morlockelloi on Tue, 28 Jul 2015 18:14:37 +0200 (CEST)


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<nettime> ***SPAM*** Re: Lori Emerson: What's Wrong With the Internet and How


I was present when people with pointy ears entered IETF meetings and ordered this. Is this the answer you expect?

Perhaps search engines can provide better answers. Worth trying:

ex. http://www.quora.com/Why-is-ADSL-asymmetric

Without getting in codecs and frequency allocations, consider that there are perfectly functioning symmetric variants of DSL (SDSL etc.) The underlying narrative is that "there is more download than upload", which then, combined with NATs, becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Before DSL, we had modems for analog audio lines, and they were fully symmetric.

To dig out the chain of causality, one would need to track where this narrative originated in 90s, and how it found its way into the standards bodies, and why ISPs preferred ADSL to SDSL. All in 90s, it was too late after that.

It may well be true that most people really have nothing to say and create, so asymmetry makes sense, as they just need to be fed. But neglecting social consequences and amplifying this situation with technology *is* a political decision. Most people don't vote - does it mean that the number of voting booths should be cut down?


On 7/28/15, 2:56, Iain Boal wrote:

So there was a purely political decision to build in the asymmetries.
Can you corroborate, beyond the mere assertion? Who? When? Evidence
welcome.  IB


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