LIS5411 - Introduction to Information Policy

Welcome to the Course!

This front page - in Canvas - is the primary source of material for this course; everything you need for the course will be available here. Many links go through http://jrm4.com (including a mirror of this page for backup and emergency purposes),

The course will be administered through Zoom. The link will be available within an hour or so of the first class.

There will be groupwork during most classtimes, but not the first day. Usually I don't like to do readings for the first day either, but because the Summer is shorter, there are a few. No big pressure though, there are no deliverables for these as of yet.

Contacting me should be done through regular email, at jmarks@fsu.edu

Note: I'm also a big fan of Discord (link for my thoughts and information on it, if unfamiliar) It is not required, but I will make my semi-private (non-profit) Discord server available to you all, with a channel dedicated to this class. You may use this for class-wide discussions, as well as a meeting point if you'd like to use Discord instead of the Zoom rooms.

Invite: https://discord.gg/MjwV5Ews

Feel free to peruse the older readings (available at the jrm4.com mirror of the site if you can't see them here, check to the side or below if you're on your phone once you've clicked through - - https://jrm4.com/FSU_Courses/LIS5411.html Though, note, the readings and course arc may change drastically, given that the real world of information and tech policy has some *very* interesting upcoming matters to deal with.

+Syllabus

Week 1


If you need the refresher-- Journal:2021:01:03:Basic-Civics
Intro to Info Policy

On Econ
https://acroll.substack.com/p/what-comes-after-the-attention-economy

On Law
Transcendental Nonsense
The Law of the Horse

Telecom
http://som.csudh.edu/fac/lpress/471/hout/telecomHistory/
https://www.construction-physics.com/p/building-the-bell-system

The Invisible Barbecue

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-battle-over-net-neutrality-started-with-the-1920s-era-hushaphone


Week 3 - Internet Regulation

https://jrm4.com/slides/LIS-5411_Telecom_And_Internet.html


The History of the Internet in a Nutshell
The Internet: Computer Network Hierarchy | HowStuffWorks

How big telecom smothers city run broadband
Rural America Is Building Its Own Internet Because No One Else Will

Nationalize the Internet: Why the Fight for Net Neutrality Is Just the Start

The coronavirus crisis proves internet should be a public utility

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/08/man-who-built-isp-instead-of-paying-comcast-50k-expands-to-hundreds-of-homes/

https://www.npr.org/2025/01/03/nx-s1-5247840/net-neutrality-fcc-struck
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/04/07/federal-consumer-protection-is-dead-the-fate-of-net-neutrality-warned-you-it-was-coming/



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