Internet Freedom

[TBerg]

So, the one thing that I do on a daily basis is use the Internet to access all kinds of knowledge and guidance. I also have a background interest in politics. I get bored very easily as I see many phenomena as different iterations of the same thing, but perhaps what would revitalize my interests is action in support of Internet freedom, which seems to be the nexus of my habits and interests. I have the rudements of technological literacy. I am also able to use the language well in text media. But my intelligence is borderline gifted on only my best days, so I would have to work hard to keep up with the rest of the people who seem to digest material and assimilate it in short order. I am psychologically aware and philosophically proficient.

Anyway, I just wanted to provide a short resume before bringing up the issue. I think it is quite obvious given the frailties of human nature and the expansiveness of surveillance that even benign invasions of privacy mean that we lose more and more freedom, and I think that none of us is so naive as to disbelieve absolutely in the potential of Big Brother abusive and progressive encroachment in our digital and real lives (as though there is a difference between them). I think we all know that this is probably getting worse and worse. We really need to join together more people and figure out how to more effectively strike more blows to the government's will to take away more and more private places and more and more Internet abilities.

Upon reading this preface, what do you think would be a good way for me to get involved in pushing for Internet freedom and privacy? And also, what would be a good way for the rest of you to get involved in such an endeavor? How could I use my strengths? How could you use your strengths?

I really think this would be a good way for us to revitalize the pursuit of freedom in the world and a good way for us to build a system to utilize each person's strengths.

How are we gonna start?

 

[Grayman]

Static IP addresses should be free with the newer IP addressing system but it isn't because the internet providers discovered that there is money to be made in 'business' accounts. Of course there is always a loophole if you really want to host a website or at home server over the internet but should I really have to go through any loopholes?

What can I do when cable companies have lobbyists in the Fed to push for whatever their corporate masters want them to push for at the expense of real representative democracy?

 

[TBerg]

Where would a static IP address be applied? How would this give us meaningful freedom?

 

[TBerg]

Some inspiration:


http://youtu.be/Fgh2dFngFsg

http://youtu.be/FAECyLvSCHg

http://youtu.be/vXr-2hwTk58

 

[Grayman]

Where would a static IP address be applied? How would this give us meaningful freedom?

It allows you to host your own at home servers without using a third party like facebook or a web host service where what you host is more limited by their policies and regulations. It is a limitation on your freedom to feed more money to the cable companies by forcing you to buy a business account in order to host a website/ftp server at home.

Everyone should be given an IP address like a phone number so that they can host any information they want and have the option of an anonymous address also if all they want to do is be a user.

More options for the common user is more freedom. Being able to host information on the web without the use of a third party is also more freedom.

 

[TBerg]

Oh, so it would make you a publicly available server. I didn't know you really couldn't do that. What disallows it?

 

[Grayman]

What disallows it?

The cable company gives you a dynamic IP address so that your address isn't consistent and this prevents you from knowing what address to connect to at any given time to access your home server. They purposely do this so that you have to pay them more to setup a server even if that server is only going to be used by you to access your own information from a remote location.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

@TBerg, I would suggest joining a local movement for a meshnet, or writing to your local newspapers about your city starting its own internet service. Since Net Neutrality has gotten so much attention lately your community and politicians might be willing to listen.

It allows you to host your own at home servers without using a third party like facebook or a web host service where what you host is more limited by their policies and regulations. It is a limitation on your freedom to feed more money to the cable companies by forcing you to buy a business account in order to host a website/ftp server at home.

Everyone should be given an IP address like a phone number so that they can host any information they want and have the option of an anonymous address also if all they want to do is be a user.

More options for the common user is more freedom. Being able to host information on the web without the use of a third party is also more freedom.

I think that's a good idea but an IP address is just logical, you still require the physical bandwidth running in and out of your home, or are you saying this should be subsidized by taxes and provided for every citizen?

The cable company gives you a dynamic IP address so that your address isn't consistent and this prevents you from knowing what address to connect to at any given time to access your home server. They purposely do this so that you have to pay them more to setup a server even if that server is only going to be used by you to access your own information from a remote location.

Dynamic addressing is more secure(for the user), and more convenient.

 

[Grayman]

I think that's a good idea but an IP address is just logical, you still require the physical bandwidth running in and out of your home, or are you saying this should be subsidized by taxes and provided for every citizen?

No. There is enough bandwidth to run a small server. People can pay for more speed as usual.

Dynamic addressing is more secure(for the user), and more convenient.

I said that it can still be used for user applications.

 

[TBerg]

Would a meshnet be too small and be vulnerable to the government outlawing and regulating it out of existence?

 

[Ex-User (11125)]

@TBerg, I would suggest joining a local movement for a meshnet, or writing to your local newspapers about your city starting its own internet service. Since Net Neutrality has gotten so much attention lately your community and politicians might be willing to listen.

would going to the very people violating your rights really change anything tho?

President Obama made a campaign promise to protect net neutrality. But his pick to chair the FCC, Tom Wheeler, is pushing a proposal that would destroy net neutrality while claiming to protect it. Wheeler is a former top lobbyist for the cable and telecom industry, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he might work in the interests of his former employers.

 

[TBerg]

Ideally, I would like to expand the sphere of freedom for others, too.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Would a meshnet be too small and be vulnerable to the government outlawing and regulating it out of existence?

Not at the moment no, and being P2P there's also not much government can practically do.

Setting up industrial equipment though would require permits which is where real progress would come from.

No. There is enough bandwidth to run a small server. People can pay for more speed as usual.

Most ISPs allow you to use your home connection as a small server, what they typically don't want is reselling and less often a personal business which makes sense because you'd use more upstream bandwidth.

If this isn't to be taxed then who is going to pay for it? Tier 1 and Tier 2 ISP companies own the cable lines.

EDIT: wait, did you mean we should get a free domain name(e.g. mysite.me)? In that case I agree, there are some free domains out there but none have the legitimacy of dot com/net etc. You said IP address so that threw me off.

would going to the very people violating your rights really change anything tho?

We like to assume all of politics is corrupt but it's really not, there are some people out there who are sincerely interested in the community especially in local government. So yes I say it would make a difference to promote city internet as an issue in your area.

My comments about Wheeler and the FCC are here and here. The situation seems optimistic to me.

 

[Sockrates]

Learn how to code.

 

[Grayman]

Most ISPs allow you to use your home connection as a small server, what they typically don't want is reselling and less often a personal business which makes sense because you'd use more upstream bandwidth.

Not mine.

I already pay for a certain amount of bandwidth so what's it to them what I use it for? There is no cost to them for the IP and the bandwidth is already paid for although small.

 

[Grayman]

Learn how to code.

main()
{
User Socrates;

try{
//Function(User, Friends as byte, Enemies as byte)
MakeIntp(Sockrates, 0, 255)
}catch(exception e){ MessageBox.Show("Error, Hacking user is against government internet freedom act which is cracking down on hackers!");}

}

 

[TBerg]

Learn how to code.

I am a relative novice to technological architecture. Could you suggest a course of study as an initial plan of attack into the subject?

Also, I should add that I suck at math.

 

[TBerg]

main()
{
User Socrates;

try{
//Function(User, Friends as byte, Enemies as byte)
MakeIntp(Sockrates, 0, 255)
}catch(exception e){ MessageBox.Show("Error, Hacking user is against government internet freedom act which is cracking down on hackers!");}

}

There is syntax in there that I am not quite appreciating.

 

[Anktark]

I am a relative novice to technological architecture. Could you suggest a course of study as an initial plan of attack into the subject?

There are plenty of free materials, information and courses available. The better question would be "Which programing language should I learn?". Programming languages are tools and ideally you want the most appropriate for the task at hand (you could create WEB pages with assembler, but it would be impractical). Maybe there is there some project you would like to realize? That would narrow down the available choices.
I suggest learning the difference between coding and programming and learning to program instead of just coding. Below the frameworks, syntax and structure of different programming languages the idea is the same.

Recommendations:
1. C++ it might be harder to start with it, but once you understand it, you understand programming. I think it provides the most control for the programmer, but is not as lenient as it's alternatives (you want to be careful with this genie). You can use it for everything though.
2. Python- easier and faster to code with than C++, but the programs run a little slower and is not as popular for hosting solutions. Basically, trades program speed for developer time at good rates. Python is a bit like divine magic- you ask, it gives and handles all the little details for you.
3. PHP or Java- widely used higher level languages. "Higher level" in this context means "more abstraction".

Also, I should add that I suck at math.

That's not really an obstacle as you don't do math until you need some specific function ( and you can probably find an implementation of it online). Also, math in isolation is a somewhat bland and dry subject compared to IT/programming IMO. However, as I see it, there is no math, IT, physics, chemistry or whatnot. There is just understanding which we divided into make-believe categories/perspectives. That said, math can also be elegant and pretty, it's just rarely portrayed that way.

 

[TBerg]

Okay, so what elements of comprehending computer code will give me insights into the advancement of internet freedom and privacy?

 

[Sockrates]

Okay, so what elements of comprehending computer code will give me insights into the advancement of internet freedom and privacy?

The three programming languages listed by Anktark are good, I first learned Visual Basic. It's useful so long as you have a windows computer. C++ may be the most complicated, but certainly the most beneficial.

Understanding that you can protect yourself by using code will allow you to be more free on the internet. At least a sense of freedom.

 

[Sockrates]

main()
{
User Socrates;

try{
//Function(User, Friends as byte, Enemies as byte)
MakeIntp(Sockrates, 0, 255)
}catch(exception e){ MessageBox.Show("Error, Hacking user is against government internet freedom act which is cracking down on hackers!");}

}

Oh whoops... advocating against what they're trying to take away. Sounds typical of me, my apologies.

Friends or Enemies?

 

[Grayman]

Okay, so what elements of comprehending computer code will give me insights into the advancement of internet freedom and privacy?

Not much. Internet is in HTML not hard computer code. However, it does include scripting in Java and C#.

In wiki I was reading this and I thought it might be an interesting discussion ni relation to internet freedom, although I don't know a lot about it.

Spoiler

Digital rights management[edit]

Industrial players including the BBC, Google, Microsoft, and Netflix have been lobbying for the inclusion of Encrypted Media Extensions (EME),[75][76][77][78][79] a form of digital rights management (DRM), into the HTML5 standard. As of the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013, 27 organisations[80] including the Free Software Foundation[81] have started a campaign against including digital rights management in the HTML5 standard.[82][83] However in late September 2013, the W3C HTML Working Group decided that Encrypted Media Extensions, a form of DRM, was "in scope" and will potentially be included in the HTML 5.1 standard.[84][85] WHATWG's "HTML Living Standard" continued to be developed without DRM-enabled proposals.[85]
Manu Sporny, a member of the W3C, said that EME will not solve the problem it's supposed to address.[86] Opponents point out that EME itself is just an architecture for a DRM plug-in mechanism.[87]
The initial enablers for DRM in HTML5 were Google[88] and Microsoft.[89] Supporters also include Adobe.[90] On 14 May 2014, Mozilla announced plans to support EME in Firefox, the last major browser to avoid DRM.[91][92] Calling it "a difficult and uncomfortable step", Andreas Gal of Mozilla explained that future versions of Firefox would remain open source but ship with a sandbox designed to run a content decryption module developed by Adobe.[91] While promising to "work on alternative solutions", Mitchell Baker stated that Mozilla's refusal to implement EME would accomplish little more than convincing many users to switch browsers.[92] This decision was condemned by Cory Doctorow and the Free Software Foundation.[93][94]

 

[Kuu]

Perhaps you could help with these projects https://prism-break.org/en/all/
Not coding per-se, maybe with donations, or writing how-tos, or just spreading.

(It annoys me how some people's answer to everything online is lern2code... at least its relevant here).

Also you could be more active in criticizing, helping spread the knowledge of those people and things that are a threat to internet freedom. Make a blog? Discuss it with meatspace people? Leak some guv'mint toilet paper?

 

[ProxyAmenRa]

Recommendations:
1. C++ it might be harder to start with it, but once you understand it, you understand programming. I think it provides the most control for the programmer, but is not as lenient as it's alternatives (you want to be careful with this genie). You can use it for everything though.
2. Python- easier and faster to code with than C++, but the programs run a little slower and is not as popular for hosting solutions. Basically, trades program speed for developer time at good rates. Python is a bit like divine magic- you ask, it gives and handles all the little details for you.
3. PHP or Java- widely used higher level languages. "Higher level" in this context means "more abstraction".

All good recommendations. I would say learning python before c++ is a good idea, since python is a nice introduction. I wrote a personal file server in python is less than two hours. It is a pretty awesome language.

---

As for the net-neutrality, people not learned in infrastructure planning, installation and management should remain silent on the issue. If they want to comment on the subject they should at least study engineering and business.

 

[TBerg]

If all companies have to abide by the same net neutrality, then I don't really care if it hurts their ability to cash in on conspiring with media corporations.

 

[TBerg]

A wonderful presentation on why this issue matters:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcSlowAhvUk