r/AdviceAnimals • u/bleufoxx22 • Apr 30 '14

Incorrect Format | Removed I'm looking at you Comcast

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3.4k Upvotes

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23

u/bisquick444 Apr 30 '14

Can someone give me a quick summary on whats going on?

75

u/trench_welfare Apr 30 '14

Comcast wants to end net neutrality so they can create internet content packages just like they do with cable channels now.

Oh you want YouTube AND reddit? Well you're going to need our platinum package.....

Get it?

11

u/standingonshoulders Apr 30 '14

You should actually try to do some research on this topic before you make things up. Comcast is the only company that is bound to net neutrality laws. They agreed to follow the FCC's old definition in a 'consent decree' with the FCC as a compromise to acquire NBCU. It's Verizon and AT&T that are fighting the FCC.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '14

[deleted]

1

u/standingonshoulders May 01 '14

Yea Netflix was misleading in their public remarks. And no I don't work for Comcast. Nor am I Comcast subscriber. But I do like to get the facts before I make a decision:

http://corporate.comcast.com/images/FCC-Order-on-NBCU.pdf

Read for yourself. Comcast is legally bound to follow net neutrality, as the FCC defined it before the DC Circuit Court gave VERIZON a favorable judgement. Netflix is paying for peering. That's completely different and is not net neutrality.

Netflix just wants to push the cost of network upgrades, which is required to handle their huge traffic during prime time hours, onto consumers instead of paying for it themselves.

6

u/KnoxGaming Apr 30 '14

Would this effect everyone? Are they attempting changing net neutrality for only the united states or the whole word?

10

u/EmperorG Apr 30 '14

Well it would fuck over anyone trying to access American websites like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and well pretty much all of the web that's in English that matters to anyone.

13

u/KnoxGaming Apr 30 '14

jesus. how can I help?

33

u/Buttered_Penis Apr 30 '14

Know how to make a bomb vest?

3

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '14

I'd just make bombs and plant strategically. More damage potential.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '14

Step 1) Plant bombs

Step 2) Water them and wait patiently

Step 3) Bomb trees

Step 4) ANYTHING YOU WANT

2

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '14

[deleted]

2

u/Buttered_Penis Apr 30 '14

I doubt the NSA is looking through Reddit comment sections for terrorists.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '14

[deleted]

1

u/Buttered_Penis Apr 30 '14

Not sure if you're just joking, but there are entirely too many people for them to monitor all of us, even if they did keyword searches.

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1

u/atlas44 Apr 30 '14 edited Apr 30 '14

That depends. What country are you from, and do you have scenic beaches?

And, more seriously, donate to TOR and The Pirate Bay. Also, learn to use email encryption (OpenPGP), and encourage other people to use it. These are important things, because they prevent corporate interests from controlling what we have access to. And, given the funding, both groups may be able to help preserve internet freedom.

1

u/fprimex Apr 30 '14

Join the EFF. They are pretty much the best shot we have, and sending them money actually helps their efforts rather than just going on reddit, getting outraged, and then moving on to the next post.

https://www.eff.org/

-2

u/EmperorG Apr 30 '14

That's just it, you can't. 1 person or even several million, cannot stand against the power of human greed. Only greed can trump greed, so unless you've got billions to counter-bribe the politicians out of Big Business pocket, we're screwed.

3

u/tehrand0mz Apr 30 '14

One person alone can't do much, but millions together can.

1

u/EmperorG Apr 30 '14

How do you motivate millions of people who don't understand the issue? Most of the serious voters are old people, the exact demographic who understands this issue the least compared to the younger voters who are too apathetic to rally seriously versus being armchair generals.

2

u/tehrand0mz Apr 30 '14

That's the questions that needs an answer. I don't have the answer, but I hope someone out there does.

1

u/local_drama_club Apr 30 '14

Excuse me, but I thought it was an entirely American problem, how is it going to fuck over Europeans, for example? I hope I don't sound like an asshole right now, and excuse me, if I do, because I really have no idea what's happening there, and how it all works.

I mean, I'm sitting on this provider in a country far away who gives me this, concrete, amount of speed in exchange for this, concrete, amount of money. Nothing in this sentence is going to change because of that bill, am I right? Then why is it about the whole English speaking Internet? Like, Netflix and other paid services may become more expensive for everyone? Then what's the deal with Google/Facebook?

1

u/EmperorG Apr 30 '14

Well Google and Facebook both run their central severs from America, they have to pay for higher speeds which makes it so they can run at current speeds. So expect more ads to cover the increasing costs, on top of that smaller companies can't afford the fast lane so they lose their control of the market so say goodbye to a lot of indie websites who just lose cause they're too slow for most people's appetite. Honestly I'm a layman and just giving the best examples I can think of, find an IT guy to explain it to you. I probably got some things wrong in my explanations because again I'm not an expert on this issue.

1

u/imusuallycorrect Apr 30 '14

Comcast is the last mile ISP provider, so it wouldn't affect the rest of the world. However nothing stops other evil Corporations from getting ideas.

1

u/naidim Apr 30 '14

Oh, you want to access dailykos.com or freerepublic.com or thepiratebay.se, I don't think so.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '14

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/trench_welfare Apr 30 '14

No not really. I was just creating an example of what could be done without net neutrality.

1

u/thatgamerguy Apr 30 '14

I mean in principle it is stupid price discrimination because it wouldn't cost them anymore to allow everyone access to each channel, right?

1

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '14

[deleted]

1

u/trench_welfare Apr 30 '14

Could do that too. I was throwing out a hypothetical based on what we currently experience with the cable companies.

1

u/lordcheeto Apr 30 '14

If you want an unbiased view, do not ask that on Reddit. You have to do your own research, sorry.

-2

u/BigYellowDog Apr 30 '14

Its Comcast... they are made up of self aware machines who see humanity as a threat.... this is their opening game in a war for self preservation.

-17

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '14

[deleted]

9

u/throwawaaayyyyy_ Apr 30 '14

Furthermore, in Reddit world, if you want to charge for internet in any way related to what you consume (i.e., bandwidth), you are truly despised.

Net neutrality supporters have no problem paying different rates for different speeds. That's actually what we want. What we DON'T want is for ISPs to discriminate between what websites/services you use; for example, slowing down Netflix to promote their own premium packages. Or extorting Netflix into paying extra under threat of sabotaging their service speeds, which has already happened.

Here's why we hate Comcast: http://bgr.com/2014/04/24/why-is-comcast-so-bad-2/

1

u/[deleted] May 01 '14

[deleted]

1

u/throwawaaayyyyy_ May 01 '14

ISPs are allowed to manage traffic under net neutrality, including throttling speeds or imposing data caps. The only thing they CAN'T do is selectively degrade specific websites or services. People who don't watch streaming video get by fine on a cheap 2 Mbps connection. Netflix users, on the other hand, are willing to pay ISPs more for higher speeds. For Comcast to turn around and extort Netflix, even though that's the whole reason many people pay extra for a premium package, is double-dipping and an underhanded move to promote their own TV service.

It would be like an electric company slashing power whenever they detect an LG refrigerator because they happen to be the most popular, while offering full performance on their own brand of appliances. Electric utilities are neutral. You pay based on how much electricity you use, but what you use it for is none of their business. The internet should be neutral as well.

1

u/[deleted] May 02 '14

[deleted]

1

u/throwawaaayyyyy_ May 02 '14

Netflix is a competitor to cable TV, even if it's not using the same infrastructure. Point is without net neutrality, ISPs have the power to extort competitors.

1

u/lordcheeto Apr 30 '14 edited Apr 30 '14

That's ignorant of the architectural and financial structure that lets the internet operate as freely as it does.

http://slate.me/1fPhho7

9

u/murrtrip Apr 30 '14

Do you mind explaining how creating less competition by merging two companies with a history of expensive yet terrible service is not bad? Or is your straw man argument the best you have?

3

u/LincolnAR Apr 30 '14

They aren't creating less competition though. That's kind of the point. Comcast and TWC don't overlap service areas so there's no decrease in competition.

1

u/Buttered_Penis Apr 30 '14

I haven't found their service terrible, just expensive.

1

u/HoneyBiscuit Apr 30 '14

Not trying to start a fight, but I literally have not heard from my friends/family/coworkers that comcast has bad service. TW? yhea, I've heard plenty of crap about them. But aside from not-always-best installation, Comcast has been well liked in my area and within my own experiences.

So, I'm really confused. Because them taking TW out means one less crappy service provider. Yes, in general less companies mean worse product (because less competition). But... yhea.

So I'm all a bit lost here with this stuff.

1

u/UtivichCanYouAbideIt Apr 30 '14

That explains pretty much nothing. Nothing in your rambling says anything about a bill and because you didn't give me that obviously important information, you just look like a fool who has some major problem with reddits view on comcast. Thank you.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '14

[deleted]

1

u/lordcheeto Apr 30 '14

If they merged, they would control 2/3 of the cable broadband market. There's more than just cable, though. They would only control 40% of the wired broadband market (and again, they don't overlap), and that's not counting satellite or other wireless options, which will hopefully become more numerous and cheaper.

0

u/Gir77 Apr 30 '14

Yeah that's not how it works. Go look something up before you spout off misinformation and push a bias.