From Net to Chains

For those who don't know, the freedom of the internet is at risk. A hotword lately has been "net neutrality," though few know what it means. In a bad summary, net neutrality is the protection of the internet from corporations that want privledge in its use. Congress currently has a bill (H.R. 5252 / S. 2686) the would eliminate the internet's protection. The Daily Show explained it best, I think.

When you get on the internet, you send "packets" of information out and receive "packets" back. This is how you get your pictures, graphics, text, all the good stuff you enjoy so much. Net neutrality ensures your packets and Verizon's packets are treated equally. Without net neutrality, the corporations that pay the most money get privledge, and your packets... well, they may get there eventually, they may not. Of course, if you paid more money, then those corporations would like you better. Then your packets have a better chance of getting where they're going. Maybe a site isn't so nice to Comcast, so maybe no packets end up getting to of coming from that site. Oops. Oh well.

Now that's really a rather gross explanation. For a better one, check the link in my Links Collumn to the right of the page; they provide a much better explanation.
Anyway, I just felt like putting something to do with the subject up here.