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The internet doesn't belong to vendors. The internet doesn't belong to governments. The internet belongs to the user, right? The thing is, this is literally f

by wdewind 11y ago

The internet doesn't belong to vendors. The internet doesn't belong to governments. The internet belongs to the user, right? The thing is, this is literally false. The infrastructure of the internet is paid for by governments and vendors. A user wouldn't be called a user if it belonged to them... The internet is a great decentralization when compared to traditional media like television, but it's not nearly as big a difference as people make it seem. With how most people use it it's not far from just having more channels on your existing cable box.

iscrewyou 11y ago
And who pays the government to run it's operations? Same for the vendors. Who pays them? I as a consumer keeps them running.
- wdewind 11y ago
  As a single consumer you don't do anything. And that's reflected in the fact that you don't write or contribute to the policy or infrastructure of the internet. The point is that the internet is not something that is fundamentally different or outside of our culture's existing political, legal and social framework. It exists inside it and replicates most of it. We shouldn't expect it to be different. It hasn't been constructed in a way that implies it will be different either, outside of extremely superficial ways (protocols etc.).
kajecounterhack 11y ago
The internet != the infrastructure of the internet. The internet is not its wires, it's the content and the people who are part of a large global community that comprises it. Vendors and governments use the internet, but they don't and shouldn't own it. > ...it's not nearly as big a difference as people make it seem. With how most people use it it's not far from just having more channels on your existing cable box. You can't write emails on your TV, or do banking, or...well this is just a silly sentiment.
- wdewind 11y ago
  > Vendors and governments use the internet, but they don't and shouldn't own it. And yet they do: we may play in this sandbox, but we don't make decisions about the infrastructure, we don't make decisions about the law around it etc. This is congruent to the American political and legal system. As you pointed out, it gets more confusing when you get international, but it's informative to look into how much control the US (and West in general) has over global internet infrastructure.

by wdewind 11y ago

iscrewyou 11y ago

And who pays the government to run it's operations? Same for the vendors. Who pays them? I as a consumer keeps them running.

wdewind 11y ago
As a single consumer you don't do anything. And that's reflected in the fact that you don't write or contribute to the policy or infrastructure of the internet. The point is that the internet is not something that is fundamentally different or outside of our culture's existing political, legal and social framework. It exists inside it and replicates most of it. We shouldn't expect it to be different. It hasn't been constructed in a way that implies it will be different either, outside of extremely superficial ways (protocols etc.).

kajecounterhack 11y ago

The internet != the infrastructure of the internet. The internet is not its wires, it's the content and the people who are part of a large global community that comprises it. Vendors and governments use the internet, but they don't and shouldn't own it. > ...it's not nearly as big a difference as people make it seem. With how most people use it it's not far from just having more channels on your existing cable box. You can't write emails on your TV, or do banking, or...well this is just a silly sentiment.

wdewind 11y ago
> Vendors and governments use the internet, but they don't and shouldn't own it. And yet they do: we may play in this sandbox, but we don't make decisions about the infrastructure, we don't make decisions about the law around it etc. This is congruent to the American political and legal system. As you pointed out, it gets more confusing when you get international, but it's informative to look into how much control the US (and West in general) has over global internet infrastructure.