On Tue, Jan 15, 2008 at 12:14:33PM -0600, David E. Smith <dave@mvn.net> wrote a message of 61 lines which said:
To try to make this slightly more relevant, is it a good idea, either technically or legally, to mandate some sort of standard for this? I'm thinking something like the "Nutrition Facts" information that appears on most packaged foods in the States, that ISPs put on their Web sites and advertisements. I'm willing to disclose that we block certain ports [...]
As a consumer, I would say YES. And FCC should mandates it. Practically speaking, you may find the RFC 4084 "Terminology for Describing Internet Connectivity" interesting: As the Internet has evolved, many types of arrangements have been advertised and sold as "Internet connectivity". Because these may differ significantly in the capabilities they offer, the range of options, and the lack of any standard terminology, the effort to distinguish between these services has caused considerable consumer confusion. This document provides a list of terms and definitions that may be helpful to providers, consumers, and, potentially, regulators in clarifying the type and character of services being offered. http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc4084.txt