OT: "network neutrality" and the internet

[Kenneth Brody]

There are bills up for vote in the U.S. Congress concerning what is known
as "network neutrality" on the internet.  Basically, "network neutrality"
means that all network traffic is treated equally.  You can't, for example,
give traffic from google.com higher precedence than yahoo.com simply
because Google pays you more.  The bills up for vote would allow the
companies running the backbones of the net to charge for "premium"
services, effectively saying "we'll make sure your packets get through
when usage is high, even if it means throwing out other 'non-premium'
traffic".

Some further info, and links to more details, can be found at:

    http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/neutrality.asp

Note, however, that most "internet petitions", like the one in the sample
e-mail on snopes, are toothless.  Of course, that doesn't mean you can't
use other methods to let your congressmen know your stand on the issue,
whichever side that may be.

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| Kenneth J. Brody        | www.hvcomputer.com |                             |
| kenbrody/at\spamcop.net | www.fptech.com     | #include <std_disclaimer.h> |
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