The End of the Internet as We Know It?

[soulten]

Sorry I would not spend extra money to visit sites. And I'm guessing many people won't either. I really can't believe they would do that. I don't think they would gain much profit in it, plus there will be people who will hack it and such, and a lot of boycotting and such.

[a2ng0d]

I agree. One question I have is, who the hell decides all this? It is definitely not American, because this is a monopoly, which is illegal in the states. The only good thing about this is that it prevents a global server overload as less people will use the internet....but honestly i think there is a better way. And yes, if this happens, many people will jsut be like "fuck the internet", but then again, how many of us depend on it? Things like writing blogs on current events and even me writing in this forum will be gone. Our online communities will collapse if we boycott them. They are basically profiting by force, in my opinion, which is a clever business tactic. However it just pisses me off how there is nothing that we can really do to solve the problem, besides spreading the word and hoping someone comes up with something.

[analogZero]

I'd really like to see the plan they've got to actually make this work, because I don't think they can. First off, they wouldn't be able to do something like this legally. To tell a handful of websites that they're allowed to be distributed to people for free, but all the others aren't. why don't we start up slavery again too, that sounds like a real larf. The number of lawsuits alone would grind these gears to a halt. The internet wouldn't be able to grow and that's how the trillions of dollars the internet moves around is able to maintain itself. For example, facebook is going to be gay and stupid to everybody by about 2012, but if there's nothing better that comes along to replace it, well guess what! you're stuck with gay ol' facebook unless you want to pay extra to go to this cool new site. growth will be stunted, and that's the only thing this plan would be good for is to put a leash on the internet.
The other monkey wrench that I could easily see happening is that it'll just make itself an apparent target. It's easy to say that people will notice they're being screwed with, but the people within the system that can f*ck with it, will too. Not just the system but the industry will be near impossible to maintain. If this new found internet isn't hacked with and stolen and rerouted to the point that our new internet provider gets as pissed as the music industry was at napster, they're going to have to deal with an army of underdog internet providers who'll maintain the original system and gorge on the millions of people who are afraid of change. This'll prove a real shit fest if it's true, because there's no way that a majority will put up with it. And if they do, then it'll go the way of cable and people will just start stealing internet in record numbers.

[Corwin]

I think what's more likely is that they will figure a way to tax internet usage, something along the lines of, higher rates for larger bandwidth usage, like some providers already do, but put it on a scale instead of an overage meter. I agree it's complete bullshit that something like this would happen, at least in the here and now, but in 10-12 years it might be possible, although I don't think probable. And let's face it, saying ppl will hack their way around anything they set up is a moot point, that already happens, how many ppl on the internet don't pay for internet service, how many have limited bandwidth service, but get 2-4x the bandwidth they are allocated? They might try it, or just be using this to gauge public opinion, besides, the could still do something like this is China for instance, they could lock down the servers, and deny access from IP's outside of China, thereby gaining their monopoly and lowering costs.

[Dragon_Of_]

Originally Posted by a2ng0d

This is outrageous. I am depressed and very angry to hear such news, but apparently the internet as we know it ends in 2012. So I am doing my best to spread the word so we can maybe stand up against this. For all of you who know Athene "Best Pally in the World", this is what he and his team have to report.

Now, Since this video was released in June, I am not sure what updates may or may not have been made to the original plan. Having said that, I'd like to hear some opinions, and if anyone has information on the matter at all, please share.

YouTube - 2012: The Year The Internet Ends

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i've heard about this before, and it is very depressing, but it could just be a conspiracy theory, who knows, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's true

all i know is if that indeed does happen i'm not gonna use the internet anymore... i pay 41.95 a month already, which imo is redicuals, i'm not paying anymore for internet, especiallly with limitations on it.

[am0184]

I don't believe the internet will end, but if it does I'm gonna go demonic APE$H!T on someone till it comes back

[partyprobe]

Do not worry I am not going to die or end. I shall live on till the end of time becuase I am the all mighty INTERNET here me make weird noise at you through your computer.

[lemonek]

Zombie networks attack! Untold numbers of enslaved PCs are waiting to do the bidding of shadowy hackers. Matt Sergeant of MessageLabs puts the size of the Storm botnet at between five and 10 million machines (though others peg the size of the network at much less.) Today, bots fill our inboxes with spam. But in the past, they’ve been used to take out companies and countries and to blackmail sites. In the end, it’s an arms race in which only one side has to play by the rules.

[a2ng0d]

@ AnalogZero: Technically, you are correct...if this took place in the United States. But these ISPs, the Internet, is not American. It is a world wide thing. Monopoly is against the law in America, but US Jurisdiction does not cover this, therefore nothing is illegal here.

Also, for those of you who didn't watch closely, it's not like SOME sites are going to be FREE. You buy a PACKAGE of mainstream websites for a set price each month, just like you'd buy PACKAGE of channels on cable. Each website= a channel, so to speak. therefore, to visit "extra channels", you'd need to pay more, and tbh, no one is gonna do that. I didn't say this was the end of the Internet...just the end of it as we know it, because of the fact that the internet is still there...just the way ISPs connect to the net will completely change. Either way, I do think that any plans to prevent this are futile, unless it goes political. Perhaps we can convince a politician to stop this change in THIS country, which goes to arcose's statement. Did Obama really say he is going to help prevent this? I'm skeptical, because (NOT TO TURN THIS THREAD INTO A POLITICAL DEBATE; I WILL BE SO PISSED) I honestly do not believe a lot of the things Obama has said in the past.

[atomsk]

one of my favorite chapters in one of my funnest books, 55 ways to have fun with google, is named what would you do without google
that sums it up