Tragedy of the Commons

I probably going to get burned at the stake for this post but here I go. Now I’m on both sides of the fence when it comes to an ISP blocking ports for BitTorrent or P2P programs. The main reason is I work for a small internet company (SkyTex Wireless) and well we block these ports to sites like piratebay.org and Limewire. The reason isn’t a concern over people downloading illegal content but, it’s more of a move to ensure the quality of our network. We do this because when people start downloading torrents or use Limewire it hammers our access points and our servers. Now this wouldn’t be that big of a deal if it didn’t affect all the other people on that access point, the same goes for Comcast, by allowing people to download torrents (which download and upload at the same time) it takes away from the other users that are trying to use the internet by giving the person downloading the torrent more bandwidth over the average person browsing the web. So how is it fair that someone downloading torrent illegally or legally more priority over someone just browsing the web? Like the heading says it creates a tragedy of the commons because one person’s actions affect everyone else around them. While this works for the company it affects the user because they are being told what they can and can’t do. Companies shouldn’t have the right to control what a person can look at or download. Even though I work for a company that does just this I don’t think its right but, the company is just looking out for its self so it can survive.