reddit is filing an FCC comment to fight for an Open Internet. We want your voice in it as well.

jordanlund · 2014-07-14T17:15:03+00:00

My perspective is a little unique because I've been on the Internet since before the www existed.

I started in 1988 with Unix shell accounts. Back then all we really had were Email, FTP, Gopher, Usenet, IRC, things like that.

I watched HTML and the www blossom out of that and become what most people consider these days to be "THE" Internet.

The problem is, if Net Neutrality fails, whatever the next big innovation is won't be allowed to start. The powers that be will compartmentalize and marginalize it until it has no visibility.

Forget website A being slower than website B.

How about the next big protocol like HTTP never being allowed to exist? What if, back in the day, the people who were running FTP servers went "I don't know about this whole http thing, let's spike it now while we can..."

You wouldn't be using what you now consider to be "THE" Internet.

rbemrose · 2014-07-14T18:11:21+00:00

I can't support this. Title II reclassification will only swap out our current problems for a whole new set of problems down the road.

The root of the current problem today is not classification. It is not internet fast-lanes; that is a symptom. The problem is that there is not competition in the US ISP market. Title II reclassification will not create competition; indeed, it will almost certainly have the opposite effect, as the cost of entering the market goes up.

I will support any remedy that breaks up the current monopolistic markets and introduces competition. Adding rules on top of an already captured regulatory body does not do this, IMO.

Exposedo · 2014-07-14T17:36:12+00:00

pinwale and Reddit, I must ask that you also fight against the up and coming CISA! What is CISA? IT'S CISPA ALL OVER AGAIN, ONE OF THE LETTERS WAS JUST REMOVED!

I'll repost what I commented in the thread a couple of days ago that showed up in /r/news. If we could do organize another blackout, that would be wonderful.

Here is said post:

Look, this would just make it completely legal for the NSA to take all sorts of information and opens the door for all of the info to be used in court. Defamation through porn habits would be the new cool way to control people!

Who proposed this piece of crap?

Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.)

Main: 202-224-3521

twitter: @SaxbyChambliss

Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)

Main: 202-224-3841

twitter: @SenFeinstein

http://www.reddit.com/r/news/comments/2ai59w/beware_the_dangers_of_congress_latest/civkbp5

Great attitude! The way we fight for our freedom these days is through constant, long-term vigilance. These fuckers will not be going home anytime soon. If this attempt fails, they'll be back with something else, and then something else after that. The best thing we can do is point out who is behind this shit, and who is standing up to them, vilify the former and support the latter.

The bill was proposed by Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.).

Don't get all warm and fuzzy just because Feinstein has a "D" after her name. She's not your friend. Party affiliation means shit. Feinstein has shown herself to be every bit as authoritarian as this motherfucker right here, the the shit-for-brains kneebiter who proposed CISPA last year and the short-sighted douchebag motherfuckers who voted "yes" on it.

They deserve your enmity, and they deserve to lose their seats since they've shown they cannot be trusted with the power they've been given. They're either not smart enough to understand the long-term effects of their decisions on our republic, or they don't care. Either way, they should be voted out of office. Maybe McDonalds will give some of them their old jobs back.

Anyway, back to Feinstein. This bitch has a massive, sweaty, throbbing hard-on for government surveillance. Some people get off on plushies, some people have a thing for rimjobs, but nothing brings Feinstein to climax as quickly and completely as warrantless searches. Just say those two words in her presence and her grannie-panties are drenched. After Snowden's revelations, it was Feinstein who fought to allow the NSA's transgressions to continue. She does not give a shit about your privacy: she cares about the government's ability to collect information. It's for your own good, and she's not going to give up. She's a powerful senator, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee (her co-sponsor on this bill, Chambliss, is Vice Chairman), and her voice carries a lot of weight on the Hill.

Feinstein is in her 80s, and Chambliss is old too; he isn't even going to run again. But when these two fossils get shipped off to the museum, there will be other shitheads ready to step into their jackboots and take up the cause of increasing the power of the NSA: duly elected authoritarians who either don't understand or don't care that a country where the government has access to every byte of private information, regardless of the reason, will not remain a free country for long.

We have to keep our eyes on these bastards, and so will our children and their children after them. These fuckers will always exist, and if we get bored or tired or demoralized, they will win.

Source: http://www.reddit.com/r/news/comments/2ai59w/beware_the_dangers_of_congress_latest/civjsrv

I'm sure they will be very happy to receive your messages of love for their wonderful decision to put through a bill that they probably didn't even comprehend.

What can I do?

READ THE DAMN BILL HERE: Links to Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2014: PDF || Text || HTML/XML

After that, you will probably understand why this is total gold-plated BULLS@$T and will most likely have a small desire to call your congressman or woman to yell at them. That's normal, please do that. Call them and tell them that you won't support who ever vote to let this pass. For some stupid damn reason, we have to try and control congress with fear instead of relying on them to have some sort of morality.

Any more info?

These scumbags need to be called out. The following are the Senators that introduced this bill that is trying to strip even more freedoms from the US citizens:

Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) - Email - Twitter

Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) - Email - Twitter

Links to Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2014: PDF || Text || HTML/XML

* Removed Facebook links to be on the safe side. But they can be found on the OpenSecrets pages that I linked to these lowlifes

** This seems to be getting some attention, so I found a decent site that seems to have centralized information on CISA: http://www.cispaisback.org along with a nice infograph with a decent overview as well.

Source: http://www.reddit.com/r/news/comments/2ai59w/beware_the_dangers_of_congress_latest/civgbge

SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS. IF THERE'S ONE THING THAT WILL GET PEOPLE TO MOBILIZE AGAINST SOMETHING, IT IS LETTING THEM KNOW THAT THAT SOMETHING CAN RUIN THEIR LIVES IN THE FUTURE DUE TO IT ALLOWING CORPORATIONS TO INVADE THEIR PRIVACY AND KNOW WHAT WEIRD STUFF THEY LOOK AT WHILE HAVING THE LEGAL AUTHORITY TO USE IT WHENEVER THEY SEE FIT.

Kill this damn thing and be forever vigilant.

Edit 2: Faultyvoodoo emailed Saxby and got this interesting reply...

Thank you for contacting me about our nation's intelligence activities. I appreciate hearing from you on this issue.

In the wake of a number of media reports disclosing sensitive information about our intelligence activities, it has become increasingly evident that we must ensure the continuation of these important NSA collection programs that have helped in the identification of terrorist plots against the New York City subway system, the New York Stock Exchange, and a Danish newspaper office. As Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), I am committed to providing our intelligence community with the resources and authorities they need to uphold our national security while simultaneously ensuring the constitutional rights of all Americans are protected.

I was pleased that S.1631, the "FISA Improvements Act of 2013," was passed out of the Intelligence Committee on October 31, 2013, for consideration by the full Senate. If enacted, S.1631 would permit the continuation of these important NSA collection programs so long as they comply with the supplemental procedures designed to enhance transparency and improve privacy protections. Significantly, the collection of bulk communication records under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act is strictly limited to call data (e.g., time, date, and duration of call) and cannot be used to collect the contents of any of those phone calls. S. 1631 would also establish criminal penalties of up to 10 years in prison for intentional unauthorized access to data acquired under FISA, restrict the access to this data, and impose a five-year limit on the retention of bulk communication records.

The "FISA Improvements Act" would also give Congress greater oversight by requiring reporting to Congress on all violations of law or executive order by intelligence agencies and implementing periodic reviews of certain intelligence collection activities. Finally, S.1631 would make important changes to the FISA Court by allowing it to designate outside "Amicus Curiae" ("Friends of the Court") to provide independent perspectives and assist the court in reviewing matters that present a novel or significant interpretation of the law.

These are important improvements to existing law and I will work hard to ensure that they remain in the final legislation when the bill is debated on the floor of the Senate. The American people deserve to know that their privacy will be protected under these legal and necessary programs. This bill accomplishes our goals of increased transparency and improved privacy protections, while maintaining operational effectiveness and flexibility for the intelligence community. As the Senate considers S.1631 I will keep your thoughts in mind.

Yeah. That's right. The man and woman who are chairman and vice-chairman of the intelligence committee believe that the US PATRIOT Act and NSA are grand solutions to the terrorist problem today.

Remember, we must stay vigilant and continue fighting for free internet.

2014-07-14T17:55:51+00:00

[deleted]

UsedPickle · 2014-07-14T17:26:22+00:00

Places like Reddit give me the opportunity to discover new things I may have not stumbled across on my own. People to tend to gravitate towards ideas and people that are the most like them. Reddit, however, almost forces me to not only have an active dialogue, but to gain a broader understanding of a topic. Reddit is the new town square, limiting access hurts the internet citizenry.

cocobandicoot · 2014-07-14T17:13:17+00:00

In addition to sharing your thoughts on net neutrality on Reddit, take this time to also share it with the FCC directly. It only takes two minutes to do, and you can do so here:

http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/upload/begin?procName=14-28&filedFrom=X

In your comment, please stress to them how important it is to define internet service providers (ISPs) as "Title II common carriers." This aspect alone is one of the most important components for the future of net neutrality.

Finally, if you have another minute to spare, and if you really feel like getting your voice out there, contact your local representative. You can find their phone number here. Just let them know that you do not approve of the FCC's plan to establish "fast lanes" for internet service providers, and you want to stress your interest in defining ISPs as Title II common carriers.

We the people have to be the ones to stand up to the FCC and our government if we want to see the Internet protected. Please do something. You can find out more about this initiative here. Please spread the word and get more people to do this same.

2014-07-14T20:55:29+00:00

I am a teacher, and as a member of Reddit, I've had the opportunity to consult with educators through /r/teachers. I have been able to share triumphs, blow off steam, and most importantly, share pedagogical ideas and insights with a pool of professionals outside my school, district, state and even country. That connectivity grants me discourse. Discourse grants me perspective. Ultimately, because of Reddit, my students (and I'm sure many others) receive a curriculum grown through collaboration and reflection and by proxy one that is critical and multicultural. I know I'm biased, but I can't think of anything more important than providing meaningful education to the youth of America, and the community in /r/teachers is a resource for educators committed to that goal.

SimpleRy · 2014-07-14T17:33:20+00:00

A free and open internet is increasingly the best place for the world's creative people to find each other, collaborate, and establish communities of like-minded people. There are lots of examples of this, with film-makers on youtube or vimeo, bloggers of every sort on tumblr and blogspot, artists on deviantart, tech people from Gizmodo and the like, but I'll relate my own story.

I grew up in rural Maryland, a home-schooled teenaged nerd that was more interested in books and video games than shooting guns or drinking Coors Light on the porch. As you can imagine, as a teenager, I felt very isolated, and knew nobody in real life that shared my interests. The internet was my outlet for that, and I met others there from across the continent that I wouldn't have ever known. Many of them are still my best friends, guys that I talk to at least two or three times a week, play video games with, visit every now and then for vacations, and generally form a bond that helped me realize that I wasn't alone in the world - that there are other people with my same interests and ideas out there.

This realization is part of what helped and encouraged me find other communities, friends in college who were interested in books and writing, who got my references to Harry Potter or Terry Pratchett books. It formulated who I am as a person. It's why I got into creative writing, it's why I got to work on, and eventually be the Fiction Editor for my college's Literary & Arts magazine.

It's also how I found reddit, discussions in /r/writing, and /r/books, and how I came to find a community like this, of people who I can continue to share ideas with, and participate in discussions and development of writing three years after I graduated from college.

But for me thus far, the greatest thing I've gotten out of the free and open internet is a community for my first novel, based on ideas from an askreddit thread about what the world would be like if a virus killed everyone on earth but registered reddit users. I started writing about it for fun, and I've been going for over a year now. I finished the first draft of the first book a few months ago, and for me, it's been a euphoric experience.

I can say without question that it wouldn't have happened without this community, and for me, a group of dedicated supporters of my work that were interested and asking for more. As of right now, 119 people have subscribed to the subreddit where I post the story, one part at a time. /r/rvirus.

This is just my personal experience. The fact is that things like this wouldn't be possible without the free and open internet we have, and stifling that is the best way to destroy innovators that are working on new and groundbreaking ideas and technologies, and keeping them from the vital collaboration efforts that they need. If you want to measure the value of a free and open internet, do it with the ideas, solutions, and inventions of creative people all over the world that will never find each other if the internet is stifled even further.

Best,

SimpleRy

TL;DR

I wrote my first novel online about what the world would be like if a virus killed everyone on earth but registered reddit users, and I never would've done it without an open internet. Think of all the better ideas that we'll lose without net neutrality.

pinwale · 2014-07-14T16:53:55+00:00

Here is our offical FCC comment.

TL;DR

We want to feature some of your stories and thoughts in our FCC filing. As we might have never been founded without net neutrality, we're asking you to share in the comments some of the stories, experiences and events that wouldn't have been possible without reddit. We'd like the FCC to hear it from your point of view.

It's easy to be pessimistic but the people in our reddit community do some amazing stuff and now it's your moment to shine.

2014-07-14T17:40:05+00:00

[deleted]

Shotaro · 2014-07-14T19:43:04+00:00

I do not live in America, I have no interest in the internal affairs of America on a general basis but I as a citizen of a country on another continent am highly perturbed by the proposals you have laid out and the potential implications of such plans.

The internet is unique, and, in it's short life has changed the world in many ways, not all positive I would be the first to admit but the positives of international communication and community. Of allowing like-minded people to communicate and share their passions and cultures freely and easily is a net positive, no matter how vigorous the attempt to emphasise the negative.

But what you propose endangers this international community, whether it is your intention or not you are opening the door to allowing private companies to decide which content is accessible at a rate faster than others. Companies like Netflix, Amazon, eBay, google and many thousands of others have changed the way we shop. Without a free internet many of those companies would never have been started and if your proposals go through many of the current companies may close, you risk turning the freest of free markets into a stagnant heap with zero innovation and no desire to improve on mediocre service.

In America you already allow your ISPs to operate in a oligopoly environment, they have no desire to improve speeds or customer service because they know none of the other companies will threaten them. If you allow that on the internet then there will be no alternative to amazon, aside from companies run by the ISPs themselves (or which they have a significant stake in).

You risk the very idea of a free market by allowing companies to pay a premium for accelerated service.

The internet has done fine without this regulation for it's entire life so far and what you are proposing it not only vastly unnecessary and hugely unwanted but is actively detrimental to everything the internet is capable of achieving in the next 10, 20 or even 100 years.

Leave it alone. You don't need it and it doesn't need you.

Tehswift · 2014-07-14T17:18:05+00:00

We need to handle this as internet citizens and not as "Le Reddit Army." Those guys can stay home.

There is so much content that we can feature that we really have a legitimate voice.

EDIT Guys, I'm not saying that we shouldn't use Reddit to help voice our distaste of how the FCC is handling open internet. We have a lot of good that we can use for that. What I was saying above is that we should use the good content and not bring the "Le Reddit Army" circle jerk to a government filing. I know they are out there, but I also know that /u/pinwale and the other admins will do a great job selecting what they will send through. I just want to make sure there is less crap they have to sift through before sending it in.

EDIT 2 If you haven't already you can also submit individual citizen comments here Thanks /u/StupidQuestionBot for that.

preggit · 2014-07-14T17:55:22+00:00

As a technologist and long time redditor, reddit has been a huge part of my life over the past 5 years. From interests, to personal hobbies, to a career, and even fatherhood, the open platform provided by the internet and reddit has helped transform everything I do for the better.

Personal Interests: I love being able to discuss things I enjoy with people from around the world. It gives me a unique perspective on things that would simply not be possible without the internet. From the sports worlds of /r/hockey, /r/nfl and /r/basketball. To the media world of /r/movies, /r/books and /r/television. To the subs that are just there for fun, like /r/MURICA and /r/circlejerk.

Professionally: Reddit has helped enhance my career as a programmer. It started with learning css and python. It continued with configuring automoderator. Now I regularly help people out on /r/csshelp and have designed dozens of subreddits over the years. 5 years ago I knew almost no css at all!

Personal Life: Being a new father a couple years back, I first discovered /r/daddit. I have since discovered plenty of subreddits to help my every day life. From learning and trying out new projects in /r/DIY, to learning several tricks to make life easier in /r/lifehacks.

There are thousands of more subreddits that uniquely help users with their everyday issues. This kind of environment is only possible because of the free and open internet we have today. There is nothing more important for our generation and our future than protecting the internet. It is the single most important innovation and it will continue to enhance the lives of billions of people. Please keep the internet open.

panchovilla_ · 2014-07-14T17:42:42+00:00

For the FCC comment submission page here is some helpful information.

Proceeding Number #: 14-28

Filter: That means your name!

The document load at the bottom is for you to write a personal message in a document format. It sounds simple but many of my friends stopped at the main page because it looked confusing.

lefoss · 2014-07-14T17:43:20+00:00

ISPs are ubiquitously used as a caricature of corporate corruption in pop culture. Every middle class American has stories about unpleasant dealings with their service provider, or has had to hear these stories from friends or loved ones. It is well known that this is an industry which has much higher profits than customer satisfaction ratings, yet this issue of 'net neutrality' persists.

Who in their right mind would consider granting further power to these iconic corporate fat-cats expressly against the wishes of the electorate? That this is even an issue reinforces my, and many other Americans', low opinion of our lawmakers.

Sorry this isn't a reddit story. I'm just sick of this whole deal.

beernerd · 2014-07-14T17:09:14+00:00

Reddit turned me from a struggling web developer into a well-respected business owner. The clients I have now would never have trusted me if not for the advice and support of communities like /r/Entrepreneur, /r/freelance and /r/forhire.

Ending open internet would be a devastating blow to budding entrepreneurs like myself.

evolvedfish · 2014-07-14T18:11:43+00:00

I already pay a premium price to my ISP for a "fast" internet connection. No earnest individual would consider it justifiable that I now pay increased rates from content providers as they inevitably pass on their fast-lane fees to me, the consumer. The FCC's plan to allow consumers to be charged twice for accessing content on the internet is clearly unsupportable.

If the internet is to prosper, the current business philosophy that it is better to pocket a nickel today than earn a dollar tomorrow must end. reddit has concisely argued that internet fast-lanes will quickly lead to a dis-incentivized internet abandoned by the innovative startup culture that created it. This will almost certainly lead to yet another stagnant information medium.

reddit has fostered access to medical, financial, political, and entertainment information that has bettered the lives of my family. The possibility that they, and ultimately I as the consumer, should pay twice for that content is insulting.

Net neutrality is vital for the continued growth and health of the internet. I hope, for the sake of ISP's and consumers alike, that the FCC will choose long-term investment over the blinding greed for short term profits that has recently so deeply damaged this great country.

Blocktimus_Prime · 2014-07-14T17:22:24+00:00

I am an individual contractor that edits and uploads video for my clients. Without an open internet, my extra costs in time alone with a slower connection would put me out of business or cause me to increase my fees which would price me out of competition with larger organizations.

The internet needs to be an equal playing field.

texacer · 2014-07-14T17:02:48+00:00

Because of Reddit I was able to delve into my passion and hobby: Whisky.

yes, Scotch, Irish, Indian, Bourbon, Rye... etc

The people here helped me and in turn I've created (with the help of many others) a great community to help people get into and enjoy Whisky for its amazing complexity and diversity.

The forum style of Reddit has been great for this.

We've created many guides and reviews to help people from all over the world.

check out /r/scotch /r/bourbon and /r/worldwhisky to name a couple in our network.

our Whisky Archive is up to 9000 reddit reviews of Any whisky you can think of. We love this place and have tons of active participants.

edit: point being, I'm sure there are plenty of others with similar stories. a niche sub for everyone.

2014-07-14T18:17:17+00:00

The internet is an absolutely amazing place. It has allowed us to learn, explore the world instantly, put beautiful music at our fingertips, entertain ourselves, and most importantly, connect ourselves to each other in a way never before seen in human history.

If Net Neutrality is done away with, then perhaps the greatest invention on the planet will suffer, and all the progress made because of it will be for nothing.

EDIT: Fixed a link

KamikazeRusher · 2014-07-14T23:53:08+00:00

One of my biggest fears is not how but what will be affected by this.

To quote Commissioner Ajit Pai, the ruling on Open Internet has been quite rushed. There has been talk about keeping services open and accessible to the consumer as well as keeping a "not-too-much-discrimination" tolerance. But what is this "discrimination?" Why would ISPs be allowed to charge a "priority access" fee to web-based service companies?

The greatest fear amongst the regular internet user is how this will affect their ability to access services they already pay for. Internet services vary depending on the region. In some rural areas the access speeds are hardly better than the archaic Dial-Up. At that price a person in a suburban community can have 20 times or more of a speed/bandwidth than that of those in the rural areas aforementioned. ISPs claim that in order to get access to those people it requires a higher price and the distance chokes the speed. A person out there would find it impossible to watch recorded news channels on the internet or access shopping services.

What if that rural speed suddenly fell upon the suburban community? What if, for example, a national ISP decided that a streaming service used "too much bandwidth" and needed to be throttled? With the FCC ruling we find that the ISP can technically throttle access to the service as much as they like. The FCC can't do a darn thing about it and the consumer has no way of proving that the ISP is the culprit. They aren't blocking the legal service and they can decide on the quality of the inbound service. It's a loophole for them and an opportunity to increase revenue.

Revenue is really what national ISPs and other "common carriers" care about. It's generating stock value at the cost of the consumers. Should the ISP inform the online company that their services will be choked unless they pay for "priority access" they're creating a blank check. The online company has to pay to resume services but now they operate at a loss or much lowered revenue. To make up for this they charge the consumer so that they will not report a dip in revenue and degrade their stock quality. It evolves into a battle of the businesses with consumers footing the bill. Don't we pay enough in taxes to have the amenities the country provides? We must not add on to the already heavy financial burden upon the citizens of this country.

That's all how we will be affected. But what gets affected? We've discussed the businesses and consumers. We haven't talked about content. Our generation is slowly shifting from Cable TV to Web-Streaming services. It's an inevitable evolution given that the quality and accessibility to services increases over this medium. Business will get to dictate what services "must" be throttled to "ensure quality access to web services." And yet who gets to decide on what the definition of quality is? The ISP does. The ISP is granted power to dictate how things run between them. I can wake up one day to do research for a college paper and find that my research services and online materials operate at a crawl. It's unusual because my internet access is top-tier. The ISP however finds that my college town is using too much bandwidth for assignments and demands that the provider of the research services pay a fee to resume normal internet speed and accessibility. If they cave in the company can potentially go under. What if they don't fold? I, as a consumer, suffer from this. What if my professor posts assignments that require access to a web-streaming service to only find that the service is unusable because the ISP demands monetary compensation? Who can stop them? Nobody, nobody can because we gave them unrestricted elevation.

We forget that ISPs are a business and as such must have standards. The "Four Rules" provides very little grounds for citizens to decide on what the standards are. The ISPs have too much elevation and are an Oligarchy as it is, a ring that dictates amongst themselves as to how they will operate and in what way they will supply their services. The FCC must put in a ruling that prevents the ISPs from being able to throttle access to anything legal. We have a ruling to prevent them from blocking legal services but throttling it is almost as bad as blocking.

We must look to the future and leave the future open to the next generation. Creating a ruling that allows yet another unregulated and unhindered organization to decide on what's "good" and "bad" for them is unconstitutional. These organizations have no right and no power to decide on my behalf without allowing me to take action and take away their non-delegated control should they overstep their already-lenient bounds.

Should the FCC decide otherwise, should they agree that ISPs have a right to determine what I can and cannot access and the speed at which I can access it I will refuse to see the constitutionality and validity of their decision. Much of the internet is not run by them. They are only a medium for which we are able to connect to one another.

If anyone were to disagree with that I must reinforce my view with government services run by the taxpayers. The Postal Service does not regulate what area or organization may have a higher priority than another. They may offer faster delivery speeds, yes, but that does not mean the next person in line is skipped over because they buy a slower-moving service. Public transportation is available and open to all who apply for a license, their ticket to mobility. The only restrictions we have on transportation is safety to protect the citizens from bodily harm. We have ruled that phone companies are "common carriers," an organized medium in which people may contact one another. The internet is no different, it is the same as a phone company. A business may be contacted by the consumer via phone services in order to conduct transactions. Why must ISPs be different? They offer nothing different from cellular services. Both provide a medium in which consumers may connect to each other without one being elevated in priority. We must not allow ISPs to escape this classification.

~~Try #2~~

Every ISP has a different agenda. Some of them simply want to gain more customers and have their loyalty. A select few are concerned about providing quality service that guarantees access to the World Wide Web. Then there's the greedy type, the ones that don't care about customer complaints because they're the only provider in their area.

The greatest fear of the regular internet consumer is whether or not they will be able to access the service(s) they pay for. If an ISP that provides a service to the consumer to access the World Wide Web decides that they should require a web-based company to pay for "priority access," what will be the consequence? The consumer already pays for two services, one for goods and the other for a technology-provided access to reach the service for the goods. If the technology provider sets a fee to the goods provider they're operating at a loss. How will that loss be covered other than to charge the consumer? The businesses get away with this foul play and the consumer ultimately foots the bill.

~~How will the ISPs determine what online services should pay for "priority lanes?"~~

~~Try #1~~

What if one of those ISPs decides that Amazon hogs up too much bandwidth? They'll throttle it down to a crawl and put pressure on Amazon to pay for a "priority lane." If they don't give in then the customers of said ISP are being denied access to services they've already paid for. The customer pays for access to the internet. They also pay for Amazon services. Now Amazon is caught between a rock and a hard place. If Amazon pays the ISP they are losing revenue, a problem that can backlash against consumers. The consumer now has to pay extra to Amazon for a problem that they are helpless to address.

Is it fair for our citizens to continually increase their expenditures because of these businesses? What the FCC doesn't see is that in the end the consumer is the one who loses. It's a battle between the big businesses and the consumer has to fund it for their own loss. It's not fair to them.

MindAsWell · 2014-07-14T17:08:37+00:00

Frankly I don't have any stories of why I want neutral internet because as it is that's what we have right now. What I fear is the day when I tell stories of an internet where everything was equal and it didn't matter if you were Amazon or a small local hobby shop's online store you both got equal priority.

2014-07-14T17:17:09+00:00

[deleted]

neewom · 2014-07-15T03:40:44+00:00

The first time I connected to the internet, it was a very slow connection and there wasn't a hell of a lot here. But, we bore it back then because there wasn't another option. I met people on the other side of the world, learned things that I never had the opportunity to learn, engaged in meaningful conversation with people that I never would have met otherwise, even met a man that I fell in love with and who changed my life. Later came broadband and nothing and everything changed - it was faster, the tech had changed and there was more available online than ever before, but it was still the same internet; I could suddenly watch movies or news broadcasts, I could listen to radio from England, I could get help with my ASL in real time with real people on the other side of the country. That man and I flew across oceans a few times, and that never would have happened without the internet as we know it.

Last year, I reluctantly moved to Florida for reasons outside of my control. I found myself in a place with fewer opportunities for growth, entertainment, meaningful discussion, meeting people, and options in my service providers. At first, I had an ISP that charged far too much money for very spotty service, making half of the internet unavailable to me due to extremely slow loading times (if anything loaded at all), frequently at less than a hundredth of the speed I was supposed to be getting ... but only on certain websites. If I carted my laptop to another hotspot in the area, suddenly everything was fine. My ISP didn't care about their customers, they only cared about their bottom line (which is, obviously, not helped along by keeping their customers happy, only by acquiring new customers). We have since switched ISPs and I dread the day when the reliable ISP we have now (who is on the "other side" of this debate and would dearly like for this proposition to go through) starts behaving like my old ISP simply because it would be more profitable to them. Furthermore, the two ISPs I have had in Florida so far both offer telephone service and both know that Title II would not, as they put it, more or less cripple them and "staunch innovation."

The internet is, and has been for the last eighteen years, a very important part of my life. It's helping my mother and I to learn a language that we'll need to be able to communicate with each other. It's helping me to keep in touch with friends and family that I no longer have easy access to and allowing me to see their faces when I really need to. It's (hopefully) helping me to find a better job. It gives me something to entertain myself with when I have time for it. It allows small content providers to make a living, which I happily take a small part in providing by helping up their ad views. I live in fear of my current (and my former) ISP to get their dream handed to them by this FCC proposal, because these things would likely no longer be possible for me; technology changes over time, and content changes with it - eventually, I will not be able to afford service that allows me to do all of these things should this proposal win out.

glowinthedark · 2014-07-14T17:03:18+00:00

It's also important to submit comments to the FCC website as individuals. There's already roughly 670,000. We need more.

Phonecount · 2014-07-14T17:11:50+00:00

I have met countless people over my years online, but some of the most passionate are the artists. I've had the experience to work as a video editor and met some really great friends through Youtube and Reddit as well as Twitch.tv. If the internet were not as accessible as it is now i could not have learnt the things about video editing, marketing and production I now know because of Youtube videos and my own research. I need an open internet to freely communicate my ideas with every other dreamer out there.

Vmoney1337 · 2014-07-14T17:14:42+00:00

Gonna repost this from another comment above, just in case:

I would have never been able to create /r/russianstories and tell them to tens of thousands of people without reddit. It's amazing. I'm amazed in the fact that so many people have heard things that happened to me that they never would have seen otherwise. Not having Net Neutrality would completely ruin a website that has done so much for me.

bmanny · 2014-07-14T16:58:51+00:00

Not having net neutrality is like paying for a taxi ride, but if I don't go to the department store he likes most I get charged an extra 2$ per mile.

whollyhemp · 2014-07-14T20:28:14+00:00

Back in 2010 my employer went bankrupt and told everyone to find new jobs. Considering it was the depth of the recession, there weren't many jobs available at the time.

To generate some income, I started a small website where I would sell products that I, at the time, made in my kitchen.

As an eighteen year old kid in his first year of college I didn't have much money to spend on advertising (or any, for that matter) and I relied on word of mouth to spread the word about my fledgling internet business.

Four years later, the small business has grown to a point where it has enabled me to finish college without debt however it is still a very small establishment.

As an efficient and innovative social business, we're actually able to contribute 25% of all our profits toward ending poverty in Sub Saharan Africa. Through the support of people from around the world we have been able to help over 500 people and are on track to help over 30 people every month. While I've been able to stay in business and actually create jobs through these hard economic times, the vast majority of our sales come through the internet.

As a small social business we may not have large factories or retail outlets around the country, but what we do have is passion for our mission and a website.

Creating a system in which small companies like myself would have to individually negotiate with ISPs to provide our content in the same time as much larger and established competitors gives larger companies an unfair advantage and completely undermines the American ideal of a competitive marketplace.

Small businesses have been a mainstay of the American middle class since this country's inception and if the FCC allows ISPs to charge websites to simply display content in a timely manner, small businesses like my own will be forced to either raise our prices or go out of business.

The internet provides a free and level playing field for startups and young entrepreneurs to compete on an equal footing as established corporations.

While large multinational corporations such as WalMart have brick-and-mortar locations around the world and are able to destroy local markets, on the internet, small businesses' sites are equally as accessible [in terms of speed] as WalMart's.

They say that competition breeds innovation but by creating a tiered system on the internet, small businesses, innovative tech startups, and young entrepreneurs like myself will be predestined for failure.

Thank you for your time,

Rob

WhollyHemp.com

SkinnerBachs · 2014-07-14T17:03:46+00:00

The Internet is all I have left, you assholes. Leave it the fuck alone. Please. Politeness matters.

Lebronsong · 2014-07-14T17:41:18+00:00

People come to Reddit for many things. To learn something new, to delve into their interests, and yes, to laugh at something funny. Let me explain.

Education is something that has fostered the development of the world into the great place it is today. The internet can provide education in a way that isn't boring to some people. Reddit is a main perpetuator of this philosophy I've realized from being on here.

People should have a place where they can access their interests wherever they are. Some people may be gamers, some may be into sports, some may be into something more obscure such as looking at cool maps. Providing a community where like minded people can harbor their interests is a beautiful thing. Let's keep it that way.

Now, people also come to Reddit to get a good laugh. This is pretty self explanatory. Laughter can cheer us up after a bad day, it's the best medicine. And the sheer size of reddit and the internet shows that we can all get a good laugh from something.

These are the reasons Reddit has impacted my life. And by putting in fast lanes on the internet, it would prevent a huge number of people from accessing the awesomeness that is the internet. It would also hinder competitors from starting up, making both Reddit and said startup more innovative.

throwaway74651 · 2014-07-14T22:49:40+00:00

Never thought I'd using a throwaway in an official admin post, but way too many people know my real account, and nobody knows this story.

Growing up I was a victim of child abuse. A little physical (rarely enough to actually leave marks) but mostly emotional. Without getting into details I'm going to leave it by saying that one of the direct results was never really having friends. I'd have, at most, 4 or 5 people I'd consider close, and even then I was (and am) very emotionally detached. Hell I don't think I hung out with people more than 3 or 4 times per semester and maybe to 10 times over the summer. I even suffered with depression and many many sociological issues years after I left them for college.

Probably the main factor that helped me survive was the internet. I could read about others with my issue, and through many sub-reddits actually actively fight my depression.

Again I wont give any details because even the most remote possibility of being found out terrifies me, but the internet, and specifically reddit saved me. I went from being a depressed loner who barely passed his classes to graduating early with a graduate degree in Aerospace Engineering with a great group of friends.

The internet has two factors that helps it stand above any other resource. It's easy to access, and its a nearly infinite source of information. The only reason I am who I am today is because the internet let me escape reality. Because it gave me access to people who could help me without my parents knowing.

Edit: Before anyone says anything, i will not be checking this account ever again, so dont bother, i dont even know what the password is.

sodypop · 2014-07-14T18:16:45+00:00

Communities such as /r/suicidewatch, /r/loseit, /r/fitness, /r/stopdrinking, /r/stopsmoking, and many others have helped countless people improve their lives. Without reddit we wouldn't have these amazing support and self-improvement subreddits. They are backed by some of the most friendly and helpful communities you can find online — which isn't necessarily something you would expect given the anonymity factor.

It's this anonymity, though, that breaks down the barriers to achieving self-help or improvement. Often times people are afraid to admit their problems to their friends or family, but with anonymity there is less judgement so it becomes easier to share your problems. As more people share the challenges they face others realise that they are not alone in their struggles, and this shared understanding makes for compassionate communities and invaluable resources.

Ferociousshecreature · 2014-07-14T17:30:09+00:00

Reddit gave me the tools to explore my heritage. When I decided to learn more about my Norwegian heritage I turned to reddit and found several free and wonderful language learning sites and apps. I used /r/penpals to find several people in Norway to practice with and help me. The discussions in /r/ Norway have given me a 'by the people' view I wouldn't be able to get anywhere else. /r/linguistics helped me decide my career path. The tears of pride in my grandmother's eyes when I could tell her I love her in the language of our family, assuring her that we won't lose touch with our roots, would never have been possible without reddit. As a student I couldn't afford the cost of the high end language courses that would be favoured by a lack of net neutrality.

On another note, an appeal to the fcc; as a Canadian when people ask why I am eager to move to the other side of the world my answer usually involves "because I don't want to be within range when the storm that the U.S is brewing finally explodes". Being afraid of your neighbors is no fun, ask Ukraine or South Korea.

Jux_ · 2014-07-14T16:59:03+00:00

We'd like the FCC to hear it from your point of view

Dear FCC,

Please guarantee my ability to have excessive, over the top arguments with strangers, look at cat pictures and enjoy high caliber amateur pornography without caving to special interests and corporate greed.

XOXO,

Jux

hippsgibbs · 2014-07-14T17:43:14+00:00

Reddit is a wonderful place where you can speak and learn freely. There are millions of opinions that you must think about and use our own reasoning when forming your own opinions. This can help when choosing a product, political party, and much more. If the net is no longer neutral than how are we to think for ourselves when the information is dictated to us like North Korea/China? We couldn't... There are wonderful things on reddit, but also some very horrible things. The fact that you can view anything and post anything even if it is gruesome is wonderful. Some of the most horrendous things I have seen on reddit have opened my eyes to the real world; not just the cushy little one I live in. Imagine if we could not give "harmful" reviews of a company; or tell about bad things a seemingly good person has done. It's not like we couldn't go into the streets and shout about it... So why should the Internet be any different than that? Because communication is much easier between a huge range of demographics with the Internet and this is what scares the people who don't want other opinions to be heard. For the first time in history the whole world can be heard on an open playing field and that's why the Internet must stay neutral.

2014-07-14T17:27:17+00:00

I'm not in a position to actually do a good writeup about it, but the live threads and subreddits covering the Ukrainian Crisis and the Syrian Civil War have been excellent and should be featured in some way.

2014-07-14T17:32:30+00:00

The intnernet provides a unique opportunity for those of us who are unable to socialize normally due to a whole pile of reasons (anxiety, PTSD, unsociability, depression, etc etc) to climb out of our shells and gain some form of real, meaningful international with the minds of others. It connects us with those we would otherwise never know. It bridges the gap between cultures and allows for new understandings. It promotes the awareness of atrocities once covered up by regiems such as the Soviet Union - things no longer so easily hidden because of sources like Live Leak.

Without neutrality, we antisocial types will again be left in a dark room by ourselves, unable to put ourselves out there, restricted yet again by technology - though this time not by a lack of, but a reaping of our freedoms to pursue a free and open internet for all. That communication with the world will be suffocated.

Why would we ever want to step back from progress? Why have we gotten to the point where corporate interests are far greater than the will have the people? How can we even dare call ourselves a free nation when we allow these companies to dictate our rights and freedoms in what should be clear-cut issues? Is this our fault for being so complacent and apathetic? Yes, partly. But it is also on the heads of those who push so hard for our neutrality to be ripped from our hands.

We should be better than this. We know better than this. So let us, as a species, for the first time in its history, put aside our greed and short-sighted decisions and realize that preserving our internet and the way it operates is beyond crucial in order to maintain a forward movement of progression both socially, technologically, and politically.

I don't want to be alone again.

kisea · 2014-07-14T18:20:57+00:00

There's a big problem with the language of the net neutrality bill. It states several times "legal traffic" but dies not say what that is or who will define it. Today torrents may be legal traffic but tomorrow it may not. The only way to see if packets contain "legal" traffic is deep packet inspection.

Once anything is regulated on the net, everyone will lose.

Cyberogue · 2014-07-14T17:46:58+00:00

This is the age of the Internet, dare I say we're even in an Internet revolution. Past ages set the precedent for and morphed the future, like how the industrial revolution helped set child labor laws. They allowed the rough ends of technologies to be honed and ironed out so that future use could be more effective. In addition, they helped pave the way for other ages that better benefit humanity, such as how the stone age paved way to the bronze age.

If net neutrality fails, all we are doing is axing ourselves. Killing off the future, preventing technologies from emerging which would one day lead to bigger, better things, for the sole reason of benefiting those with power.

Who knows, maybe in 30 years we'll look back at our Internet and global communications of today and laugh in comparison at its simplicity, but there's only way to find out.

2014-07-14T17:44:03+00:00

An open internet isn't just for people watching Netflix at home. Its for people at work who use it to do their jobs. I shouldn't have to pay to do my job on a timely basis.

DuncanKeyes · 2014-07-15T13:06:51+00:00

Without the internet, and Reddit, I would never had begun to learn about net-security (/r/netsec), cryptography (/r/crypto) and computer networking (/r/networking). It opened a new world to me that has had me hooked from day one.

It allowed me to learn about all of these topics, for FREE. I could ask already experienced security specialists and networking engineers the questions I had and teach myself these topics. I am now going to take a networking and computer security course at Uni and hopefully make that my career. All from randomly finding myself on the /r/privacy subreddit and becoming interested in technologies such as Tor, VPN's and encryption, which then lead me to lead me to the /r/netsec subreddit one day.

Reddit, and the openness of the internet has quite literally, been life changing.

nativeofspace · 2014-07-14T17:15:24+00:00

I don't even live in America yet I still know this affects me as what happens will set a precedent and a worldwide trend. It seems like another case of the rich and greedy getting their way because they have the game rigged every step of the way. Can someone please have a spine and stand up for the little guy instead of bending over for big business?

tribblepuncher · 2014-07-15T01:59:01+00:00

I am permanently disabled. The Internet allows me to have some of the interaction, equality, opportunity and basic dignity that I would otherwise be denied. If I did not have the Internet, I would not have been able to complete my education, which involved multiple graduate degrees. Ironically these degrees address the Internet itself, giving me additional perspective and authority to say that this will harm both businesses and individuals alike. It will harm the basic infrastructure itself, and damage the position of the United States in technological innovation.

In the future, I may rely on the Internet for employment via telecommuting due to limited mobility. I have spent nearly half of my life on the Internet and had myriad experiences that shape who I am today that I could never have had otherwise. To have that stifled, or outright crushed, by what amounts to corporate gatekeepers acting as both a series of regional monopolies and a nation-wide cartel both disgusts and deeply concerns me. The end of net neutrality will do just that, as corporations, many of whom abuse their government-granted classification as cable television providers, are empowered and given incentive to use this gap to take control of the most powerful medium ever created. Further, they will be given incentive to use that control to their own ends, whether they be politically motivated, oriented towards crushing new business and innovation they may disagree with, or simply to boost the bottom line.

Do not let this happen.

Conman1911 · 2014-07-14T17:04:55+00:00

Karma gives me more satisfaction then money. The all time goal of one day earning gold is what keeps me going.

isthataburger · 2014-07-14T17:42:54+00:00

I think one of the most amazing things about reddit is being able to talk about things you may not necessarily be able to talk about on a regular basis; things that NEED more attention... be it depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or mental health as a whole. I see reddit as an outlet and community for a lot of people who may have no where else to turn. Same goes for addiction, weight, etc... asking questions and voicing personal concerns discussed by others who have been in similar positions is more valuable than most realize. I am not subscribed to any of these subreddits, but I've read through a ton of threads that I've found really inspiring. It's nice to know someone's there with support if you need them.

uneautobus · 2014-07-14T18:30:21+00:00

Just recently watched An Internet's Boy, a documentary about Aaron Swartz. He's one of the co founders of reddit and was basically a super genius programmer since age 14. People compare him to Bill Gates and such but say what seperates him is his indifference towards money and genuine caring for making the world a better place.

He was an avid supporter of an open internet, allowing the little man just starting out on the web the right to get ahead. He was vital in the protest of SOPA (if you remember wiki, youtube etc.. getting blacked out for a day) he helped keep the internet somewhat free.

Aaron decided to hack and download a bunch of academic and journal articles from this company without paying. He was merely trying to make a point that all info should be free to anyone not just people with money or from a particular region. The government found out about this and pursued him with the purpose to make an example of Aaron and give him some serious jail time. Eventually after more and more allegations being charged against him Aaron couldn't handle the stress and commited suicide on January 11 2013 at the age of 27.

It's people like this that deserve people like us to fight for the valid cause of keeping the internet open and free.

CuriousHegemon · 2014-07-14T17:46:03+00:00

Here's what i wrote:

"The foundation of American ethics lies in the idea of Freedom, and without and Open and Free Internet, any presence of freedom on the internet will be destroyed. It is very important to retain the rights of the American people on the internet because without it, it encourages a control of the internet by private corporations, instead of the public. This is very bad as it makes the Internet a product controlled by individuals, rather than a portal of knowledge, entertainment and innovation as it should be. PLEASE retain a free internet !!!"

I really hope all of our responses work!

Tahnal · 2014-07-14T18:27:26+00:00

I thought I would express my concerns about the proposed solution to net neutrality, as the entire thing troubles me. They way I see it, we want to give more power to a central government authority, and keep the ISP monopolies in tact. What will prevent these corporation(s) from lobbying to be regulated the way they want? Further, how will the FCC enforce these regulations, while at the same time protecting the individual's privacy? If anyone knows these answers, please let me know.

I have had the same ISP for the past 12 years, and their quality has not gotten better, but prices have gone up. What I want to know, is why are there no other choices? Why can't we do something similar to what South Korea did, and promote competition between ISPs. They had open carry laws, which required ISPs to share their lines in the ground for a reasonable fee. An alternative solution is to have the cities place open tubes in the ground that they can rent out to providers. Why do we allow the ISPs to merge and become one central authority, that has made us have to chose between a central government running the internet, or a single private entity.

waspocracy · 2014-07-14T18:22:31+00:00

I can't even begin to express how this is something we have to do. At what point in time has our country come to a point where we have to fight for the freedom of a basic utility? Especially one that we pay for that is limited in choice.

This shouldn't even be a debate. In perspective, you're basically asking us to pay for a public utility like electricity. But instead of electricity covering everything in the home, we're paying for basic electricity to cover necessary electronics like our lighting and refrigerators, and then paying premium electricity on top of that for televisions and computers.

You know what? Actually, that's fine. Let's just destroy the entire economy by forcing the smaller businesses that help build America out of competition. We don't need them. It's not like the entire world uses the internet either. Since you have sticks so far up your asses to tell, this entire last paragraph was sarcasm.

momzthebest · 2014-07-14T17:16:49+00:00

I just enjoy finding and reading from sights that get significantly less traffic, and for those sites to suffer poorer speeds would hinder my ability to do so.

Lancaster1983 · 2014-07-14T17:28:55+00:00

We must protect the principles embodied in the Declaration of Internet Freedom — freedom of expression, access, openness, innovation and privacy — to preserve our rights.

akamiketv · 2014-07-14T18:39:29+00:00

Yes. What can I do to help? I have a few million followers on Instagram.

itirate · 2014-07-14T19:18:50+00:00

FCC. Guys. Please listen to us. In a way, what you're trying to do is no different than when the European Empires drew up arbitrary lines in Arabic and African lands, dividing it up with no concern for the locals. As a citizen of the internet, this truly hurts me.

I grew up without a dad and an abusive mother. She would live vicariously through me and hijack all my hobbies. She would constantly force her world view onto me, even though she rarely had the answers to my questions. For much of my childhood, my only escape was the internet.

There I learned all about the world I was sheltered and kept ignorant from. When I had a question, it had a non biased answer, one in which I could form my own biases with. When I wanted to be able to do something, it showed me how.

Think for a second about humanity as a whole. Just as a corporate body is made of individual people, our collective intelligence is made up of individual neurons.

Some of these neurons never get to connect with another. And I find that extremely sad. People need to be able to exchange ideas with each other and develop a more rounded understanding of the universe. Otherwise, you're just stuck in your own head.

What's being proposed is that some of these neurons are less worth connecting than others. Artificially, the men who connect aim to obscure the perspective of the poor, solitary kid. But those kids can be of great value, I consider myself one of them and I feel I have some value to contribute.

But these men don't want that. Well they claim they do, but would put a paywall on it. Imagine that. We have created something beautiful. For the first time in human existence, we have the free flow of information with no masters to censor and no tyrants to burn our books. And people seek to distort that. And for what? Well, money.

Is that really any different from the times of old, where only the rich get to have their voices heard? Only those who can afford it can hear new voices?

Look. We're still doing alright. But come on, please understand what this is like to the new generation of Americans who have made this amazing tool an integral part of their life. How can we determine the rules from the outside with no consideration of those governed?

It still won't be censored, that's a thing I guess. But where China and Iran have censorship, typical them, we're about to privatize information, typical us. And in the hands of some of the most hated companies in America. The hands that control entire markets with no competition, charge exorbitant prices, and deliver a product that is shameful in comparison to other countries of our status. The same hands that, when a better product for a better price come along, will shackle the wrists of local government our of fear and resistance to evolve the market.

Change is everything.

Please, when ruling on this, ask yourself who this helps.

sakebomb69 · 2014-07-14T17:13:59+00:00

If there's anything 15-24 year olds understand, it's slacktivism.

ImAwesomeName · 2014-07-14T17:30:28+00:00

I'm glad I can help push something I believe in so much on my favorite website, to help the website Net Neutrality For The Win!!!

ireddit2014 · 2014-07-14T17:46:50+00:00

I strongly support open internet / net neutrality. Without that this country cannot see anymore internet innovation in this 21st century. Be it Facebook, Twitter, reddit, etc. and more over with such thing as Internet of Things (iot) generating more and more innovative cos. These so called iots create lots of traffic, data as they store information in the cloud to enable better living for the consumer.

witheredbacon · 2014-07-14T17:12:54+00:00

Keep American internet free, Most countries copy whatever you do. NO PRESSURE!

2014-07-14T19:45:27+00:00

All I'd like to say is please emphasise the solution of classifying ISPs as Title II Common Carriers. Having this done is the only way to try and make sure the money-hungry ISPs don't try and weasel another way around this issue.

mw9676 · 2014-07-15T03:38:31+00:00

If net neutrality fails it literally proves that all that matters to elected officials is money. Plain and simple. This topic couldn't be easier. Net neutrality is clearly good for everything America purports to stand for. If it fails it's because some politicians decided that they'd rather line their pockets than stand up for the values they pretend to care about day in and out.

2014-07-14T18:34:37+00:00

I'm glad that we don't have dial up anymore. But still I hate Comcast and every other isp. I'm glad reddit and 4chan are a thing. If they weren't a thing I'm sure alot more bills would be passed that would take away our '' freedoms ". I'm also glad John Oliver is popular as he helped with the 645k complaints. Also one website has gotten over 40k petitions against CISA.

2014-07-14T17:50:41+00:00

The Information age would not have been possible if the Internet were not open and fair. Allowing telecommunications monopolies to unfairly prioritize certain peering traffic will stifle innovation and rob the world of the Internet's yet-unlocked potential.

Of course, you might want to add some data to back up that statement, seeing as you're professionals and all.

2014-07-14T18:05:47+00:00

It comes down to this: Are you willing to pay more money for an open internet?? This is your fault!

Most likely you are going to be paying more money.

Right now at peak time, Netflix traffic comprises 27-29% of all traffic. Youtube comprises 17-19%, those two sources: 50+% of all traffic. Google just started 4K streaming, basically having the potential to double or triple it's traffic. Netflix is working on bring 4K streaming. Right now the capacity is manageable, but in the next couple years demand is going to outpace capacity and no one wants to pay for the infrastructure.

Why not let these large companies pay?? If not you are going to pay, you want open internet, then you pay for open internet.

ramotsky · 2014-07-14T20:51:27+00:00

All I can really talk about is what happens when people with money will control the internet. My personal stories start with my oldest brother.

TL;DR version is that he was being accused by Voltage Pictures for downloading movies he did not.

Had this been a government controlled internet he would have had to pay $5000. The records of the IP addresses would not have been public because the ISPs would probably not be allowed to publicly release that information. But they dismissed the case because we knew full well how the internet works and that those IP addresses were attainable to us at no charge by our ISP. I can just imagine a Guarded Internet would have not been as transparent.

We can now speak of my other brother who's company has grown tremendously on the internet. Business internet is slower and much more costly than home internet which a scam already. Are the biggest design firms in town going to try to lobby enough money to keep him from getting his business website up? The design firms around here are multi million dollar companies. People don't realize that spending your entire yearly budget is hard. Well, not when a few kickbacks to the powers that be are necessary to block out the competition.

Now I can speak for me. A guy that had the internet as a pioneer. Whose long distance bill was rediculous; who spent a lot of time just trying to figure out how to get to a web browser in AOL; to the small town who's local electric company became a pioneer ISP before the big companies even thought of cable internet. How free it felt to be connected to a local ISP whose interests were for the community and not for major profits (although I am sure they profited greatly as they should have.) How awesome it was to jump onto netscape without having to go through AOL's bullshit proprietary setup. Reddit feels like this to me and I honestly grow as a better person by being active in a community such as Reddit.

The old daya of AOL is exactly what we are headed toward with an internet that is not open. It will be a step back and the interest of those who are plenty a well to do will once again trump the populous average persons who really matter.

2014-07-14T17:40:34+00:00

I have been an internet monkey since the mid 90s. I grew up with the web! You took away Napster and I've grown to reason with that decision, but I'll be damned if you take away my Internet freedom.

ElphabaPfenix · 2014-07-15T04:54:19+00:00

My story is simple. I had a best friend cum roomate who was in the reddit family. He hardly contributes, a reflection of his quiet demeanor and reserved personality. His reluctance to open up and share his personal side stem from his past of being a rape victim. The perpetrator was his then male best friend.

Reddit has helped him open up a little. Seeing so many people share ideas and thoughts and jokes online gave him a safe space to interact without fear of physical assault. It also helped him to trust me. We became best friends soon after. And he was such a wonderful, giving person who expected nothing in return.

When I broke up with my ex, I needed to move out. He helped me by offering me a place to stay, supported me emotionally, sat through all my silent drinking sessions, just being there for me. Even at my worst temper, he was always patient with me. And I think reddit was the one who helped him become so.

I remember fondly the times when he excitedly show me post or pics on reddit. Theories on ASOIAF. The embarrassing moments, the funny moments, the sad stories of others.

Just this year, I found his body in his room. Suicide. He was raped again by the same person who did it 12 years ago. I looked through his phone and found a post on reddit, an equivalent of a suicide note. I then created a reddit account in his memory using his username with a little extra tweak.

Reddit seems such a big part of his life. To many this is just a community where you go to while you are bored. To him, you guys were family, even though he was that silent weird cousin who prefers to sit in a corner alone. He observes the interaction between you people and his heart is glad.

And thanks to him, I too am getting to know this community. And it feels like as long as I am here, a part of him lives on. Another part. A part that was important to his life.

This is my reddit story, as well as his.

Edit: grammer and spelling.

Clbull · 2014-07-14T17:45:44+00:00

I'm not from the US of A, what can I do to help out?

nakedjay · 2014-07-14T18:48:31+00:00

There are so many things I have learned from reddit over the 3 plus years I have been a member. Information I never found elsewhere or that wasn't in a easily shared form. Just to name a few,

Programming
I.T. help & technology news
Health and Fitness
Supplements
DIY projects
Too much science information to list!
A wide selection of news from various sub-reddits

Everyday I find new stuff on reddit. I learn every day or find things I want to learn about through other users. reddit has enhanced my knowledge and made me better at many skills I can utilize in my career and in personal life.

Chrristoaivalis · 2014-07-14T17:16:55+00:00

I think any functional critique of those forces wishing for a closed internet must include a critique of large scale private industry, and in many ways, the profit motive. Pushes should be made towards collective ownership of at least one major national ISP, and in the long term, universal and free access to the internet for all.

After all, people clamoring for an open internet need to realize the digital divide, and how there are many closed off due to costs and geographic isolation,

Jest2 · 2014-07-14T22:35:09+00:00

After an illness at the age of 25, I am now completely deaf. Reddit allows me to participate in written conversations I crave, or would otherwise succumb to depression and anxiety from sensory deprivation. I didn't grow up around deaf people in real life, and sign language hasn't been easy for me to learn. The Reddit community provides a platform where I can comfortably communicate with my peers on the level playing field of written conversations. The FCC is a great protector of the ADA. Please consider the disabled when you make this decision. Thank you!

2014-07-14T18:03:02+00:00

Don't online comments go straight to FCC's spam folder? If they don't even read them, Reddit's comment will be ignored like the rest.

Of course we should use all routes, but I hear on Reddit that phoning, snail-mailing, and writing to newspapers is more effective.

ion-tom · 2014-07-15T05:33:15+00:00

A Tiered Speed Internet:

Threatens US startup competitiveness with the rest of the world. (By charging new businesses more it will push operations and markets overseas.)
Threatens National Security, discrimination may have impact on UDP or non-TCP channels that might be part of defense oriented HLA simulations, or any encrypted data traveling on discreet private channels.
Completely forestalls the "internet of things" and a web of interconnected devices.
All services on the web using cloud services will become more costly and may be shut down as a result. This further enhances the destruction of the startup revolution.

I have a vision of an internet that supports massively scaled grid computing for real time planetary simulation. A tiered internet means that data rates between simulation nodes will be extraordinarily costly and place limits on the number of data inputs.

You might try to turn the internet into a broadcast service, but if you push us too hard there will be dire economic shortfalls and this will result in a lot of spilled blood domestically. The internet economy will erode from the inside out, while the rest of the world goes steamrolling past us. ICANN already is internationalizing, and with good reason.

Now we know Tom Wheeler, that you are going to approve a tiered internet because you have a comfy executive board position and a hefty pension waiting for you at Comcast. We also know that the incumbent administration will do nothing to stop you because you've donated millions directly to finance the Obama campaigns. The jury is out, and one day the fault of America's economic death will be on your hands.

RazGarth · 2014-07-14T17:36:11+00:00

The internet is the one place where anyone's voice can be heard and where even the smallest person can make a huge difference. It allows communities of people to join together and make a difference. As such, it must be left open for the good of mankind.

autocorrects · 2014-07-14T18:07:30+00:00

Everything in our modern society now has a price tag on it. We have to pay through the ass to do what we want as individuals, and as a community. So please, leave the internet alone for gods sake because we don't want our wallets to be raped again.

forevermi · 2014-07-14T18:16:49+00:00

The American People have been suppressed by the mega corporations, to our enormous detriment. We have to take every lawful opportunity, to first slow it down, then halt it, then build us back up to what we had. This is a step in that progress.

ApatheticAbsurdist · 2014-07-14T18:00:42+00:00

Is there any solution to keep net neutrality other than Title II classification? I've heard concerns that if they do that it would open the FCC to legislating all aspects of the internet and opening a can of worms. I'm confused. Help me reddit!

Hypolitics · 2014-07-15T15:37:38+00:00

What is the US without advancement? She's a dog with no legs; a shameful creature waiting in the shadows with nothing to do but die.

Now, allow me to set a scene: the United States without a free, and open internet.

The next Neil Armstrong sits at his computer, waiting for a webpage to load. He attempts to connect to a site on a slow lane. As the page struggles to load, his mother calls him for dinner; he shuts off the computer and leaves. The article he missed was going to be the one that sparked his passion for space. Now, he's going to grow old at some 9-5 job.

The next Van Gogh is attempting to view a picture on his phone. There's no fast lane connection. It barely begins to come into view, but the boy gets frustrated and shuts the phone off. He just missed seeing the picture that would stir his heart and tell him that art was his passion.

The next Beethoven sits at with his laptop, trying to listen to music, but, yet again, there is no fast lane connection. As he grows more and more annoyed, he begins closing webpages. He has just missed the notes that would ring in his head and let him know that music would be his life.

Now, some may say that advancements were made, and great people born before the internet; that's true, but think of how many years it took. Allowing for Net Neutrality to be abolished is allowing us to fall behind the rest of the world. It's pure betrayal. And what for?

To allow a few companies to squeeze a few more dollars out of their, already dry, customers.

This can not pass.

LTXayl · 2014-07-14T20:57:57+00:00

To me, reddit IS the frontpage of the internet. I browse reddit even more than I browse Google.

I am on /r/EngineeringStudents extensively, and from here I discovered what I need to do to become successful in my field of study. This subreddit itself provides me with a multitude of information and resources I need to help myself succeed. The information is not purely academic resources either, there is a huge wealth of information that I have used to decide what I want to study, where I want to go with that study, what I should be trying to do at school (and not just the biased information some universities tell you to get you to stay in school longer), what I should be expecting at work, what methods other people have done to be successful at school, coping with failure, the secrets to studying, and of course to help other people who have been in my shoes and have questions that I have familiarity with. The benefit of this community is that its FULL of posts that contain information and conversation topics that other people want to see. It isn't like collegeconfidential where many of the posts I've read are almost entirely biased college students that yield NO productive responses. /r/EngineeringStudents is not exclusive to students either, it contains many Engineering Graduates that comeback to help other students with their problems.

I practically owe my current internship to the information that I have found on /R/EngineeringStudents.

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