Commenters on the popular forum Reddit were left shocked after the release of a study by the Sunlight Foundation proving that one group, American Commitment, was able to organize nearly 800,000 public comments to the Federal Communications Commission opposing regulation of the Internet.
Reddit was an official participant in the “Battle for the Net” which supported Internet regulation.
Reddit fans, known for their mob mentality were quick to question the report despite the facts presented in the report.
One Redditter, K7Avender, commented, “How could they by themselves have gotten more comments than the popular social medias combined? How could there be more comments by people who don’t understand the internet—who barely use the internet—than comments by people who do understand the internet and who use it the most?”
Another comment of the 1,300+ on this single thread piled on the stereotype that the people opposed Net Neutrality are essentially luddites:
“You don’t need bots when you can use a few well chosen trigger words to mobilize an army of the ill-informed. They may not know much of anything about the internet, but they sure as hell don’t want ‘Obama to regulate and tax it.’”
As the comments scrolled on, one post by KBassma made it clear why Reddit fans are so passionate about the issue, “I am only as smart and as well read as I am because of the internet. If I lose it I lose myself.”
Sad.
In reading through just a portion of the 1,300 posts, a dominant theme began to form.
The supporters of Net Neutrality on Reddit have no clue what they’re talking about.
Some claim that censorship will be increased if the government DOESN’T take control of the Internet. Huh?
Others cite the well known “fast lane” argument yet would prefer advancement of Internet technology be left for the approval of government bureaucrats.
Few Reddit users can come to the simple realization that restricting the Internet under telecom regulations from the 1930’s may actually harm their ability to watch cat videos on YouTube.
In the event that President Obama is able to ram through Net Neutrality, Americans can expect innovation and advances of broadband delivery to come to a screeching halt.
Under the same Title II regulations that the President is pushing for the Internet, Caller ID took seven years to approve.
Would the left-leaning lovers of the Internet have accepted a seven-year delay to incorporate voice chat into their World of Warcraft sessions?
While many Reddit users enjoy using their time to whine amongst themselves in between eating Cheetos in their mother’s basement and producing low-quality cat videos, they should take time to educate themselves on this debate before they have a hand in destroying the thing they love the most.
