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I guess it really did depend on the mood and demeanor of whatever technician got sent out on a given day. Back in those same years, it was a painful, nonstop p

I guess it really did depend on the mood and demeanor of whatever technician got sent out on a given day. Back in those same years, it was a painful, nonstop pendulum swing every month-or-two, between a) cripplingly unusable internet, and b) working Internet but with absolutely every channel unlocked for free. Everytime something happened that required a technician to come out while it was in state "b", it always triggered a stern talking to to teenage-me from a tech and them putting the filter back on and ruining the Internet again until finally the next time another tech presumably couldn't fix it without again removing the filter. I frequently had successive visits that left me stranded in state "a". Comcast, man.

euroderf 3y ago
The invisible hand of the free market has clearly worked to perfection.
- Cyphase 3y ago
  Whatever else you think on these topics, government-enforced utility monopolies aren't the free market.
  - OhMeadhbh 3y ago
    The phrase "free market" comes from Adam Smith who used it to describe "markets free from rent-seeking behaviour." So careful there, free markets may not be what you think either.
  - throw0101c 3y ago
    > Whatever else you think on these topics, government-enforced utility monopolies aren't the free market. They tried non-monopoly power and wireline phone markets in their early history and they didn't work. A lot of times a company would go bankrupt, but their wires would be on the poles and would degrade to the point of falling apart and dangling, which would then make contact with a live wire and folks would get electrocuted when they touched it.
    - agloe_dreams 3y ago
      In fairness, this would be in the times before common usage. Also, this totally happens in the current state too as major companies buy the little guys up and then do little to actually care for the lines.

euroderf 3y ago

The invisible hand of the free market has clearly worked to perfection.

Cyphase 3y ago
Whatever else you think on these topics, government-enforced utility monopolies aren't the free market.
- OhMeadhbh 3y ago
  The phrase "free market" comes from Adam Smith who used it to describe "markets free from rent-seeking behaviour." So careful there, free markets may not be what you think either.
- throw0101c 3y ago
  > Whatever else you think on these topics, government-enforced utility monopolies aren't the free market. They tried non-monopoly power and wireline phone markets in their early history and they didn't work. A lot of times a company would go bankrupt, but their wires would be on the poles and would degrade to the point of falling apart and dangling, which would then make contact with a live wire and folks would get electrocuted when they touched it.
  - agloe_dreams 3y ago
    In fairness, this would be in the times before common usage. Also, this totally happens in the current state too as major companies buy the little guys up and then do little to actually care for the lines.