discuss Battle For The Net: July 12 petition popup

Paul · Jul 12, 2017

Today, July 12, 2017, American visitors will see a Battle For The Net popup when they first visit NamePros. This isn't an ad, and it's not something we were paid to display; rather, it's a petition for an issue that directly affects the domain industry.

Freedom of speech is one of the few issues both American parties can agree on these days. Unfortunately, a handful of influential politicians want to remove the policies that preserve freedom on the internet. Internet Service Providers like this idea because they'll be able to charge exorbitant fees and censor or slow down websites that compete with their own, thereby promoting their own services.

We've joined hundreds of other big websites in dedicating July 12 to promoting freedom on the internet. Many of these websites will be using the same popup that you've seen here, although there are a few different wordings that sites can choose from. Others may find different ways to speak out against the pending proposals.

For more information, or to join the petition, visit: https://www.battleforthenet.com/july12/

Notes:

The popup is only here for one day.
You should only see the popup once one NamePros for each browser/device you use. If you see it frequently, that's a bug; please let us know in the Technical Support forum.
Originally the popup was set to appear for all users, no matter their location. We've since set it to appear only for visitors in the United States. It's not perfectly accurate, but it should be good enough.
There was a bug that caused the popup to appear multiple times for some users/devices. This has been fixed.
There was a bug that caused the popup to appear on the wrong day. As a result, you may have seen a similar popup on NamePros earlier.

If you want to add the popup to your own website, add the following code inside the <head> tag:

HTML:

<script src="https://widget.battleforthenet.com/widget.js" async></script>

It will automatically disable itself after today.

Marshall · Jul 12, 2017

I'm not from the States so didn't fill the form but I support the cause!

Internet, we love u

usernamex · Jul 12, 2017

They likely would have better success if they were more clear about how my info could be used in the future, that's what gave me the red flag the first time

https://www.battleforthenet.com/privacy/

Still not super keen on how my info could be shared after reading all that, entered the minimum info they would take.

Marshall · Jul 12, 2017

Yes, concerns are there. @usernamex
Also, it would be better if there would be some kind of awareness a few days before the event instead of random pop-ups. But it's all fine if it's for a good cause.

P.S. Setting this image as avatar to support this bada** unicorn riding, guns blazing, net neutrality defender cat.

Constantin S · Jul 12, 2017

Of course PornHub is supporting the cause, so am I :D

Michael M · Jul 12, 2017

I hate getting political on a domaining forum - but you guys took a position here which I don't approve of.

The internet was Free/Neutral long before Net "Neutrality". The internet was MUCH free-er before this backwards named law which actually gives the government power to regulate the internet. Prior to this law - the internet WAS free and this is why it expanded and was so full of innovation in that past. Freedom of speech did exist on the internet 100% and Net Neutrality has not solved a single real problem.

This law was passed under the guise of keeping internet companies from throttling data speeds - but it has much more to do with FCC type control of what was a free internet.

How has this law helped in any way since implemented? Does it benefit your users in any way?

I do not understand your support of this unless it is a political position. I am disappointed.

Michael M · Jul 12, 2017

This should not be about politics - and I believe it is.

Very sad to see this happening to the IT industry. Regardless of our political views we should be able to stand together on common sense when it comes to something with possible wide-ranging effects on our livelihoods.

@Paul Buonopane - Can you explain why you support it without saying it keeps the internet Free? You are a technical person. I am really interested in how you arrive to support for this.

Paul · Jul 12, 2017

@Michael M Sounds like you're getting caught up in the politics. Net neutrality has been an off-and-on thing for the past few administrations; it's not really a partisan issue. Some politicians try to make it partisan when it never has been.

It's actually extremely difficult to describe what net neutrality really is and how it affects consumers without going into the gory details of peering agreements and such. The easiest way is to list some of the possible effects, but that doesn't really explain what's going on behind the scenes.

Here's a good example: let's say you have parking pages that generate revenue. Most big ISPs have their own parking networks; they replace non-existent domains with their parking pages. That's legal because the domains don't exist. However, without net neutrality and laws against censorship, there's nothing to keep them from replacing your parking pages with their own.

Paul · Jul 12, 2017

I should note that the NamePros administration is comprised of both liberals and conservatives, but this decision was unanimous and without hesitation.

Michael M · Jul 12, 2017

Paul Buonopane said:
@Michael M Sounds like you're getting caught up in the politics. Net neutrality has been an off-and-on thing for the past few administrations; it's not really a partisan issue. Some politicians try to make it partisan when it never has been.

It's actually extremely difficult to describe what net neutrality really is and how it affects consumers without going into the gory details of peering agreements and such. The easiest way is to list some of the possible effects, but that doesn't really explain what's going on behind the scenes.

Here's a good example: let's say you have parking pages that generate revenue. Most big ISPs have their own parking networks; they replace non-existent domains with their parking pages. That's legal because the domains don't exist. However, without net neutrality and laws against censorship, there's nothing to keep them from replacing your parking pages with their own.

Actually I have done my best to tune politics out of all areas of my life due to the state of it all (both sides are wrong and crazy these days). But this is a political issue that NPs has decided to take up cause on with a popup that really misleads people into signing something they know nothing about.

@Paul Buonopane - That parking pages example is absurd. Have you ever in your life experienced this? Out of all the years I have never. ISPs aren't going to take over domains... Come on man.

To get too much deeper into it we would have to get political - which I do not want to. But I imagine you have been around the internet long enough to know these arguments are non-sense.

Yes I personally believe the internet should be Free. That is why I am so offended. Net neutrality takes the freedom away - hands it to the government to decide what is best and who and what services should be seen. I would rather the free market to decide that. People will change their ISP if they try to pull something like that. That is how our economy and system work.

If you believe in the internet, understand what the internet has created, how it changed everything - and then you still want to promote regulating it - then I can only assume political intent because it goes against the industry.

Embrand · Jul 12, 2017

I got the popup even though I am in Europe (and do not use a proxy server). Not that it bothers me. Just wanted to let you know.

Michael M · Jul 12, 2017

<- Pro IT industry. Period. This isn't about politics. I like to think I would have this view about this regardless of my political affiliation.

Paul · Jul 12, 2017

@Michael M I'm disappointed that you feel we made a wrong choice here. We certainly didn't intend to bring politics into this.

No, that parking page example isn't obsurd. This is actually my area of expertise, and I'm quite qualified to speak on the matter.

Michael M · Jul 12, 2017

Paul Buonopane said:
@Michael M I'm disappointed that you feel we made a wrong choice here. We certainly didn't intend to bring politics into this.

No, that parking page example isn't obsurd. This is actually my area of expertise, and I'm quite qualified to speak on the matter.

If you'd like to have a private chat about the parking page example - I am available. But I think you are grabbing at straws.

I am only one person though. The rest of the community may not agree with me. But personally I believe if you are going to ask people to sign that petition with such urgency that you believe more is at risk than some small ISP deciding to try to take unused domains and make a profit from them. I expected a much better defense of something NPs must believe pretty strongly about.

But I will not harp on this matter any more unless the conversation continues - in which case I may add my $0.02. None-the-less - Personally - I stand stunned and disappointed this morning at NPs.

Paul · Jul 12, 2017

Small ISPs aren't the issue here. Net neutrality protects small ISPs from the big ISPs, particularly in relation to peering. The "behind-the-scenes" idea is to prevent two or three companies from putting all of the smaller competing companies out of business by refusing to peer or charging exorbitant fees.

For a good example that actually occurred, look up the incident between Netflix and Comcast. In oversimplified terms, Comcast slowed down speeds to Netflix to cause lag and decrease quality until Netflix agreed to peer directly with Comcast under ridiculous terms.

Michael M · Jul 12, 2017

Paul Buonopane said:
Small ISPs aren't the issue here. Net neutrality protects small ISPs from the big ISPs, particularly in relation to peering. The "behind-the-scenes" idea is to prevent two or three companies from putting all of the smaller competing companies out of business by refusing to peer or charging exorbitant fees.

For a good example that actually occurred, look up the incident between Netflix and Comcast. In oversimplified terms, Comcast slowed down speeds to Netflix to cause lag and decrease quality until Netflix agreed to peer directly with Comcast under ridiculous terms.

That is the main argument the whole Net Neutrality argument stands on.

It is up to each person to decide things on their own. I am not trying to sway people - I just hate for uninformed people to sign a petition that goes against them without knowing it.

In my opinion - if Comcast wanted to slow speed to NetFlix because they couldn't come to an agreement - that is their choice. They could loose a huge customer base to another ISP - but at the same time I understand their argument as the streaming video was stressing Comcast's network. The cost to upgrade the network has to come from somewhere - rather it be Comcast's end users or an agreement with a company that is responsible for a huge chunk of Comcast's network traffic.

It is the same as Comcast can drop a TV station off it's platform if they choose to make room for another channel which will perform better. They only have so many channels they can put networks on. (again - a network/system limitation and cost for comcast) And that is TV which is already highly regulated.

But like I said you have to get into politics to really talk about Net Neutrality - because that is what it is about. The technical arguments for Net Neutrality to even exist in the first place come down to political positions. Seems people can no longer separate/balance their political beliefs with business decisions. That is the sad thing.

Paul · Jul 12, 2017

If consumers are really capable of deciding for themselves without knowing the full story, like you claim they are, then we'll continue to present them with the popup and let them decide whether they want to fill it out.

Michael M · Jul 12, 2017

I assumed you guys would.

I would personally give them both sides of the argument if I was NPs and non-biased. But that is me.

I have nothing against you guys, have participated here for years with nothing but positive contributions. I just disagree with your choice. But, it is not my website.

Paul · Jul 12, 2017

We do appreciate your feedback, and we'll certainly take it into consideration before doing this again. However, it seems like we're mostly seeing a positive response. If we see the issue get too politicized in the future, we'll likely stay out of it.

It's probably worth noting that we didn't choose the text in the popup. There were a handful of popups to choose from, and this was the most informative. I think we all would've liked something more verbose, but that probably wouldn't have been suitable for most of the other sites using it.

Name Trader · Jul 12, 2017

Paul Buonopane said:
We do appreciate your feedback, and we'll certainly take it into consideration before doing this again. However, it seems like we're mostly seeing a positive response. If we see the issue get too politicized in the future, we'll likely stay out of it.

It's probably worth noting that we didn't choose the text in the popup. There were a handful of popups to choose from, and this was the most informative. I think we all would've liked something more verbose, but that probably wouldn't have been suitable for most of the other sites using it.

It's pure spam. I have seen that message enough times, I thought I had a virus. I'm extremely dissappointed you have decided to spam all NamePros users continually for about 24 hours. This is not a political forum, please keep your spam to yourself, in the future. It was an extremely unpleasant and disturbing experience.

Paul · Jul 12, 2017

stub said:
It's pure spam. I have seen that message enough times, I thought I had a virus. I'm extremely dissappointed you have decided to spam all NamePros users continually for about 24 hours. This is not a political forum, please keep your spam to yourself, in the future. It was an extremely unpleasant and disturbing experience.

You're only supposed to see it once.

This isn't supposed to be political, and we fully intend to support the cause in the future. Notice the number of likes on the first post.

Michael M · Jul 12, 2017

Paul Buonopane said:
We do appreciate your feedback, and we'll certainly take it into consideration before doing this again. However, it seems like we're mostly seeing a positive response. If we see the issue get too politicized in the future, we'll likely stay out of it.

Paul Buonopane said:
This isn't supposed to be political, and we fully intend to support the cause in the future. Notice the number of likes on the first post.

Wow. You made the decision and consideration you mentioned earlier very quickly.

Michael M · Jul 12, 2017

7 likes? Including staff?

Name Trader · Jul 12, 2017

Paul Buonopane said:
You're only supposed to see it once.

This isn't supposed to be political, and we fully intend to support the cause in the future. Notice the number of likes on the first post.

What was supposed to happen and what actually happened are not the same thing. If it had happened only once, I probably wouldn't have minded, but continually having it pop-up was completely unacceptable. I couldn't get rid of the effing thing.

OK. So if I make a post and get sufficient number of likes, I can post it again. Over and Over. That is a ridiculous argument. BTW. What is the magic number of likes? If this kind of activity repeats itself. NamePros is definitely going downhill. In my view. I don't think NamePros should be behaving in a political way, and forcing all it's users to read some political propaganda. Of any persuasion.

Michael M · Jul 12, 2017

Thanks @stub for your point of view - That's all I was trying to say but probably didn't relay it as clearly.

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