Entitlement: online edition... (just a rant ;-)
This post is going to deviate a bit from my normal posts, but it's something I wanted to document and review... to see if I don't feel crazy about my views later.
Somehow I have managed to end up on the surprising side of a conversation... Net Neutrality and Personal Privacy. I'll gladly be educated on how my views are wrong.. but nobody seems to have valid arguments of why getting rid of Net Neutrality is so bad - shouting hyperbolic things such as:
"They're destroying the Internet..."
"they're going to make it impossible for the little guy..."
Prove it... show some research... I'll be happy to concede that I am/was wrong and have one more thing to have unkempt angst over.
Net Neutrality - nobody is entitled to Internet. Similarly you're not entitled to a cell phone, home phone.. water in your home. If you absolutely *need* Internet, there are places to get it (Libraries, Coffee Shops, Bars, Home Depot, hell.. even a car dealer). So, it is apparent that most folks seem to *need* Internet to function. Paying bills, looking up Snow Emergencies, etc... I'll even recognize that some folks need Facebook and Nextdoor to function as humans. What they do not *need* is high-bandwidth, or what I would call "premium" access. And that is what Net Neutrality seemingly wants to give everyone equally. I agree with the greedy, shitheel corporate Internet Provider execs... if you *have* to watch Netflix, you can watch it at 640x480... for a reasonable cost. And if you *have* to watch Netflix at 1080p - well.. that's going to cost you. There were ways to deal with receiving these services prior to high-speed Internet... but all of these methods limited your selection and made you wait, or invest more time to get something resolved. So... now that things are more convenient, and there's more selection, and you're saving time - you should have to pay for that. If they remove Net Neutrality.. everyone will still be able to access their Utility bill payment website... they just won't be able to stream movies at-will in HD.
Personal Privacy - ugh... Privacy in this day-and-age is a complicated thing. I believe you should feel safe using your phone... sending mail... sending texts. Yet, we have come to realize those are not safe. That sucks. However, people who are somehow surprised, even angry, that sites like Facebook violate your privacy... I have to wonder, how stupid are you? If you are smart enough to value your privacy and understand how it's been violated, how can you not see that Facebook is probably the worst entity to belong to.
From a group-email thread at work:
"some of the parents in the group remarked about how scared they are of Facebook right now and how they're wanting to close their accounts."
Just close your account then. Don't simply "want" to close your Facebook Account... just simply do it. Make everyone else do it too. In this particular case, they (apparently) could not close their account because that is where they got updates for some school function. Fine.. leave Facebook enabled but don't use the stupid fucking thing. Don't share all of your personal information that you seem to be OK sharing to your friends but not the world... (on a public forum?) Again, it goes back to: This is so convenient compared to other methods. I *can't* be without it.
If you don't want to be part of someone's analytics.. then don't. Just accept the reality of what that means. You can't have it both ways - those days have passed.
Somehow I have managed to end up on the surprising side of a conversation... Net Neutrality and Personal Privacy. I'll gladly be educated on how my views are wrong.. but nobody seems to have valid arguments of why getting rid of Net Neutrality is so bad - shouting hyperbolic things such as:
"They're destroying the Internet..."
"they're going to make it impossible for the little guy..."
Prove it... show some research... I'll be happy to concede that I am/was wrong and have one more thing to have unkempt angst over.
Net Neutrality - nobody is entitled to Internet. Similarly you're not entitled to a cell phone, home phone.. water in your home. If you absolutely *need* Internet, there are places to get it (Libraries, Coffee Shops, Bars, Home Depot, hell.. even a car dealer). So, it is apparent that most folks seem to *need* Internet to function. Paying bills, looking up Snow Emergencies, etc... I'll even recognize that some folks need Facebook and Nextdoor to function as humans. What they do not *need* is high-bandwidth, or what I would call "premium" access. And that is what Net Neutrality seemingly wants to give everyone equally. I agree with the greedy, shitheel corporate Internet Provider execs... if you *have* to watch Netflix, you can watch it at 640x480... for a reasonable cost. And if you *have* to watch Netflix at 1080p - well.. that's going to cost you. There were ways to deal with receiving these services prior to high-speed Internet... but all of these methods limited your selection and made you wait, or invest more time to get something resolved. So... now that things are more convenient, and there's more selection, and you're saving time - you should have to pay for that. If they remove Net Neutrality.. everyone will still be able to access their Utility bill payment website... they just won't be able to stream movies at-will in HD.
Personal Privacy - ugh... Privacy in this day-and-age is a complicated thing. I believe you should feel safe using your phone... sending mail... sending texts. Yet, we have come to realize those are not safe. That sucks. However, people who are somehow surprised, even angry, that sites like Facebook violate your privacy... I have to wonder, how stupid are you? If you are smart enough to value your privacy and understand how it's been violated, how can you not see that Facebook is probably the worst entity to belong to.
From a group-email thread at work:
"some of the parents in the group remarked about how scared they are of Facebook right now and how they're wanting to close their accounts."
Just close your account then. Don't simply "want" to close your Facebook Account... just simply do it. Make everyone else do it too. In this particular case, they (apparently) could not close their account because that is where they got updates for some school function. Fine.. leave Facebook enabled but don't use the stupid fucking thing. Don't share all of your personal information that you seem to be OK sharing to your friends but not the world... (on a public forum?) Again, it goes back to: This is so convenient compared to other methods. I *can't* be without it.
If you don't want to be part of someone's analytics.. then don't. Just accept the reality of what that means. You can't have it both ways - those days have passed.
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