I think the anger expressed is somewhat coming from our inability, as programmers, to provide the tools that users actually need. Spreadsheets were great advances, taking financial calculations out of the domain of programming and into the handles of the financial workers themselves. Since then, we haven't seemed to be able to find anything but macros and visual flowcharting to take "end user programming" to the next level. So instead of finding ways to allow end users to automate their tasks and configure their computations, we are throwing "learn to program, noob" out as a "solution".

I love the fact you got astroturfed on this issue. I for one hope that all the astroturfers have their ISP taken over by a media company ideologically opposed to their own and that media company decides to be "non-neutral" with regards to access to their favorite watering holes. The howls should change then, especially when the learn what their "alternative ISPs" really are like in terms of performance. In my case I can get a 50 Mbps cable company (that I use, actual performance more like 25 Mbps) *or* a 1 Mbps DSL (assuming I'm willing to take a "bundle" of unwanted services) *or* a dish based provider at 512 kbps with a low download cap. Yeah, thats some excellent "choices" there.