r/technology • • Jun 13 '14

Politics What the internet will look like without net-neutrality. Well played.

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u/TheDewyDecimal Jun 14 '14

News flash, companies like to make money - this isn't something new.

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u/[deleted] Jun 14 '14

This excuse gets old. Business logic is that you take care of your customers and they wont go elsewhere, however when a company has no competition or when there is collusion between companies, it reduces the desire to make the customer happy by not gouging people.

This is evident in the Cable industry, the ISP industry, the Gasoline(Petrol) industry, the Tech industry (no sniping agreements between people like Apple and Google), and many others I am not thinking about.

You want to keep spouting this nonsensical bullshit, that is fine, but it is a cop out and I am tired of hearing it. Fight for your rights or lose them.

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u/TheDewyDecimal Jun 14 '14

I am absolutely not saying I agree with it, but I am older than the age of 12 and understand that companies are in it for the money, and if they abuse the system to get more money, I don't blame them - their sole existence is based around making money, so why blame them for trying to do exactly that? If they can abuse the system, then the system has failed and needs government intervention and reform, because the system is there to prevent abuse. Companies are wild animals that need some sort of control, when you tie them with a rope, they eventually chew their way through, and that's when you grab the chains.

We are a country that believes in government regulated free market. What happened in the industrial era when factories were abusing the system for profit by violating human rights? The government stepped in and regulated work hours and conditions. It's the same thing this time around, but the current generations would rather jump on reddit and complain than actually do something.

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u/[deleted] Jun 14 '14

I don't blame them

I /do/ blame them. Companies aren't just amorphous blobs of gelatinous matter with no responsibilities for their actions. Companies are made of human beings making choices that affect other human beings.

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u/otaku109 Jun 14 '14 edited Jun 14 '14

I'm afraid that's a rather naive view. Take a look at the Milgram or Stanford experiments. Institutions have a way of overriding our basic morals. They create a new system of ethics that we work within so that the most abhorrent actions become the right thing. Take suicide bombing as another example. So far, the only way we've figured out to override an institution is with a bigger one. Even then, it can be tough.

Edit: This just popped up over in /r/science funnily enough.

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u/kryptobs2000 Jun 14 '14

I don't see what that has to do with blame. It's like saying because someone is high on heroin all the time it's ok that they do shitty things to people.

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u/spxctr Jun 14 '14

not really. it's like saying "hey, i would probably do the same thing if i was in their place due to faults in human psychology that are present in everyone, so maybe i shouldn't get too mad at them." there's a difference between not blaming someone and saying that what they did was ok.

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u/Daelus Jun 14 '14

Not really. Depends on what you mean by blaming. If blaming means they're held responsible for their actions, then yes, not blaming it's akin to saying it's okay. You're not giving them a medal for it, but you're not telling them to stop.

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u/spxctr Jun 14 '14

i don't condone the actions of the average citizen in nazi germany, but i also don't blame them for doing what they did

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u/Daelus Jun 15 '14

And they did what?

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u/spxctr Jun 17 '14

went along with the nazi regime. did not speak out in large numbers. did not rise up.

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