? by houghi · · Score: 1

    Does this chabge anything in th slightest? Will it be reversed? Somebody losing his job?

    We live in an age where there is no accountability. This is not the only place where people lied, and admitted guild. There are three letter organisations that admitted guild. Nothing changed. The cheaters won. They will win in the mnext few elections as well. And why not? It pays of.
    I just hope that the next revolution is not a bloody one and that it takes place after I died. I do not see a serious change without one. Hope I am wrong.

    --
    Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  15. Re:Copypasta by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

    Copypasta isn't as old as enbiggen, but it might be older than cromulent.

    Nope. "Cromulent" is from 1994. "Copypasta" might go as far back as 2006....

    --

    "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
  16. More than two sides? by jaamkie · · Score: 1

    I'm surprised they were able to separate all comments into simply "for" or "against". My comment was to say that I want to see a more nuanced rethink of the neutrality concept with measurement requirements rather than "saving" an unrealistic philosophical statement with vague exceptions that benefits lawyers more than consumers. I say this as someone involved with filtering backbone traffic for security reasons- both the "treat all traffic equally" and the "except if you're doing network security" are way too open to interpretation.

  17. Sure...but also against a gov't regulated internet by bartwol · · Score: 1

    There's a lot of effort to add little meaningful information here. Politics, as usual.

  18. Re:Copypasta by Aighearach · · Score: 2

    96. Not 94.

    Don't spew dates from memory, either look them up, or preface your numbers with something like, "as far as I remember."

    Copypasta was in widespread use in the software developer community long before that. As soon as "copy/paste" was a widespread feature of editors, it was ripe for this one. So you can't give some late date and be sure of it. You certainly can't state one in a construction that appears to create an absolute limit.

    And to that end, I check and it was entered into the website urban dictionary in early 2006. So not, "might go back as far as 2006," but rather, "clearly was in widespread use by 2006." Unlike Cromulent, which was not in widespread use at all before being formally published on a TV show. A prior web forum citation from February 2006 used it casually and without comment, in a serious statement, indicating that it was considered known slang by the writer. The fact is, there is little interest in the etymology of the word copypasta, and nobody is going to bother to scrape IRC logs or old email list archives for the earliest use. It is a totally obvious play on words that was almost certainly used by thousands of witty wags before ever being published in something that would find its way into etymology citations. Whereas Cromulent is not an obvious word at all, and if it was used before the known citation it would more likely have a meaning related to the Cromwell family name, and so would not even be the same word, mere a homograph. The chances of the same actual word Cromulent having been in use prior to the television episode are vanishingly tiny.

  19. Re:The FCC doesn't have the authority to regulate by rally2xs · · Score: 1

    They don't have the power to regulate it? Ha, that's a laugh. The 4th Amendment says that homelands security / TSA doesn't have the power to search and seize without a warrant, but they do it about a million times a day at airports. The airlines themselves could do these searches of passengers getting on airplanes, but its just plain illegal for gov't agents of the TSA to do it. But... they want to, so they do.

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