Cock and Balls For Those Who Can Afford It

by Art Fag City on June 27, 2006 Events

I know I am not the only one who likes to blog and surf the web, and since these activities are being threatened, it very much surprises me that I have not read more on the subject of net neutrality by art bloggers (Tom Moody and NEWSgrist being the notable exceptions). For those of you who haven’t been following the debate, a site called Save the Internet sums it up aptly on their home page, saying, “Congress is pushing a law that would abandon the Internet’s First Amendment — a principle called Network Neutrality that prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work best for you — based on what site pays them the most

Tom Moody has provided a link and quote on his site to a more in depth article on the subject by Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing, which I encourage you to check out, as it is a very informative, and fascinating read. I’m not going to go into the details of the article, as it is beyond the scope of this blog, but also, because I suspect that I am like most users and mostly concern myself with how these proposed laws will effect the overall functionality of the Internet. The answer to this is not one I like. Since a good deal of web content comes from individual users who won’t be able to afford the costs of that cable and telephone companies are seeking to charge, a lot of the reasons the Internet functions well will be gone. 95 percent of all blogs will disappear with a ruling like this because most of us won’t be able to afford the rates that big companies will pay for faster loading speeds. This is of particular concern for semi-professional and professional bloggers such as myself, since I anticipate that over 50% of my income this year will come from work that is either a direct or indirect result of the writing I do at Art Fag City. Now, I encourage you first to view this as an indication of how much I don’t make, as I can currently afford to pay for a can of tuna. As a second and more important consideration than what I ate for dinner last night, I urge you to consider how this law will effect not only what you read on the Internet but the countless small businesses that thrive in this environment. Numerous studies show site functionality to be a key factor in determining whether or not we use a site, so there is no doubt that this will limit the “freedom” of choice of the user. Ask yourself this question artists: Who’s going to find your website now if loads so slow no one will wait for it to show up? Bloggers: who’s going to discover your writing if you can’t afford to post it any more? And of course, the burning question that nobody seems to addressing: Amateur pornographers, who’s going to see your cock and balls now that they take half an hour to load?

Want to write a letter to congress and save the Internet now? Here’s what you do.

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