NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Re: Priorities Amuck: ICANN Poised to Trigger Naming Quagmire
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Spectrum, the DNS, patenting ideas … When you start with a false premise – the idea that the
DNS as we know it is a directory and is stable – why not take it to the
next step? George Carlin just expired –does that mean his wit
will die too the when his DNS name expires? And why do we continue to
perpetuate the idea of the DNS is Procrustes’ trademark system? The more you buy into the really bad idea of denying people ownership
of their identity the more confusion there is – at what point does the
whole fetid mess sink into the mass of ambiguity which it tries to deny? For
that matter why assume that JohnSmith.com is the real John Smith? We continue to try to treat ideas as physical property be it
spectrum or the DNS. For that matter today’s patent system has extended
itself into protecting ideas as long as you can concoct a “machine”
that implements them. The DNS goes a step further in not only pretending that
the identifiers are simple property like a clump of earth but then missing the
point of property by denying real ownership. Too bad this name grab won’t be enough to get people
to try to understand concepts like binding and ambiguity. If anything, this is
an example of the tendency to take a bad idea and “fix” it by
taking it a step further. After all, if you’re remote controls don’t
work together we just make each one a better silo rather than recognizing that
the problem is the silo itself. -----Original Message-----
Priorities Amuck: ICANN Poised to Trigger Naming Quagmire
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000393.html Greetings. With all of the high-priority issues we
face today regarding the Internet --like assuring network
neutrality, or even getting decent Internet services to the 80% of the
world's population that doesn't have them now -- it's distressing
to see that ICANN is poised tomorrow to potentially trigger a
confusing and likely highly litigious, wasteful, and disruptive land grab
in new global top-level domain names (gTLDs) -- ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7468855.stm ). While ICANN's theoretical rationale for loosening up the
domain name environment is not utterly without merit, the likely real
world implications of a relative flood of new top-level domain
names should be pretty obvious to even a casual observer of the
Net over recent years. Everybody and his brother will want a top-level
name. ICANN will be deluged with applications. Clever crooks will find
ways to game the application and auction processes in league with shady
registries. Name confusion and phishing will rise to new
heights. Full employment for lawyers is guaranteed, as trademark
disputes -- and other legal disputes filed against ICANN's decisions
regarding particular names, balloon to capture as much oxygen as
possible. The dot-ex-ex-ex controversy and related censorship
concerns associated with the horrible idea of a sex-centric TLD
will rise yet again from the grave. And through it all, ICANN will be spinning its wheels
with a complicated and expensive process while so many more
important Internet issues are rotting essentially ignored on the
sidelines ( http://icann.org/topics/new-gtld-program.htm ). ICANN needs to get over their "domain names as issue
#1" fetish once and for all. Some minor relaxation of the gTLD
structure is probably warranted, but not the waste of time, money, and
other resources that their current plan seems sure to trigger
-- and we could definitely live without the consumer confusion and
risks that will arise from this mess as well. Enough is enough. It's time for ICANN to get its
priorities straight. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein lauren@vortex.com or lauren@pfir.org Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 http://www.pfir.org/lauren Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility -
http://www.pfir.org Co-Founder, NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad -
http://www.nnsquad.org Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com |