Internet Neutrality

What is it?

Why is John McCain opposed to internet neutrality?

Could this turn out to be as divisive an issue as health care and cap and trade?

the majority (or all) of the rethugs don't/won't, therefore everything is 'divisive.'

internet and sell us its corpse.

This issue will draw huge energy from every small opinion site, right & left. The pushback will be in direct proportion to the amount of publicity it gets.

support "internet neutrality" measures?

I suspect telecoms are against net neutrality so they can control free speech.

our IPs deciding which websites load fast, and which have to WAIT for their packets to be delivered, NET NEUTRALITY is essential.

We have to protect the new "pubic square".

Do you remember when there was a lawsuit that didn't happen...because...a customer of Comcast was sending out emails to his members of a group that disagreed with bush and his policies.

Comcast decided that they did not like the context of these emails and held them all up. They guy was waiting for replies. He didn't get any. He then checked with the supposed recipents and none of them got the emails. That is when Comcast told him they had a right to censure the type of information he was sending out....and that's when a lot of this came to light.

So if AT&T, Comcast, and all the big IP and companies think they have a right to censure your emails they can. Or they can hold them up indefinitely til they get ready to send them out. And they can then either charge or again hold up your search and access to any website they want while they speed their perferred customers down the net.

If the ISPs are allowed to do this the internet will be useless.

Why isn't this issue receiving more press? If McCain is introducing legislation to end internet neutrality, where is the public outcry?

Curtrently tghe Internet is a neutral flow. The service providers control your access to it, but once you're on the internet is supposed to behave neutrally.

They want to c hange that, and be able to control m ofre of how itn operates.

For example, they could create tiers of service to websites. If you pay more, your website will load faster onto people's computers. if you pay less it will run slower.

Is that everyone who opposes net neutrality should be tombstoned and directed to Freepturd land. A position opposing net neutrality is as fundamentally at odds with DU value as opposition to gay rights.

Net neutrality means that all TYPES of information are treated the same over an internet connection. Information is transferred over the net in packets, in most cases the packet can identify the nature of the information transfer (ie they can tell if its video, audio, pictures, audio, live voice, email... etc.).

Telecoms want to do away with net neutrality, so they can charge for specific services over an internet connection, effectively making you pay for your internet connection twice. Once for the connection, and then again for a specific service like VIOP (voice-over-IP, like sykpe or google talk).

Basically repubs (they are against net neutrality) want to allow telecoms to regulate the type of information over the connections they provide, blocking some types of information transfers unless you pay for that specific type of data transfer.

on the part of the ISPs. And they would like to be able to control and limit political dialogue they are opposed to.

It seems to me the internet's free flow has been what made it such a success. The ISPs would kill the golden egg laying goose.