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June, 2025

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The End of the Internet as we Know it.

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Bart.Man
Posts: 1742 - Karma: 1,953
The internet, as it is currently known and used, is about to die.

Comcast is currently undergoing a legal motion in the DC Circuit Federal Court to void a previous FCC nondiscrimination act. This would allow companies like Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and others to essentially decide what websites work through their service and which ones don't. This comes with a broad range of implications, including the death of the free sharing, idea driven internet we currently have.

I don't know what we can do about this, but I feel like awareness is the first step. Please, use the power of the internet that we still hold to share this on Facebook, Twitter, your Tumblr, and anywhere else that it will catch eyes.

Here's a link to a fairly comprehensive article about the issues:
http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/11/so-the-internets-about-to-lose-its-net-neutrality/

Information about the 2010 case:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/06/AR2010040600742.html



Please, don't just shrug this off as another conspiracy or anything like that. This is a very real threat to free information, and it casts a bleak shadow on the future of the internet with corporations like Comcast, AT&T, and Verizon essentially deciding what succeeds and fails on the web.

TL;DR: The internet is about to die.
12 years ago
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MilaKunis
Posts: 1480 - Karma: 3,646
Think it's a repost. Ima get real good at fapping to my day dreams.
12 years ago
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Shredsterr
Posts: 2090 - Karma: 6,930
the tl;dr was tl to r

Click for larger image

welcome
12 years ago
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LiquorLanch
Posts: 1909 - Karma: 1,046
I highly doubt this will go through, if it does a company will rise through the ashes that provides access to everything. Phoenix Internet sounds dope.

Also, this could mean the return of books as a method of spreading information.
12 years ago
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louie.mirags
Posts: 6015 - Karma: 5,027
It is also going to blow when companies make plans for home internet that limits us like cell phone data plans do...
12 years ago
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7296 - Karma: 18,724
It already happened in the uk and it made very little difference. To be honest file sharing will die eventually. Look at iTunes. People spend millions on there even though all that content can be had for free online. Why would people do that? The answer is people don't actually want to break the law. Now that is not everyone. I for example never use iTunes I always download stuff illegally but certainly in my age group I'm becoming the minority.

Isp's simply can not continue allowing people to break the law online so change will happen. We have enjoyed a decade of doing whatever online but it was never going to last. If it did then media in general would be fucked. Why would anyone spend money making films, music and games ect if they were all just going to be illegally downloaded.

So things will change but don't worry it won't be that bad really, things will adapt and change just like they have for years.

But I would be interested to hear some other opinions especially of those of you who are tounge here who have grown up on the Internet. I could certainly see this being a bigger change for you guys.
12 years ago
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7296 - Karma: 18,724
Haha that should say young at the end not tounge.
12 years ago
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skiersupreme
Posts: 1549 - Karma: 4,872
Click for larger image
12 years ago
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-Dan
Posts: 7193 - Karma: 53,520
so basically we just lived through to wild wild west of the internet? damn it sounds way cooler than it actually was.
12 years ago
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bdarb207
Posts: 3057 - Karma: 443
My external hard drive should be way more loaded up with cool stuff.. :/
12 years ago
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corona
Posts: 12845 - Karma: 33,293
I'm not sure if this is supposed to be sarcastic.
12 years ago
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louie.mirags
Posts: 6015 - Karma: 5,027
Making you pay per gigabyte is already being talked about. Streaming waste a lot of data. Downloading shit and online games suck up bandwidth. So, you can be sure now how you feel about my post..
12 years ago
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bdarb207
Posts: 3057 - Karma: 443
his point is that this is done already.


stand up anytime.
12 years ago
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Craigskis
Posts: 6650 - Karma: 1,645
These are the good old days.
12 years ago
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louie.mirags
Posts: 6015 - Karma: 5,027
Well he could of said that.. it hasn't happen around me yet
12 years ago
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panojibber.
Posts: 1041 - Karma: 683
I'm pretty sure any ISP will limit the amount of bandwidth you're able to use on a monthly basis. Usually though that amount of bandwidth is so huge that it doesn't even matter unless you're downloading a massive amount of stuff.
12 years ago
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louie.mirags
Posts: 6015 - Karma: 5,027
Yeah I'm talking more plans and then unlimited would be really pricey. Getting 2 or 3 gigs for the whole house to share would not be all right.
12 years ago
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MNS
Posts: 5386 - Karma: 3,241
I don't think we have AT&T in Canada. Also, providers who do this are begging to lose a lot of business. I don't think it'll go through.
12 years ago
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corona
Posts: 12845 - Karma: 33,293
unless they all do it. Or at least all the big players who have the market by the balls.
12 years ago
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Hammyslapwagon
Posts: 1261 - Karma: 1,411
Ha! Lose business. Who are they gonna lose it to? They formed an oligopoly years ago.
12 years ago
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Bart.Man
Posts: 1742 - Karma: 1,953
I'm not sure you realize the broad sweeping implications this holds. It's not just the elimination of torrenting. Yes, that was bound to happen eventually, but this brings the success of every web page down to one factor: if the provider sees fit to let it work at reasonable speeds. This decision could be influenced by a broad range of things, from who's willing to pay them the most money to what pages/companies align with their agenda.

And to those of you saying a new ISP will arise, imagine this. You'll go to check out their website to get some info and guess what? Comcast doesn't let it load, making it very difficult and frustrating to learn about them and get set up with their service.

Not to mention the stronghold that the major American ISPs have on the servers. The funds a new company would have to amass would be huge to build servers enough to compete.

This puts the internet at the mercy of what the massive ISPs see fit.
12 years ago
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.squirrely.
Posts: 7563 - Karma: 7,546
shit man we'll be telling our grandkids about this never thought about it that way
12 years ago
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doGelyst
Posts: 2494 - Karma: 523
Once again, I say FUCK Comcast / Universal / NBC conglomerate.

pieces of shit.
12 years ago
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bdarb207
Posts: 3057 - Karma: 443
it's gonna'be like china up in this bitch.
12 years ago
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DizzyG
Posts: 698 - Karma: 296
https://fiber.google.com/about/

Salvation?

No doubt that if the current leaders in the market do this then Google will seize the opportunity.
12 years ago
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