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Crying Network Neutrality Wolf
Every technical hiccup is not a neutrality violation....

Last year BellSouth users complained they couldn't access MySpace and YouTube, leading some to issue cries of network-neutrality violation. As it turns out, the problem was completely unintentional routing issue.

Similar cries of network neutrality wolf have been commonplace; Cox users who couldn't hit craigslist thought it was a secret Cox cabal to stop them from selling their junk (it was flaky security software), and Comcast users who couldn't reach Google assumed the worst (it was a DNS glitch).

Apparently the same thing happened over the weekend when T-Mobile customers couldn't access Twitter. Thanks in part to some confusing communications from T-Mobile, bloggers immediately assumed it was a network neutrality violation. In the end though, it was a now-resolved technical problem. As Techdirt notes, crying wolf does a disservice to the concept of network neutrality:
quote:
It changes the debate away from one that concerns the actual issues (competition and what is best for innovation) to one that involves lots of needless finger-pointing and blind accusations. So, next time there's a problem on the network, before shouting "network neutrality," at least wait until the details come out.
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Cabal
Premium Member
join:2007-01-21

Cabal

Premium Member

No problem, we got this covered

If you can't cry network neutrality, you can most certainly cry Sandvine!

Sandvine killed my dog. And my mother.

Camelot One
MVM
join:2001-11-21
Bloomington, IN

Camelot One

MVM

The best way to kill the debate......

Why would companies want to spend money arguing against it? Just start up their own astroturf orgs that will point out every BS neutrality claim, leading to no one caring when the real violations come along.

Oh wait.....the opposition is already doing that for them.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

3 edits

FFH5

Premium Member

It is too late to put Humpty Dumpty back together again

It is too late to bring common sense to the network neutrality debate. The network neutrality advocates have been screaming from the rooftops for over a year about how the telcos and cable companies are the devil incarnate. Now that they have revved up the bleating masses of music stealers and P2P advocates that network neutrality as an issue is more important than food or fuel or mortgages, they can't rein them back in. So all these fanatics are running around looking for network neutrality violations in every internet hiccup.

And BBR has done much to fan the flames in the past:
»www.google.com/search?q= ··· filter=0

Dr Demento
I Vant Blud
join:2002-01-02
Denville, NJ

1 edit

Dr Demento

Member

Re: It is too late to put Humpty Dumpty back together again

If telcos and cable ISPs didn't put so much into lobbying, and even jumping the gun on justifying their network's current packet shaping schemes, these wackos as you put them wouldn't have a reason to feel paranoid.

Also congressmen and the FCC among other government officials only adhere to an issue if people are kicking down the doors and scream about it, and I do imply sometimes literally.

TScheisskopf
World News Trust
join:2005-02-13
Belvidere, NJ

TScheisskopf to FFH5

Member

to FFH5
But, what about the moon calves and whackadoodles who defend antu-customer moves by cables and telcos out of hand?

Not that they can be found on BBR, mind you.

I know, I know, we should all genuflect to Our Corporate Betters and trust in their wise and altruistic decisions.

The best minds are NOT in business, either

JasonD
@comcast.net

JasonD to FFH5

Anon

to FFH5
HCT- If Ed Whitacre and Sen. Stevens hadn't made their remarks public in the way they did (Ed was inflammatory, Sen. Ted bumbling), bittorrent could have been put out of business by now.

Sometimes they gotta realize when not to put their problems up for public debate, not drawing attention to possible solutions, and keeping oxygen away from these net-neutrality fanatics.

Ultimately though, I think it will all work out. AT&T (and everyone else eventually) is preparing a surgical strike on pirated files, which should eliminate some 99% of bittorrent and other p2p traffic.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: It is too late to put Humpty Dumpty back together again

said by JasonD :

AT&T (and everyone else eventually) is preparing a surgical strike on pirated files, which should eliminate some 99% of bittorrent and other p2p traffic.
And what method of surgical strike is that?

DotMac4
Shill H8r
Premium Member
join:2007-10-26
Huntington Beach, CA

1 edit

DotMac4

Premium Member

Re: It is too late to put Humpty Dumpty back together again

VideoDNA

»AT&T Piracy Filters Tread Dangerous Ground [96] comments

MrMoody
Free range slave
Premium Member
join:2002-09-03
Smithfield, NC

MrMoody

Premium Member

Re: It is too late to put Humpty Dumpty back together again

That may stop some things from getting on Youtube, etc, but it won't even make a blip in P2P.

TechyDad
Premium Member
join:2001-07-13
USA

TechyDad to JasonD

Premium Member

to JasonD
I don't see AT&T (or pretty much anyone) being able to effectively tell the difference between a pirated video file, one that falls under Fair Use (e.g. »cyberlaw.stanford.edu/do ··· use-tale ), or one might be somewhat similar to another copyrighted film but is permitted to be distributed online (either because it is in the public domain or because the copyright owner permitted the distribution).

I foresee many false positives and false negatives in AT&T's future. Many innocent consumers (whose videos are either Permitted or Fair Use) will be negatively impacted by false positives. Meanwhile, the pirates will quickly find a way around it and their videos will generate plenty of false negatives.

In addition, AT&T might lose their Common Carrier ISP status and might become liable for everything coming through their pipe. So even if they are successful at slowing down movie pirating on their network, they could all of a sudden be liable for every child porn website, threatening e-mail sent/received, and hacking event that crosses their routers.
moonpuppy (banned)
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD

moonpuppy (banned)

Member

Considering how the ISPs lie anyway...

....why should we think any different?

You call up with a problem only to be told to reboot your system and modem because it must be your problem.

I had Comcast tell me that I shouldn't be receiving ANY digital TV channels and yet both of my TVs were getting them and then one day, they stopped coming in. CSR told me my antenna must be the problem.

DownTheShore
Pray for Ukraine
Premium Member
join:2003-12-02
Beautiful NJ

DownTheShore

Premium Member

Re: Considering how the ISPs lie anyway...

said by moonpuppy:

....why should we think any different?

You call up with a problem only to be told to reboot your system and modem because it must be your problem.

I think these companies are reaping what they've sown due to their ofttimes shoddy customer service responses, as moonpuppy mentioned.

A great number of us have gotten told that the fault for the problem was on our end, when it turned out that the fault was on the provider's end - which WE knew right from the start. We've all seen the providers dance around giving honest answers to questions about capping, throttling, redirection, etc., that our willingness to believe them unquestioningly is long gone.

There is no automatic trust anymore. A siege mentality has developed. We know that a lot of the big providers are not proponents of net neutrality because it can cut into their revenue stream. So, since we no longer trust their first explanations for problems anymore, it's natural that the net neutrality issue is going to be the first one raised.

TScheisskopf
World News Trust
join:2005-02-13
Belvidere, NJ

TScheisskopf

Member

This article...

Is clearly a violation of Network Neutrality, as are your shoes and whatever you had for breakfast. Karl, you go sit on the Bad Boy Bench.

My brain shall now explode.

NOYB
St. John 3.16
Premium Member
join:2005-12-15
Forest Grove, OR

NOYB

Premium Member

No One Been Crying Fire, Fire, Here at BBR More Than You


Seems a little hypocritically if you ask me.


Yauch
join:2005-06-24

Yauch

Member

Re: No One Been Crying Fire, Fire, Here at BBR More Than You

Personally I think leading the "Too much NN news!" crusade could be a good way to make up for past transgressions.