John, Where do users of cybercafes (those with email addresses or those without who just surf) fit in? Are each of these "individual users" and in this scenario how in practice could you separate an Internet "user" from a member of the general public since almost everyone at least in OECD countries is interacting at some point during their day with some Internet use or other (and here I'm not even thinking about folks who are seamlessly using their cells as Internet access points? (And from a representational perspective does each of the individual's separate points of access count as being a separate "individual user"?) Also what about those who use common Internet access points as for example Telecentres where the "use" (and user) is more likely to be a family, an NGO or even a village rather than what we would consider to be an "individual"? In this case is the "individual user" each individual member of each family/organization/community or is it the collective in each case--if that is so, what possible meaning could the term "individual" user have? And in case anyone thinks that this discussion is a purely academic or abstract one, the two scenarios I've pointed to above right now probably constitute a majority of the world's Internet users (China in the first case and India in the second) and they have only started in the longer process of extending the Internet into their various hinterlands and hinterland populations. My sense is that the terminology that is being used here is highly culturally specific. I don't have a ready answer to the issue but I think it is important that we recognize that while we may all be using the same words, the meaning (or conceptual frames) that we apply to them may not at all be the same--and for me at least, the notion of "individual user" is one of those terms. MG -----Original Message----- From: na-discuss-bounces@atlarge-lists.icann.org [mailto:na-discuss-bounces@atlarge-lists.icann.org] On Behalf Of John L Sent: April 18, 2007 1:44 PM To: mgurst@vcn.bc.ca Cc: NA Discuss Subject: Re: [NA-Discuss] Action Items
In what you have written below John, you have used the term "individual user" at least three times in a more or less technical way. I assume then that you have a fairly rigorous i.e. non-ambiguous
definition for "individual user".
Nothing exotic, "individual user" means, well, an individual user. People who use the net for their own purposes, as opposed to people who use it within a business or organizational context. There is a difference of opinion within the ALAC whether that means people who register domains for their own use, or all people who use the net including the large majority who have never registered a domain and never will. Personally, I mean the latter group, since there are serious issues that affect them and aren't addressed elsewhere like domain squatting. The whole issue of .XXX and similar domains is also an issue not well addressed elsewhere. The porn industry has decidedly mixed enthusiasm for it, and it's supposed to provide a benefit for individuals who either want more access or less access to porn for themselves and their families. There's also considerable overlap between individual use and other kinds, e.g., if you send email to your spouse from work asking what groceries to pick up on the way home, that seems to me individual use even though you might be using your work access to do it. R's, John _______________________________________________ NA-Discuss mailing list NA-Discuss@atlarge-lists.icann.org http://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/na-discuss_atlarge-lists .icann.org --- Draft MoU with ICANN: http://www.icannwiki.org/NA_RALO_MOU Draft Operating Principles: http://www.icannwiki.org/NA_RALO_OP !DSPAM:2676,4626837a273381646359433!