NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Re: Neutrality in Perspective
On 11/13/07, Jason Frisvold <xenophage0@gmail.com> wrote: > But what constitutes acceptable blocking? For instance, BCP38 > filtering is used at the edge of the ISP network. That seems an > acceptable case since it's traffic that, in theory, should never be > seen on the Internet at large. The above is an excellent example, and as bcp38 is published, one could make the argument that all users of the internet should expect that their ISP and its peers probably employ such filtering in both directions. > Further in, port 25 is blocked, as > well as some well-known virii exploit ports such as Netbios. The above is an example of what Lauren was talking about -- making such blocks available for "opt out" might be one acceptable way to handle this. WRT Netbios, I might want to contribute to a honeypot project -- but my ISP blocks it. As time goes on, network connections have unfortunately become less and less neutral due to protective measures like permanently blocking port 25 and incoming port 80. These encroachments have not concerned most of the user base, who either find them acceptable or do not care. Blocking ports 80 or 25 is a common complaint on DSLReports -- clearly some percentage of the end-users DO care about this. The encroachments on NN have continued beyond the security motive (e.g. Comcast and Sandvine, Verizon and DNS, and etc.). Left unchecked, such intrusions will continue (e.g. AT&T announcement re copyright infringement), resulting in interference with the expected operation of the user's Internet service. This is becoming the "DRM" of the Internet: somebody else, often surreptitiously, is interfering with the way that the network should operate. When does a CD stop being a CD? When it is infected with DRM. When does Internet Access stop being Internet Access? --Robb Topolski