On Fri, 10 Sep 1999, Greg Skinner wrote:
> Richard Sexton wrote:
>
> > Gimme a break. I've watched IAHC fail for not being this very thing,
> > I've watched IFWP try real hard to be just this then get scuttled
> > by the IANA Cabal who are now ICANN and who will fail for the
> > same reasons - it is not legitimate, open, transparent or
> > representative of more than a couple of hundred poeple.
>
> > The failure of ICANN is proof the process works.
>
> Not necessarily. It seems to me that the failure of ICANN is more due
> to the fact that they cannot act independently of established law. For
> example, had they focused their attention on building good relations
> throughout the Internet community, setting up an election process, etc,
> I don't think they would be in trouble as they are now.
It's a very salient point. The reasoning behind this is quite simple: the
people behind ICANN see approval from the Commerce Dept., the EU, etc. as
the key to success. While paying lip-service to the Internet community
with talk of non-existent "consensus-building", transparency and
representation, the goal is to garner government(s) approval, not do what
is in the interest of the members of the community.
> However, this doesn't strike me as an example of Internet self-governance.
> The wrist that slapped ICANN's hands was the old order of traditional
> government.
ICANN is indeed not a creature of "Internet self-governance." It is the
result of a few large commercial interests and mid-level bureacrats
attempts to avoid and abrogate the rights that citizens hold under the
laws of their respective nations.
The main reason that ICANN has enjoyed any success whatsoever is that
ICANN has a convienent and willing "villian" in NSI, whose own ineptitude
and ignorance of the Internet community has made it a convincing excuse
for any action ICANN might take.
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Patrick Greenwell
"This is our time. It will not come again."
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