Ronda Hauben writes:
+ The issue of ICANN is not only *timely* but crucial
+ to the existence and development of the Internet,
+ and thus also to the existence and continued development
+ of the IETF.
+
+ Those on the ICANN interim board have been chosen because
+ they have a conflict of interest with the matters that
+ ICANN is to be deciding (called in their gentrified language
+ "stakeholder" interest)
+
+ They are people appointed by some unknown process and
+ unknown people to fundamentally change the nature
+ and future of the Internet.
+
+ Thus this is an urgent, to say the least, issue for
+ *not* only those in the IETF but all those who are
+ part of the Internet or hope to ever be part of it.
+
+ Thus this is all a crucial question to be discussed
+ and all those trying to squelch the discussion (like
+ the Berkman Center folks) or anyone from IETF etc
+ are only showing that they have no concern for
+ the present and future of the Internet.
Or... perhaps these persons are also in
direct conflict of interest. Their extensive
stock holdings, ownership or partnerships
in the very companies behind ICANN combine
with a closed, tightly knit group of mutually
benificial business connections. The result
is we are facing a compromised group of once
upon a time grassroots activists who, in their
late middle and approaching old age hold fat
executive jobs, deluxe company expense accounts,
huge fortunes and, to say the least, highly
compromised positions.
These phonies are in the process of selling
out the last vestages of the very GNU Internet
they once attempted to create. Follow the money
and pursue the power and we will understand.
These are not poor, idealistic techies working
in garages or basements anymore. They are rich,
conservative and rather unimaginative fellows
who do not take lightly any challenges to
their comforts or presumed **AUTHORITY**.
Which apparently scales amazingly well right
alongside "hierarchy", eh?!
Ronda Hauben continued:
+ Recently, on the IETF discussion list, someone asked
+ about scaling the Internet. He received one or two
+ serious replies and other jokes in response.
+
+ Yet the scaling the Internet is the burning question
+ on the table, and it is exactly the issue that ICANN
+ is being created to prevent from being publicly
+ considered and determined.
+
+ Will the global people-to-people computer mediated
+ communication that the Internet makes possible be
+ available to all as a right or only to a few
+ as a privilege?
+
+ This was an issue that J.C.R. Licklider, among others,
+ recognized had to be determined to be able to determine
+ what would happen in the development of computer networking.
+ He noted that if the to-be-developed network would be
+ available to all as a "right", then it would be a great benefit
+ to society, while if it were to only be available to those
+ selected via a "privilege", its development would be harmful.
+
+ To make the Internet available to all as a right requires
+ a public process and public participation in the control
+ of the essential functions of the Internet like the
+ names and protocols and ip numbers and root server
+ system. These have been under public and cooperative
+ ownership and control. ICANN is the effort to change that.
+
+ There are those who are respresentatives of companies
+ and other entities that want to grab the Internet
+ for their own self interested purposes.
And, as we have seen, those self-interested
purposes, so contrary to the open and equal
*public* participation, also coincide with
the power, economic well-being and direct
sense of identity the IETF/ISOC/ICANN/ETC
"Internauts" subsist upon and gain great
benifits from. Any/all leadership is drawn
from the same limited pool of people. Open
that up to any real diversity and one threatens
all those massive profits, discriminatory US-
centric policies, elitist protocols and so on.
All of which prevent grassroots, no or low
budget involvement.
It is in all of these person's interests to
ensure the standards are forever kept so high,
the requirements for entry are so difficult,
that only they - Cerf, Baker, Shaw, Heath,
Zittrain, etc - or their well trained mind
pets - Dyson, Roberts, Van Howerling, Metzger,
Ignorentovich and his band of merry Vienna
ISOC puppets, etc. - gain admission, hold
power, vote, make polibies and so on.
Ronda continues:
+ They need to be stopped from their grab and only the
+ free and open discussion of the issues will help to
+ clarify what is at stake and why there are those
+ trying to act in ways that are contrary to making
+ the Internet available to all for interactive
+ and participatory global communication.
+
+ I have wondered why there are many in the technical community
+ who are not participating in figuring out what ICANN
+ is all about and what to do about it.
+
+ Now it becomes clear that the leadership of the IETF isn't
+ encouraging folks to get into the fray and figure out what
+ it is all about but instead is encouraging an attack on
+ those who recognize that the abuse by ICANN of the
+ Internet community has to be understood and responded to.
+ And there are others like folks from ISOC including Vint
+ Cerf who have taken on to try to deflect the discussion to
+ putting IP on Mars as a way to draw attention away from
+ the privatization of Internet public policy here on earth.
You have struck upon not only the reason Cerf
let his Roddenberryesque ravings into the public
forum but also the reason this discussion has
occupied so much space. Cerf and his insider
collegues are under such enormous pressure and
under so direct fire they are desparately trying
to draw it away. Into the galaxy, out as far from
their current, do-nothing sloth. As remote from
the debacle that is ICANN and all of the compromises
and double dealing that involves. All of which
they condone, encourage and directly benifit
from. Cerf and his collegues are scared shitless.
However, the public may well be close to breaking
in on these discussions with their powerful and
election deciding might. If that ever happened all
hell will truely break loose. We are on the edge
of very dangerous developments for some group of
interests. Cerf, Baker et al are struggling to
ensure it is *us* not them who end up in that big
flame broiler of public opinion, anger and
resentment. Like the Olympic movement and the
corrupt IOC before them, let us hope the rot of
IETF/ISOC/ICANN/ETC is the thing to fall to the
ground of history *not* the "General Good".
Towards this end we struggle.
Bob Allisat
Free Community Network _ [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://fcn.net _ http://fcn.net/allisat
http://robin.fcn.net
