On Friday, September 10, 1999, Gordon Cook [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] concluded that: >...in fact a collapse of ICANN will best serve those >interested in the continued operation of an Internet >whose doors are not closed to entrepreneurs and innovators. I don't share Mr. Cook's confidence in being able to predict the future. Even if ICANN disappears, the issues that led to its creation are still there, including - No competition in domain name registration. - Expensive and cumbersome mechanisms for resolving conflicts between trademark holders and domain name holders. - An unmet need of Internet users outside of the U.S. to help determine domain name issues. - No process for adding new top-level domains. If ICANN gets knocked off, something will rise to take its place. What will it be? Will it be better than ICANN or worse? Or if nothing fills the void, how will the issues be addressed? And if government(s) rose to fill this vacuum, would we end up satisfied with the outcome? Pete Farmer ___________________________________________________ Peter J. Farmer -- Director, Optical Communications Strategies Unlimited http://www.strategies-u.com Mountain View, CA +1 650 941-3438 (voice) +1 650 464-1243 (mobile & voice mail) +1 650 941 5120 (fax)
