openbox9
join:2004-01-26
Alexandria, VA
 ·AT&T Southeast
| reply to RainWind
Re: Let's call a spade a spade here
said by RainWind  :I grew up in a very rural area where it wasn't uncommon to see Amish people. They live just fine without utilities. You're preaching to the choir...I grew up in southeast IA.said by RainWind :I do all my banking and shopping on the internet. I leave my house to go to work, to grocery shop, to take my fiancee out, and to go to the YMCA. For everything else I use the internet. All my bills are paid online. All my non-food shopping is done online. I even rent my movies online. How many of those activities require a regulated internet connection? None. Dial-up works just fine for everything you mentioned and dial-up access has survived for decades without regulation. I'm not saying the dial-up access is the answer, but I am saying the regulation isn't necessarily the answer either.said by RainWind :When someone pays for an internet connection it should be just like power and water. No filtering or fiddling with the service. Be careful what you wish for. Power and water are metered services. Personally, I believe that's a viable option to "control", not regulate, the explosion of internet use.said by RainWind : If the ISP doesn't like bittorrent traffic and heavy use then they shouldn't offer a 7meg connection. 768k is fine for most people. ... ISPs should charge more for high speed connections or introduce fast capped connections with reasonable caps tailored to casual users. Sounds good to me, but that's heresy around forums like this.said by RainWind :If heavy users are doing so much damage to their network they need to change the way they do business. I agree, and that's exactly what we're seeing. The problem is, some users aren't happy with the new business model. |
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RainWind
join:2000-10-20
Van Wert, OH
| reply to openbox9
said by openbox9 :said by matrix3D :While a car is not considered a utility, by your argument we should have stuck with a horse and buggy since we could "do without" cars before that. Times change and the basic necessities of those times also change. I did not say "do without". Of course basic necessities change as we mature as a civilization, I just don't think internet access counts as one of those basic necessities....yet. Perhaps for you it isn't, but for many it is. I grew up in a very rural area where it wasn't uncommon to see Amish people. They live just fine without utilities. Just because some people live without something doesn't mean that for others it isn't a necessity.
I do all my banking and shopping on the internet. I leave my house to go to work, to grocery shop, to take my fiancee out, and to go to the YMCA. For everything else I use the internet. All my bills are paid online. All my non-food shopping is done online. I even rent my movies online.
Fiddling with my connection is much akin to deciding that at 6:00 PM power to my stove will be shut off.
When someone pays for an internet connection it should be just like power and water. No filtering or fiddling with the service. If the ISP doesn't like bittorrent traffic and heavy use then they shouldn't offer a 7meg connection. 768k is fine for most people. Maybe companies should offer slow, cheap internet marketed towards casual users rather than trying to get everyone to subscribe to the highest speed. When anyone tries to get on the slow package the sales reps try to talk them up to the faster one.
ISPs should charge more for high speed connections or introduce fast capped connections with reasonable caps tailored to casual users. If heavy users are doing so much damage to their network they need to change the way they do business. Offering a cheap fast product and then complaining that people use it is silly. |
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openbox9
join:2004-01-26
Alexandria, VA
·AT&T Southeast
| reply to matrix3D
said by matrix3D :While a car is not considered a utility, by your argument we should have stuck with a horse and buggy since we could "do without" cars before that. Times change and the basic necessities of those times also change. I did not say "do without". Of course basic necessities change as we mature as a civilization, I just don't think internet access counts as one of those basic necessities....yet. |
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openbox9
join:2004-01-26
Alexandria, VA
·AT&T Southeast
| reply to nekkidtruth
said by nekkidtruth :Um no, you were replying to the claim that the Internet is a utility. All the utilities we have today were not at some point in time, and people lived several hundreds if not thousands of years without these "basic utilities" we have today. Did you read patcat88's response? He discussed everything but the Internet.said by nekkidtruth :The fact remains that the Internet is well on it's way to becoming a utility/basic need in life. Some people believe this to already be the case, I agree. Great. In another decade or so, I may agree. My point was that until it's a main pillar in sustaining life, I don't believe it should be regulated as a utility. |
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matrix3D
join:2006-09-27
Deep River, CT | reply to openbox9
While a car is not considered a utility, by your argument we should have stuck with a horse and buggy since we could "do without" cars before that. Times change and the basic necessities of those times also change. |
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nekkidtruth
You fail at life.
Premium
join:2002-05-20
London, ON
| reply to openbox9
said by openbox9 :Umm, we're discussing access to the Internet  Um no, you were replying to the claim that the Internet is a utility. All the utilities we have today were not at some point in time, and people lived several hundreds if not thousands of years without these "basic utilities" we have today.
The fact remains that the Internet is well on it's way to becoming a utility/basic need in life. Some people believe this to already be the case, I agree.
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Weeeeeee |
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openbox9
join:2004-01-26
Alexandria, VA | reply to patcat88
Umm, we're discussing access to the Internet |
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