Internet service

[me-5yx05kfkO/aqeI1yJSURBw at public.gmane.org (Matthew Gillen)]

On 06/06/2010 01:20 PM, David Kramer wrote:
> Matthew Gillen wrote:
>> FIOS has pretty good uplink speed.  Pretty much every provider other than
>> speakeasy has "no-server" clauses in their TOS, but the two services you
>> mention are easy to work around by running those services on a non-standard
>> (high) port (sometimes they'll port scan low-numbered ports looking for
>> "servers").
>>
>> Running ssh on a non-standard port isn't a bad idea even if you are allowed
>> to run servers.
> 
> This is a topic I feel strongly about, and have let this list know about
> it.  At least every few months there are cries and wails on this list
> from people who are upset because their internet providor had the
> audacity to prevent them from doing things they signed a contract saying
> they wouldn't do.
> 
> The simple (and only slightly more expensive) option is to get
> business-class service.  For a little more money, you have the right to
> do whatever you want with your bandwidth, and (usually) at least one
> static IP address, which makes everything else simpler.
> 
> One does not forward the cause of open source and free software by
> signing contracts and breaching them.  Find a company that offers the
> service you need and pay for it.  Both Comcast and Verizon offer this.
> I went from SpeakEasy to Comcast Business Internet (and Business Phone)
> and we're very happy with it.  I don't live in fear of my town being
> renumbered or ports blocked.

Ok, so if I want to play a game over the internet, or watch a video, or use
bittorrent, or any number of other things that require a "server" in the
strictest sense on the "residential/consumer" side, then I should buy
business class service?  I don't think so.  Do you think those don't count?
 Read the language used in the TOS.  It says "server" of any kind.  Even
active FTP requires there to be a server socket on both ends.

The language in the TOS is completely and obviously wrong.  If they really
thought it was enforcable, why don't they block any "SYN" packets going to
their customers?  Because the FCC would have a fit (witness the FCC's
reaction to Comcast's experiment with sandvine/bittorrent-prevention).

I'm not going to pay double when I don't need the uptime guarantees or any
of the other things a business class connection offers.  If I had the option
of a sane ISP, believe me, I'd be with them.  None of them operate in my
area though.  (I did look into Vz business class, but I couldn't combine it
with phone and cable, the residential and business units might as well be
two different companies, I decided it wasn't worth the hassle).

Matt