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Scholar
Original Poster
#1 Old 26th Nov 2017 at 3:29 PM
Default MTS and net neutrality
Hi,
I just wanted to ask is what's currently happening in USA regarding Net neutrality, is that going to affect this site as well. I recently read in the Nraas site about the wiki being possibly affected. I don't want anything bad to happen to this site since it's my favourite site. I'm not really from USA but from what I've heard so far, internet service providers might start overcharging sites which would make things difficult. If anyone knows about this please let me know.
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Mad Poster
#2 Old 30th Nov 2017 at 12:17 PM
Quote: Originally posted by skydome
Hi,
I just wanted to ask is what's currently happening in USA regarding Net neutrality, is that going to affect this site as well. I recently read in the Nraas site about the wiki being possibly affected. I don't want anything bad to happen to this site since it's my favourite site. I'm not really from USA but from what I've heard so far, internet service providers might start overcharging sites which would make things difficult. If anyone knows about this please let me know.


If affected, fees may need to be paid for access. Certain internet service providers can cherry pick which sites get traffic and which get squeezed out.

That's the bare bones explanation in Simple English.

Personal Quote: "I like my men like my sodas: tall boys." (Zevia has both 12 and 16 oz options)

(P.S. I'm about 5' (150cm) in height and easily scared)
dodgy builder
#3 Old 30th Nov 2017 at 12:27 PM
I've always got the impression mts belongs in The Netherlands, which is in the EU. I don't know if that's going to affect anything.
Instructor
#4 Old 30th Nov 2017 at 3:35 PM
To whoever is disagreeing with everyone:
Make a relevant reply or go away please.
dodgy builder
#5 Old 30th Nov 2017 at 4:10 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Gargoyle Cat
If that is the case, it wouldn't be about MTS itself. Rather it would be about people in the US getting access to MTS as PANDAQUEEN pointed out.

I'm more inclined to think that ISPs would go after YouTube channels and the like first if such a thing were to come to fruition.


So, what you're saying is that it will only hit people living in the US? Because that's not how it is with many other US laws I know. When that's been said though, if it will affect me I would find another provider. When you're talking about ISP's, is that the providers of internet in the US only? In EU I would think the administration in Brussel would like to have a say, and they are slightly more intelligent than the one in the US :p

Quote: Originally posted by pikeman101
To whoever is disagreeing with everyone:
Make a relevant reply or go away please.


Don't mention it. It's just the disagree troll



Theodor Kittelsen
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Mad Poster
#6 Old 30th Nov 2017 at 5:07 PM
There would be second-order effects to worry about too though... if suddenly US-based ISPs aren't encouraging traffic to MTS, lots of US users will disappear or be present much less (and US users are the vast majority of traffic to this site, if I remember what HP said a while back correctly) which means much less advertising revenue... and all that entails for the possibility of maintaining a free site.

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Top Secret Researcher
#7 Old 1st Dec 2017 at 9:42 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Zarathustra
There would be second-order effects to worry about too though... if suddenly US-based ISPs aren't encouraging traffic to MTS, lots of US users will disappear or be present much less (and US users are the vast majority of traffic to this site, if I remember what HP said a while back correctly) which means much less advertising revenue... and all that entails for the possibility of maintaining a free site.


However it might mean that people in other countries won't be able to access US sites and so will be more likely to frequent non-US sites like MTS.

I wouldn't put a lot of effort into getting it transported.
dodgy builder
#8 Old 1st Dec 2017 at 8:34 PM
Apparently many big us companies register companies in Ireland, because they have more beneficial laws. That's where Europeans then has to start lawsuits relevant to EU citizens.

It can't be that good in a free marked either, because costumers can choose a different provider. The market might not be that free though. Companies might cooperate and control the market.
Mad Poster
#9 Old 1st Dec 2017 at 9:12 PM
The destruction of Net neutrality is going to affect many industries, especially since the Internet is now considered a key to business. Some of my specialty goods are from small e-shops and Internet boutiques, many of which rely on social media to advertise their wares.

In the case of Estonia, where Skype originated, Internet access had been declared a de facto human right.

If the US destroys Net neutrality, that could have a widespread effect on life worldwide as we can tell.

Personal Quote: "I like my men like my sodas: tall boys." (Zevia has both 12 and 16 oz options)

(P.S. I'm about 5' (150cm) in height and easily scared)
Mad Poster
#10 Old 2nd Dec 2017 at 12:18 AM
Can any of the mods speak to this? Does MTS have any plans laid in the even that the US decides it's had enough of this democratic version of the internet, and decides to opt for one that'd fit in better in some cyberpunk dystopia?

Welcome to the Dark Side...
We lied about having cookies.
Top Secret Researcher
#11 Old 2nd Dec 2017 at 8:57 AM
Some impacts might take a little time to develop, so a site admin might not yet know how to manage them. For example, suppose a carrier decides to maintain more-or-less the current service levels on existing routes & equipment, but also add some new "fast lane" capacity that's only available to sites paying more for it and/or that belong to the same parent company as the carrier. On the first day, it doesn't appear that anyone's lost anything much. But sites that can't afford or aren't offered the new levels of service will, of course, fall further and further behind the times. Perhaps that's what would happen to MTS -- no change in its own ISP arrangement, but once its packets hit the US shore, they're classified as "random Euro data not using the UFinityVerse Platinum FastPass Lane", and routed to US users in a way they experience as slow and clunky (compared to the sites that serve major-brand content.)
Quote: Originally posted by Volvenom
It can't be that good in a free market either, because costumers can choose a different provider. The market might not be that free though. Companies might cooperate and control the market.
I agree, the market among major carriers isn't all that free. Suppose there's a company that makes TV shows and also owns a lot of Internet capacity -- well, there aren't many of those, but there are some. Now suppose they want to stream their own videos at up-to-date quality (4k or 3D or whatever), while offering lackadaisical-or-worse service to video from other sources. The market isn't so free that the studios and YouTubers at a disadvantage can just go and find another nationwide fiber network to route their content.

Quote: Originally posted by Gargoyle Cat
... More and more of the US economy depends on sales online. If a ISP takes exception to a company or companies that sell whatever, there is going to be a problem there as well.
I hadn't considered this, and I believe Ms. Cat is right. Presently, an ISP need not serve a customer that violates its TOS. But supposing some ISP does serve that customer, then once the customer's IP packets are into the Internet, they're treated like anyone else's packets. What would be new (without net neutrality) is this: those packets could be throttled or dropped by any of the carriers in the US that touch them, anywhere along the whole route from server to client, for financial or other reasons. As to "other reasons", it isn't hard for me to picture duelling boycott campaigns, urging carriers to allow or block this or that site for this or that reason. Even if that's a peculiarly American way of doing business, the outcome would affect anyone on Earth who wants to make a connection to the affected sites.
Scholar
Original Poster
#12 Old 2nd Dec 2017 at 10:40 PM
Oh wow. I didn't realize people started replying here haha. I thought since noone was replying to it, I asked a very silly/stupid question. Thank you everyone for replies. It's been very enlightening.
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