Battle for the Net

July 11, 2017 5:13 PM

We’ve done it before with SOPA/PIPA and Net Neutrality day. Are we doing it again?
posted by unliteral to MetaFilter-Related at 5:13 PM (21 comments total)

We haven't planned anything, but if someone wants to put together a solid post about it, we'd be up for putting on the sidebar and the top banner.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 5:13 PM on July 11, 2017

What r_n said. There's been enough other stuff going on mod- and biz-side the last bit that I haven't really had the bandwidth to contemplate doing up something complicated for this (and we haven't used any of that interstitial code since both Matt and pb departed, so it'd take a bit of poking around and testing that we don't have time for right now), but I think it's worth throwing a little bit of MeFi attention at even in a more informal way.

So if someone wants to get a solid post up in the morning and ping us about it at the contact form, we can temporarily replace the current July Best Post banner with something pointing to that post, which should catch a fair number of passerby eyeballs.
posted by cortex (staff) at 5:17 PM on July 11, 2017

Hey mods, I'm sorry you're so overworked. I hope you get a breather soon.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 7:16 PM on July 11, 2017 [2 favorites]

I think it would be great to get something going and banner-linked on the day if someone feels like it. This time around I can not be that person I am afraid.
posted by jessamyn (retired) at 5:56 AM on July 12, 2017

Here's the widget BFtI recommends.
posted by softlord at 7:09 AM on July 12, 2017

I can put up a banner, and if someone wants to make a post I can add that later.

I'll start with a link to EFF's page for this (DearFCC.org), because the Battle for the Net links all seem to load a bunch of video and nag screens, and their "submit a comment" form is an opt-out "sign me up for your mailing list" collector. The EFF link only mails the FCC (not Congress), unfortunately -- but it loads less junk, and signing up for their mailing list is opt-in.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:16 AM on July 12, 2017 [3 favorites]

Good call on linking to the EFF page -- they seem more trustworthy. I wish the battleforthenet page had put who they are front and center rather than the nag and the email scooper.
posted by notyou at 8:56 AM on July 12, 2017

I support Chaotic Net Neutrality, cause that's just how I roll.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:21 AM on July 12, 2017 [1 favorite]

Thank you LobsterMitten.
posted by unliteral at 12:59 PM on July 12, 2017

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NOTE: This could be the future
posted by unliteral at 5:27 PM on July 12, 2017 [1 favorite]

I'll start with a link to EFF's page for this (DearFCC.org), because the Battle for the Net links all seem to load a bunch of video and nag screens, and their "submit a comment" form is an opt-out "sign me up for your mailing list" collector.

Except that this turns out to be a lie. Even if you don't opt in, they add you to their mailings.
posted by Shmuel510 at 6:29 PM on July 12, 2017

their "submit a comment" form is an opt-out "sign me up for your mailing list" collector
and
this turns out to be a lie. Even if you don't opt in, they add you to their mailings.

What's going on with all this email harvesting? I don't expect this sort of behaviour when dealing with this subject. Kinda feeling sorry I even brought this campaign up.
posted by unliteral at 7:14 PM on July 12, 2017 [2 favorites]

I'm glad you did. I would have missed it if it weren't for the banner. It's been a busy month, the handy link at the top of the page was just what I needed.
posted by aniola at 9:45 PM on July 12, 2017

My mantra this past couple years has been to not let perfect be the enemy of good.
posted by aniola at 9:47 PM on July 12, 2017 [1 favorite]

I tried to come up with a good value for the "reason" and "comment" fields on the DearFCC form. Does anyone feel like critiquing this? Is it too... something?

I’m concerned about ISPs being allowed to discriminate against certain types of data or websites because:

It could effectively prevent the creation of new Internet-based businesses and eliminate an important path to prosperity for many future Americans.

Why the internet matters to me:

The Internet is not done growing up yet. We need to keep it very open to new ideas and new ways of collecting and sharing people's products and values. Even when people aren't always free to go everywhere they want, making it easy for them to share their products, services, and ideas, on ever-emerging new platforms, keeps America free and preserves hope and opportunity everywhere.

In fact, the Internet matters to me for a lot of different reasons, but I tried to articulate one that I thought might connect with, and provide arguing points to, someone who is on the fence and used to arguing in economic terms. I'd love to hear if this is horribly misguided.
posted by amtho at 10:14 PM on July 12, 2017 [2 favorites]

My mantra this past couple years has been to not let perfect be the enemy of good.

Not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good applies to, say, being willing to make a stammering, half-coherent phone call to your senator when you hate phones, and it's the best you can do, and accepting that this is good enough. Not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good applies to settling for the achievable goal of sending a form letter, rather than spending hours working on a passionate individualized letter that you never end up sending because it's still not quite right. Not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good means doing your best and accepting that this is good enough.

It does not mean using an important social issue as a means to build up a mailing list, or tolerating such behavior. There is nothing "good" about that.
posted by Shmuel510 at 9:28 AM on July 13, 2017 [1 favorite]

Even if you don't opt in, they add you to their mailings.

Did this happen to you? Or was there an article or something about it?
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 11:28 AM on July 13, 2017

Happened to me.
posted by Shmuel510 at 12:57 PM on July 13, 2017

Hey Shmuel510, if you're comfortable doing it, feel free to send me a note. We take doing opt-in only for our email signups really seriously. I'd like to see what went wrong.
posted by roll truck roll at 1:37 PM on July 13, 2017 [3 favorites]

And of course, thanks LobsterMitten et al for doing this!
posted by roll truck roll at 1:42 PM on July 13, 2017

Ok, I've taken down the net neutrality banner. But obviously, people can still submit their comments to the FCC and call their members of Congress.

Thanks to roll truck roll and others working on this!
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 8:36 AM on July 15, 2017