With the FCC trying to strip away our Net Neutrality, think about what will be lost. Not only will your internet be controlled by cable/phone companies and your information sold to wherever said companies decide, if you are someone who loves to float away into your favorite fandoms/ships, they WILL be taken away from you. Not might be. They will.
Do you love reading fanfics? Do you love writing them? Say goodbye to that luxury if Net Neutrality is destroyed. You can especially say GOODBYE to Ao3 almost immediately. Sites like them rely on donations from fans to stay running and the FCC will chop them to shreds when they decide to block/make you pay extra to use it. Even if you’re non-american and believe you won’t be “affected” by this, honey you have a big storm coming. You can guarantee that US-bound writers will disappear and fickle out to only those who are willing to pay. Are you in a small fandom that doesn’t have a lot of creators to begin with? You won’t even have a chance. No Net Neutrality will be a direct hit to your form of relaxtion.
Do you like to watch edits? Do you slave over edits of your favs? Where are you going to see/post them when Net Neutrality is no more? Same as fanfictions, from short and quick to complex and elaborate edits, editors will be affected when they are forced to pay extra to use YouTube and Tumblr, for example. Do you sometimes lay late at night watching a marathon of edits of your favorite shows? That will be a thing of the past if the FCC ends Net Neutrality.
Are you an artist that draw your favorite ships and characters? Do you enjoy art of your favs? IT. WILL. ALL. END. IF. NET. NEUTRALITY. ENDS. Even worse if you’re a struggling artist that works off commission. You’ll be spending more money than you’re bringing in when you have to pay extra a month to use Tumblr, DeviantArt, Instagram and other sites used to upload original content. Then you’ll have to pray others who are paying extra are willing to pay for your art. Chances are, if you’re strugglin now, you won’t even last if Net Neutrality is out.
Do you download your favorite shows and movies whether it’s just to watch or create content? Where are you going to download them when sites are blocked from your internet? If you don’t have cable for whatever reason, you REALLY aren’t going to be able to catch your shows now. If you can’t afford cable, what makes you think you can afford several internet packages?
Do you like being kept up to date on what your fav is doing such as tour dates, new music, and news in general? Best believe there won’t be a such thing when you are forced to pay for Twitter, Snapchat, and other apps.
DO YOU LIKE MEMES?????!!!!!
I can go on and on but I think you get the picture. Many of us use fandoms as a way to escape from the harsh realities of our lives. If you do not join us in help fighting against these greedy out-of-touch monsters who want to take control of the internet, you will experience a true dark age that you don’t want to be apart of.
I know phone calls can make people anxious even when they want to help so welcome in ResistBot! They will be your new best friend. Just by texting RESIST to 50409, Resistbot will find out your representatives, create a message, and fax it over to their offices on your behalf within minutes to urge your reps to support Net Neutrality! AT NO CHARGE.
THERE ARE STRENGTH IN NUMBERS. PLEASE DO YOUR PART AND HELP US IN THIS WAR.
Guys
I’m from PH and I barely understand why this is happening but please
Don’t let this happen
Use the text bot, it was pretty easy and you can have them send reminders to send again every day! We need to keep fighting!!
REMINDER THAT GETTING RID OF NET NEUTRALITY WILL HURT:
– SMALL BUSINESSES
How will they be able to advertise things when they’re just starting out, and how many people will be able to see it? How many people will be willing to buy things online if they already have to pay for access to the site?
– SCHOOLS
Any school with computers will have to pay money for internet access. Otherwise students won’t be able to work on any projects in class, and they will have to rely on home internet access. Lots of school funding will be used for paying this!
– PEOPLE SEEKING MEDICAL/FINANCIAL AID ONLINE
It is common on this site and on many others to see people asking for aid. Imagine what will happen to these people if they have to pay to go onto this site, and imagine how many people will see their posts. Imagine how many people will still have the money to help them.
– STUDENTS
Any kind of research paper will be a pain to write, regardless of your grade level. I have to turn in almost all of my homework online, and nothing is allowed to be handwritten. This will make college more expensive, too, and that’s already too much for anyone to pay for without student loans.
– ANYONE LOOKING FOR A JOB ONLINE
Nobody wants to pay an extra $50 dollars a month to sign up for job applications. It is also standard to have an email, so if you no longer have access to it, that can cost you a job, even if you aren’t signing up for it online.
– ARTISTS
Many artists already have trouble getting people to buy commissions. A lack of exposure and a lack of money will not help.
– YOUTUBERS
I don’t really go on youtube anymore, but I know for a fact that this will effect the amount of views (and therefore the amount of money) they’ll get for their videos. This will effect youtubers worldwide, and the U.S. is filled with tons of viewers!
– PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
Lots of people rely on the internet to vent or to escape. Imagine if they were suddenly told that they aren’t able to do that anymore. Imagine what will happen if they’re suddenly cut off from their friends online.
– LIBRARIES
Libraries would have to put even more funding into internet access, and if they can’t pay for it, it will be a serious inconvenience to many, many people. People who go to the library to use the computers often don’t have a computer at home.
Call the FCC and senators. Write an email. Send a letter. DO SOMETHING.
All of this just make me sick to my stomach. Is this really the way our world is headed? All I can think about are those sci-fi books I’ve read with “big brother” or a new world order taking over and squashing the little man…those weren’t works of fiction entirely. And it’s frightening.
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