The general feedback I’m getting on the Google/Verizon thing is ‘let’s wait and see’, ‘think you’re exaggerating’, and ‘don’t really understand’. All of this I can appreciate.

As to waiting and seeing, my life-rule kicks in again here: hear not what they say but watch what they do. Google is not in good shape on that dimension: the ISPs and phonecos in general want to make squillions back on their investments, and their track record of veracity is risible. So my view remains, ‘let’s not wait and see, let’s hit them just in case they ever get any similar ideas in the future’.

Exaggeration is a personal facet of mine which irritates my wife constantly – and which most financial commentators thought to be close to insanity…..until 2007. I restrict exaggeration to anecdotes because it makes them better for the dinner party audience; I don’t do it in the Slog.

Go to any tecchie/finance site, and again and again you will see the words ‘virtual duopoly’ applied to G&V. Further, duopoly or not, the other players will rub their hands and join in this exercise in anti-customer segmentation….it makes total commercial sense for them to do so. And finally, the Fed didn’t abandon its long-term programme of net-neutral negotiations just because one of them had a cold. They smell a done deal – as do most other informed observers.

The ‘don’t understand’ thing I thought was largely covered by my seven nightmares. But I have since come across this entirely calm and measured site which explains precisely what the long-term dangers are of this deal going through….from somebody who’s been on the case longer than I have.

My sense in all this is that not many people are up for the e-Resistance idea. Which is fine: I’m not going to keep on going on about it, as it gets boring for all those Sloggers who really aren’t interested in the subject.