Hey all,

You may have seen the rumblings about Net Neutrality and the FCC lately; if you're an American citizen, this is incredibly important. In this blog post I'll explain what Net Neutrality is, why you should care about its undoing, and how you can help. If you already know this information, but just want a quick link to how you can help: click here.

What is Net Neutrality?

"Net Neutrality" is a set of rules governing ISPs (Internet Service Providers; the company you pay to access the internet). Essentially, it forces them to treat all internet traffic as the same. They can only charge you to access the internet; they aren't allowed to charge you depending on which websites you view. In addition, it prevents them from prioritizing some websites' speed in favor of others. For example, if Comcast were to create a Netflix competitor, without Net Neutrality, they would be able to throttle Netflix's speed for Comcast customers and essentially force their customers to use their version. That's not good!

How can this impact me?

If you use the internet, this will be bad. Imagine paying $50/mo for base internet service, but if you want to access Facebook, you'll need to pay $10/mo extra. If you want to access Google, another $5. Want to visit ScrapTF? That's another $5/mo for the Gaming Package. All of this will be done by your ISP, not these websites. None of this money goes to the websites, and they have no control over this.

Theoretically, your ISP could charge you extra simply to access ScrapTF Raffles -- or ScrapTF in general. We don't want that, and you don't want that. This will be disastrous for the Internet as a whole.

How can I help?

If you're an American citizen, your most powerful tool is your voice. Calling your elected officials and expressing your opinion is incredibly valuable; a single phone call to a senator represents a large number of potential votes for them. After all, that's what they care about: getting your vote.

Want to help? Click here for an incredibly useful website that will connect you with your elected officials automatically. It even has a script you can follow! You can make a difference.

Not an American citizen? It's alright. We'd appreciate your help. Spread the word! Make sure people know about this incredibly vital issue.

Take care.