Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

332 Net Neutrality• Do not post bulky graphics or other attachmentsunless the group is designed for them.• Avoid “ad hominem” (to the person) attacks whendiscussing disagreements.• Do not post in ALL CAPS, which is interpreted as“shouting.”• Check your postings for proper spelling and grammar.On the other hand, avoid “flaming” other usersfor their spelling or grammar errors.• When replying to an existing message, includeenough of the original message to provide context foryour reply, but no more.• If you know the answer to a question or problemraised by another user, send it to that user by e-mail.That way the newsgroup doesn’t get cluttered up withdozens of versions of the same information.In 1994, a firm of immigration attorneys enraged muchof the online community by posting messages offering theirservices in each of the thousands of different newsgroups.“Spam” was born. Technically savvy users responded bycreating “cancelbots” or programs that attempt to detectand automatically delete postings containing spam. Today,spam is mainly conveyed by e-mail, with mail servers andclient programs offering various options for blocking it(see spam).Netiquette in the 21st CenturyIn the new century, newsgroups and traditional conferencingsystems have diminished in importance, but e-mailis more pervasive than ever, and a variety of new onlinemedia have emerged (see, for example, blogs and blogging).Many of the tried-and-true rules for newsgroup postingsapply as well to other media, but there are also newconsiderations.As many politicians and business executives havelearned to their dismay, e-mail must be assumed to beessentially as permanent as a handwritten letter. Similarly,blogs, postings to sites such as MySpace (see social networking),and other online content can be copied, linkedto, archived, or otherwise persist for many years. Today’sintemperate remarks may emerge years later when a prospectiveemployer “googles” a job candidate.Blogs are meant to link and be linked to, so issues ofproperly crediting material and respecting copyright canbe important. This can also apply to contributions to content-sharingsites and to articles for wikis (see wikis andWikipedia); Wikipedia has evolved a rather comprehensiveset of standards whereby readers can “flag” content that isproblematic.Further ReadingHousley, Sharon. “Blog and RSS Feed Etiquette.” Available online.URL: http://www.small-business-software.net/blog-etiquette.htm. Accessed August 16, 2007.Kallos, Judith. Because Netiquette Matters! Your ComprehensiveGuide to E-mail Etiquette and Proper Technology Use. Philadelphia:Xlibris 2004.McKay, Dawn Rosenberg. “Email Etiquette.” Available online.URL: http://careerplanning.about.com/od/communication/a/email_etiquette.htm. Accessed August 16, 2007.Netiquette Home Page. Available online. URL: http://www.albion.com/netiquette/. Accessed August 16, 2007.Strawbridge, Matthew. Netiquette: Internet Etiquette in the Age ofthe Blog. Cambridge, U.K.: Software Reference Ltd., 2006.Von Rospach, Chuq. “A Primer on How to Work with the UsenetCommunity.” Available online. URL: http://faqs.cs.uu.nl/nadir/usenet/primer/part1.html.Accessed August 16, 2007.Net NeutralityIn recent years there has been growing concern that Internetusers may eventually be treated differently by service providersdepending on the kind of data they download or thekind of application programs they use online. Advocates ofnetwork (or net) neutrality (see for example Cerf, Vincent)want legislation that would bar cable, DSL, or other providers(see broadband and Internet service provider) frommaking such distinctions, such as by charging content providershigher fees for high volumes of data or even blockingcertain applications. Advocates of net neutrality believe that,since there are rather limited choices for broadband Internetservice, discrimination on the basis of Web content couldlead to a loss of freedom for consumers and providers alike.Critics of the net neutrality proposal tend to discountsuch concerns. One analogy they use is traditional mail.Users can choose different types of shipping service, buthaving overnight service available does not mean that packagescannot be delivered using cheaper means. Likewise,they believe that the market can provide “tiers” of Internetservice without disenfranchising any providers or users.Increasing concern about the issue began in 2005 whenthe Federal Communications Commission announcedthat broadband (cable and DSL) Internet would be treatedunder the less stringent Title I information service underthe Communications Act of 1934, rather than being treatedunder Title II as a “common carrier” like traditional phoneservice. At the same time, the agency issued policy guidelinesthat promoted free access, consumer choice, and competition.However these guidelines have no legal force.In June 2007 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) moreor less sided with the critics of net neutrality by urgingregulators to be careful about imposing rules that wouldprevent providers from innovating in offering premium services.Meanwhile two proposed net neutrality bills failed topass Congress in 2006. However, in July 2008 the FCC in a3-2 decision ordered Comcast, the largest U.S. cable serviceprovider, to stop degrading service to users who used filesharingprotocols.It should be noted that a number of rules restrictingcertain kinds of Internet access already exist. Major serviceproviders have agreements called “peering arrangements”that specify how certain kinds of transmissions will behandled. Many service providers also block certain dataports to reduce the spread of spam by insecure systems ortry to restrict the use of peer-to-peer (P2P) systems (seefile-sharing and p2p networks).