Net Neutrality
Al and I agreed that this site was going to be pretty apolitical. It’s not that we don’t have political opinions; we certainly do. But the purpose of this site is to tell the best WWII-era superhero story that we can, not to serve as a platform for a political agenda. So you won’t normally see me take up a torch for a particular cause in this space. But for the subject of net neutrality, I’ll make an exception.
You’ve almost certainly heard the term “net neutrality,” but you may not know what it means. So first, let’s look at a definition. This one is from PC Magazine:
Network (net) neutrality: A level playing field for Internet transport. It refers to the absence of restrictions or priorities placed on the type of content carried over the Internet by the carriers and ISPs that run the major backbones. It states that all traffic be treated equally; that packets are delivered on a first-come, first-served basis regardless from where they originated or to where they are destined.
That may sound a little technical, but what it comes down to is this: no one should be able to limit your access to any content on the Internet. This is pretty much how things work now, but the telecom companies, who control our access to the Internet, would like that to change. If they had their way, they’d be able to charge a fee for unrestricted access. Or they could block or limit access to any content that they don’t want people to see.
Imagine not being allowed to see news stories that your Internet provider didn’t want you to see. Or imagine a world where only those who were willing and able to pay high carrier fees could afford to put their content on the Internet. The very thing that makes the Internet great is that anyone can use it to find information, or to make their voice heard. I wrote a blog post a while back about how easy and inexpensive it was to start this site. But without net neutrality, that may not be the case.
Net neutrality is not a left-wing or right-wing cause. Anyone who uses the Internet has a stake in this debate. If you use the Internet (and the fact that you’re reading this implies that you do), and if you’d like to go on using it without interference from others, then please visit the link below. You can find more information and suggestions for how you can take action and make your own voice heard on this issue.
http://www.savetheinternet.com/
Okay, I’m going to climb down from my soapbox now. You probably won’t see me up here again.
Shawn