This is another view that we should at least be aware of. Carlton ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Karl E. Peters <kpeters@tldainc.org> Date: Tue, Dec 16, 2008 at 2:14 PM Subject: [governance] REAL net neutrality in now a hope! To: governance@lists.cpsr.org Quoted on and from the Governance list: "Net neutrality laws are necessary to ensure that Internet service providers do not block content they disagree with or give financial breaks to big tech companies, squeezing out smaller competitors and stifling innovation". I must agree with the author of the above quote!!! (And may it begin at home, with ICANN!!!) ICANN is the world's largest and grandest offender of these very net neutrality ideals when it ignored (and continues to ignore) the original plan that the "alternate roots" would serve as a testbed for the introduction of new TLDs into the "legacy root", now administered by ICANN. ICANN then goes with the big spenders it hopes to gain benefit from in awarding ".biz" away from its successful operator of that day, the Atlantic Root Network. (There is more than adequate proof of the existance of this .biz in carefully kept archives, if anyone cares to challenge!) While ICANN may claim it was unaware of our .biz, surely they heard of Leah Gallegos' testimony before the U.S. Congress on the matter! Surely they knew they were creating a monstrous internet naming collision by proposing a second registry for the same TLD! They simply did not care, because they were expecting big income from the new .biz just as they expect and recieve from the carefully protected Network Solutuions and a few other of their friends. Leah finally curtailed the orgininal .biz in the interest of internet stability, sacrificing her successful business for the smooth operation of the very internet ICANN is charged with protecting! Perhaps ICANN lacked the technical ability to search the internet to see what TLDs were already in operation when they went to create new ones? Was it technical ignorance or simple financial greed that led to that horrible precedent in internet piracy? It had to be one or the other! Which was it? Since the TLDA, in conjuction with the Public-Root, is set to publish its first TapRoot, a listing of all operational TLDs on any root, anywhere in the world on practically zero budget, I dare say it must have been pure greed alone. Had they put out the question for existing TLDs, a chorus of confirmations would have been returned. No nquestions would have remained. Deals could have been struck with existing TLD managers to include them in ICANN's root; but ICANN never even asked. ICANN wanted no proof for which to feel guilty. They just wanted another revenue stream from someone who would owe them a favor, and they got it. The Atlantic Root Nework's TLDs were perfectly operational on at least one root server system and often more than one (through something called cooperation) and had many happy SLD holders through a perfectly functional Registry system. The only difference: . . . we didn't owe them anything, and were proving that what ICANN does is very easily and cheaply duplicated. Such a model was dangerous to the big money schemes that US Government nods kept allowing ICANN to get away with, appearing to have some special ability the rest of the world lacked to run an internet. Now ICANN is pulling away from the US Government auspices entirely and can be tried more easily for their offenses. Perhaps the splintering of today's ICANN will finally allow for true Net Neutrality after all these years! Internet governance will become a little more work and a little less rubber-stamping, but the world will benefit greatly. We, the TLDA stand ready to do our part to assist in the transition. Sincerely yours, Karl E. Peters, President Top-Level Domain Association, Inc. USA (912) 638-1638 P.S. I will make the first draft of the TapRoot available on our webiste very soon and a copy may be had by anyone requesting it at no charge, even ICANN! Write me if you would like to see what is going on outside the gates. ____________________________________________________________ You received this message as a subscriber on the list: governance@lists.cpsr.org To be removed from the list, send any message to: governance-unsubscribe@lists.cpsr.org For all list information and functions, see: http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance