Dispatches from Nowhere 02.23.06

Communication irritates me.

More to the point, if you are going to call me an asshole, call me one for the right reasons.

I want clarity in my discussions. I worry that I have not made my self clear enough, and not clearly articulating my point of view, the questions was trying to ask get lost. I don't like not knowing. I question everything I write, these dispatches, fiction, poetry, to the term papers I turn in. Everything goes through the same process.

The only way I can continue to grow is to constantly question and reevaluate my positions. I admit freely when I am wrong. I accept responsibility for the things I have said. It is the adult thing to do.

I read a comment by Michelle Malkin recently where she defended her "pull no punches" position of not adding disclaimers to everything she writes. I don't know how I feel about that. I understand her position; I just don’t know that I agree with it. I want clarity over controversy. I want any controversial statement that I make to be understood on its own merits, not because someone has misinterpreted my position and the resulting backlash has become a new problem.

I am not afraid of controversy. I would just rather that it not overwhelm rational discussion.

Enough. My contrition is complete.

I heard on the news this morning that there is a push by some Internet companies to provide "Lexus lanes" to sites that pay for the service. If you are unfamiliar with the idea, I’ll summarize. For those sites that paid the fee, their content would be served first; it would always load, and load quickly. The rest of poor schlebs would be left in the cold.

One of the great things about the Internet is that it levels the playing field. Anyone, from a large multi-national corporation to a one dude sitting around in his pajamas, will have their content served equally and prejudice. It is truly "free" (as in freedom, not free beer). All content is served neutrally, as it should be. If these companies have their way, this will be a thing of the past.

I know what the argument is. They are not removing access to content, just changing how it is served and how people access it. But that is sort of the point. Here is a scenario, the next great innovator, the next Google, comes along and because of the pay for content access policy of the internet providers, they fail because no one ever finds them. They are never first on any search engine, no matter how many hits they get. The system, as it is currently running, is almost purely based on merit. Those sites that provide the correct content and have the most hits rise to the top. There are ways to game the system, but in the long run, they almost always fail.

There is some talk of the government getting involved to regulate the providers, to keep them from adopting this model. I don't know that I like that idea either. (I know. I'm never satisfied.) More regulation invariably leads to confusion and poor service. If the quotes I heard this morning were right, it would take only five of the major providers to adopt the “Lexus Lane” concept to destroy the “free” Internet. Is there anywhere else that we are all equal left?

What can be done? What I would like to see is a breaking of the broadband monopolies. Much like they have in Europe where broadband is closer to ubiquitous and less expensive. I would like to see competition and a free market allowed to decide what we, as consumers would like.

I’ve been called a dreamer before. This would not be the first time.

A final thought.

When you are on your cell phone, remember that unless you are in your car or a private room, people can hear you. It is not polite to call your boyfriend a “lying fucker” where other people can hear you. Some things should remain private.