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The Internet Your Rights Online

ICANN & Internet Democracy 97

Posted by michael from the hammering-on-the-square-peg dept.
ICANN is meeting once again, this time in Yokohama, Japan. And once again, No man's life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session. Slashdot takes a look at ICANN and at the various attempts to beat some semblance of democracy and representation into the organization.

Before we even get into this, I'm going to recommend again that everyone sign up for ICANN's At-Large membership. The deadline is July 31 - if you haven't signed up by then, you've missed your chance to be one of a few thousand voters who will affect the course of the internet's development. U.S. registration is way below that of other internet-savvy nations on a percentage-of-internet-users basis, because the media in those countries has been running extensive registration campaigns. Slashdot will be covering the election process - register to vote! (Note: if you're planning to self-nominate yourself for one of the open board seats, even if it's not the North America seat, please email me - I'd like to talk to you.) We'll also take this opportunity to plug an unofficial site for the At-Large community created by a slashdot reader, www.applyatlarge.com. It's just getting started, but the At-Large community could use some non-ICANN methods of communication.

Jett writes "TomPaine.com has an interesting article discussing the upcoming ICANN elections. The article gives a lot of good info on how ICANN is set up as well as some analysis on some of the problems they are facing to ensure fair and democratic elections."

There's some information about the actual on-going meeting available in near-real-time, supposedly even a web-based chat though I haven't seen it in operation, sponsored by the Berkman Center. Keep in mind that Japan is ~14 hours ahead of the U.S., so the Saturday meetings will be occuring Friday night in the U.S.

Probably the most important news at this meeting is not the wrangling over new .TLDs, even though that is the only aspect of the ICANN meeting getting any press coverage. Though the vote hasn't happened yet, I'm willing to wager that the restrictive NSI proposals will win out - a few new .TLDs will be started, NSI will be running at least one of them (way to diversify!), with massive trademark protections so that most "good" domains will be unregistrable. That battle isn't going to be won any time soon. Note that every single problem associated with domain names - every single one, from squatting to scalping to companies hijacking domains from individuals - is caused by artificial scarcity of names. Eliminate the two sources of artificial scarcity (limited TLDs and trademark law) and all domain name problems vanish.

But the most important initiative at this meeting is the ambitiously-named Internet Democracy Project, started by the American Civil Liberties Union, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center. The site is already a great collection of links on ICANN, and promises more content in the future; it's a good place to start if you're new to this whole thing. They've articulated a civil society perspective on the ICANN elections process, ICANN itself, and the domain name system - excellent reading, excellent goals, I support them entirely. It remains to be seen what will come of this, but I hope that these organizations continue to do their utmost to push their views. Imagine a world where DNS was structured as they envision.
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ICANN & Internet Democracy More

ICANN & Internet Democracy

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  • Remember how people used to worry about the blatant commericalization of the 'net? Well, here it is; embodied.
  • And once again, No man's life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session

    I fail to see how ICANN, given its rather limited scope, has control over any of those 3 things.
  • And why are they masquerading as ICANN when all they do is tell me what "I Can't" do?!!?

    I tried signing up for the mentioned comittee, and had such a terrible time going through the process I just outright gave up. Sorry. I will just develop another internet-like society once the regulations are on, and I can't stand it anymore.

    whatever.
  • if ICANN will really last, given recent media attention to the troubles it's having. It seems EVERY member nation has some problem or another with it. Don't know if it can do much good, but I'm going over there right now to see about joining up. This seems like too little, too late by way of advertising such an important issue.

  • Okay... (Score:4)

    by Electric Angst ( 138229 ) on Friday July 14, 2000 @08:28AM (#932428)
    I just tried to sign up for an at-large membership, and it's telling me that the database is overloaded...

    Damnit! Did we just slashdot icann?

  • Voting (Score:3)

    by Dungeon Dweller ( 134014 ) on Friday July 14, 2000 @08:29AM (#932429)
    While I would love to see this help, I don't think that this is going to promote the cause of freedom much. At most, I see the voices of the uninformed being used for political leverage by ICANN. Voting, of course, can be used to help counteract this, but alas, I am not sure that our voice will be strong enough, and they don't have to listen to us anyway.

    I'm not saying don't go out and vote, of course. One voice is small, but one hundred are not. To be one of one hundred is big, and that is how you can help this situation out. Also, ICANN is not the end all to be all of political power on the internet, but one thing that it is, is a face that governments recognize when they think of the net (kind of), which is a form of political power. I think that louder voices are in the form of independant political action, however. So, vote, vote wisely, but if you are really concerned with what is going on in the net. Write to someone in government, write a story, write an editorial to your paper. These are ways to really get your voice heard.

  • I think ICANN, I think ICANN ... (Score:3)

    by John Jorsett ( 171560 ) on Friday July 14, 2000 @08:36AM (#932430)
    I'm going to recommend again that everyone sign up for ICANN's At-Large membership.

    ICANN insists on having my name, address, and email. What they don't say is what they're going to do with this info. Will this be published somewhere so that every spamming cretin on the planet will be sending me stuff? Am I going to be subjected to endless lobbying emails from groups seeking to influence my vote? Am I going to end up on the mailing list for every computer catalog in existence? (Apparently my concerns aren't shared, since the signup database over there is croaking from overload.)
  • was that the membership application requires a valid, non-anonymous e-mail address, as well as postal address. Does anyone else see the potential for ICANN to make megabucks by selling the member-lists to mass-marketers? Fear.

  • Protest Songs and Flowers in Your Hair (Score:4)

    by Dungeon Dweller ( 134014 ) on Friday July 14, 2000 @08:36AM (#932432)
    It's ICANN trying to shut us up! Rise against the man! Rise against ICANN! Don't let the man keep you down! ICANN simulated the error to wait for the /. hype to die down, it will open back up in an hour or 2 when the story is old news! CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE! Give encryption a chance!

    HELP! HELP! I'm being oppressed!

  • I also got the friendly "We are sorry. The database is currently overloaded. Please try again
    later.    " page.

    Of course this means that instead of the few thousands we may be talking about few hundred thousands in the membership-at-large.
  • The deadline is July 31 - if you haven't signed up by then, you've missed your chance to be one of a few thousand voters who will affect the course of the internet's development.

    Being that this site just got slashdotted in less than 10 minutes, we can assume that a large percentage of slashdotters will sign up. And since most of us think +- the same way when it comes to online rights (we like them), we could make an actual difference! i've never made a difference before. this is sort of exiting. Just don't let the power get to Taco's head :)
    -Superb0wl
  • Damnit! Did we just slashdot icann?

    No, they've been just as bad for ages, and it warns you so if you manage to get through to the application form. I've still not managed to get the form to submit, and I guess now /. have posted it I don't stand an individual's chance in court against Mattel.

    They've probably slowed the server down to avoid too many members joining up. After all they'd soon burn through that grant money if they had to air-mail a few hundred thousand PINs...


    --
    This comment was brought to you by And Clover.
  • Its true...

    https://members.icann.org/cgi-bin/atlarge/activa te.cgi

    We are sorry. The database is currently overloaded. Please try again later.
  • "Eliminate the two sources of artificial scarcity (limited TLDs and trademark law) and all domain name problems vanish."

    uhh, can say bullsh*t boys and girls... I knew you could.

    First off, people will hijack... it's the western definition of capitalism.

    Secondly, a US trademark seems to be a big sticking point right now. What people forget is that trademarks are applied by class. 2 or more companies/people can legitimately hold the same trademark. So, you're still going have people bitching and moaning over the TLD they wanted even if it's not squatting.
  • They do say, actually. Did you read any of this [icann.org]?

    2. You must provide your complete legal name and postal address in the membership application form. If your membership or vote is challenged as part of an At Large audit process, you must agree to furnish suitable documentation of your legal identity, address, country of residence, and age.

    3. You must provide a valid Internet email address that is continuously active so that you can send and receive messages from ICANN and participate in its electronic forums.

  • We need to have a talk about your caffeine addiction.
  • OK, offtopic, but all I can say is that I let a domain expire and never got such a letter, although the arrogance in it certainly sounds like them. I particularly like the "we are modifying your agreement ...". How many 'agreements' have you made where one party can change terms midstream? Personally, I think that any attempt to carry out this 'agreement' would be a litigation-farm in a heartbeat, but hey, what do I know?
  • Did you read their explanation of why they need this information? Despite all the criticism we give ICANN, they're trying to run this vote in an orderly and legitimate matter. This isn't like a poll that we can fix ("Hey, CNN wants to know whether Windows is better than Linux!"), it might actually have to deal with real relevant issues.

    They want your info to make sure that people won't hack up Perl scripts to create 100,000 bogus accounts in an effort to promote what Slashdot thinks is right. Other people _do_ have their own opinions. Being able to audit and verify the vote makes it just a hair more respectable than other Internet surveying projects.
  • Well, I guess this idea is not new, but I guess it is time to consider it. A self-nominee needs massive backup just to run for election, and I guess not many people will be able to get that backup. Why don't /.ers unite and come up with someone that may nominate themselves and get some backup from the rest of us?
  • Are there going to be campaigns for candidates? Will they have public platforms so the electorate knows what they're doing? By getting so many people invovled we may be doing more harm than good since it is quite possible that many of the voters don't have a clue about the canditates or their positions.

    They mention something about this in the article, and I think people should realize that it's not about voting for the sake of voting - it's voting for a person or an idea.

    You don't have a right to vote - you have a right to vote responsibly.



    Being with you, it's just one epiphany after another
  • So maybe ICANN should chang its name... to ICANN'T

    --Jim
  • Does ICANN, as a government-privatized entity, get any money from the govt.? If so, I propose that we haul them into court and get them to straighten up lest they lose their taxpayer dollars.

    Secondly, how does one get a bank of IP addresses these days?

  • Hrmm, fitting that ICANN is not /.ed to some effect.... "...Database overloaded..." ./bot
  • I am Cornholio! I need TP for my bunghole!

    Hrmm, perhaps I should cut back on my Coke/Coffee intake *hands shaking*
  • Quoth the website, at the bottom of http://members.icann.org/join_now.htm :

    "Your personal information will not be used for any purpose except At Large membership."

    Of course this COULD mean anything...

    (NOT DIRECTLY QUOTED, DON'T PANIC)
    "As a privileged At Large member, you will receive a subscription to numerous mailing lists which bring up issues for the internet community [like spamming] and will also receive door-to-door vote confirmation [i.e. they come to your house and beat you up if you don't vote how they want you to]"

    I have nothing against ICANN in this respect, just a thought of what that statement means...
  • HELP! HELP! I'm being oppressed!

    Bloody Peasant. You will use only .com, .net, .org, and YOU WILL LIKE IT!

    On a side note, what country has the domain .cc that I keep hearing advertised?

  • ICANN insists on having my name, address, and email. What they don't say is what they're going to do with this info.


    According to the website it says:
    If your membership or vote is challenged as part of an At Large audit process, you must agree to furnish suitable documentation of your legal identity, address, country of residence, and age.

    They want your info so that they can prove that you exist. This is in case someone demands a recount of the votes, and can show some unfair play, they can insure that everyone is a real person.
  • Want some Penguin mints? Caffeine good. Mmm. Caffeine. Good.
  • Sure I read it. It doesn't say anything about their limiting the use to just these purposes. For all that they've said, they could still go ahead and sell a mailing list of the members. You've got to think like a lawyer about these things (unpleasant as that might be).
  • Whoa!

    We are sorry. The database is currently overloaded. Please try again later.

    Maybe here's our form of protest.

    Slashdot ICANN [icann.org]

  • Obviously, it's for sites that use Closed Captioning

    Time to cut back on the 'dew...

  • The membership application requires a valid, non-anonymous e-mail address, as well as postal address.

    Sure they do. How are they supposed to send you information if you don't have email? How are they supposed to verify that you're a resident of a specific country without knowing your physical address?

    I'm interested in how you think those needs could be met in an alternative manner.

    Clearly, in this case there is a legitimate need for this sort of information. Remember, we're talking about voting rights in an international organization.

    If it really bothers you, it's trivial to arrange for alternate email addresses, and not all that difficult for physical ones.
    --
    WordSocket Voice BBS Software

  • Being able to vote doesn't do much if there isn't a decent candidate to vote for. Part of the process is the nomination process. We should make sure that some decent-minded people are nominated so that we have someone to vote for.
  • So the American TLDs should reflect the TM classes.

    ford.com.cars
    ford.com.CannedFish

    "Ford Motor Co. (tm)" and "Ford Fish Packing Co. (tm)" can both have their favourite domain.

  • Will ICANN protect my personal data?

    Yes. ICANN will use the personal data you provide in the application form only for purposes relating to its At Large Membership and election efforts. Your data will not be sold or transferred to unaffiliated companies or organizations, or used for any commercial purpose whatsoever.

    Source:https://members.icann.org/faq.htm

    I believe this answers your question.

  • Whoops, I mis-moderated. Just posting to undo the mod.

    Sorry,
    Walt

  • Background on how this all started.... (Score:4)

    by CalmCoolCollected ( 210423 ) on Friday July 14, 2000 @09:08AM (#932460)

    Government White Paper [doc.gov]

    /...

    Principles for a New System. In making a decision to enter into an agreement to establish a process to transfer current U.S. government management of DNS to such a new entity, the U.S. will be guided by, and consider the proposed entity's commitment to, the following principles:

    1. Stability

    The U.S. Government should end its role in the Internet number and name address system in a manner that ensures the stability of the Internet. The introduction of a new management system should not disrupt current operations or create competing root systems. During the transition and thereafter, the stability of the Internet should be the first priority of any DNS management system. Security and reliability of the DNS are important aspects of stability, and as a new DNS management system is introduced, a comprehensive security strategy should be developed.

    2. Competition.

    The Internet succeeds in great measure because it is a decentralized system that encourages innovation and maximizes individual freedom. Where possible, market mechanisms that support competition and consumer choice should drive the management of the Internet because they will lower costs, promote innovation, encourage diversity, and enhance user choice and satisfaction.

    3. Private, Bottom-Up Coordination.

    Certain management functions require coordination. In these cases, responsible, private-sector action is preferable to government control. A private coordinating process is likely to be more flexible than government and to move rapidly enough to meet the changing needs of the Internet and of Internet users. The private process should, as far as possible, reflect the bottom-up governance that has characterized development of the Internet to date.

    4. Representation.

    The new corporation should operate as a private entity for the benefit of the Internet community as a whole. The development of sound, fair, and widely accepted policies for the management of DNS will depend on input from the broad and growing community of Internet users. Management structures should reflect the functional and geographic diversity of the Internet and its users. Mechanisms should be established to ensure international participation in decision making.

    /...

  • Ever wonder why every country besides the US has a particular TLD (e.g. .co.uk, .cz, .to, .cx)? Why is there not a .us TLD?

    The US has no TLD home. Anything with a .co.uk URL is probably in the United Kingdom somewhere. (I do realize that this is not the case with all country specific TLD's, but bear with me here--I'm setting the stage for my argument which is...)

    The ICANN should set up a TLD (or a group of TLD's) for each country where that country is free to impose any trademark/copyright laws so far as name registration goes. Other TLD's should be virtual duty free zones, with no government interference (TM, copyright, etc.) allowed in the registration of domain names.

    Now wouldn't that be nice?

  • Why? (Score:2)

    by Greyfox ( 87712 )
    The ICANN really only has the authority we grant them. It wouldn't be too hard to take your toys and play in someone else's sandbox. It also wouldn't be too hard to build your own sandbox for other people to play in.

    To demonstrate: I will take a moment now and declare myself Emperor of the Internet. There. See? Wasn't hard. From this day forth, all of my loyal subjects will refer to me as Emperor Greyfox I. Also, we will now be using the royal we when speaking of ourselves.

    A new DNS system will be decreed sortly.

  • According to the law, at least in the United States, a voter registration database may not provided to anyone other than not-for-profit orgranizations, at which point they may not pass it on to any for-profit organization. This applies to government supported institutions, which ICANN is. I realize this still leaves room for plenty of spam mail, but at least you can have some comfort you won't be recieving Microsoft product information as a result of signing up.
  • Secondly, how does one get a bank of IP addresses these days?

    Offtopic, I know, but usually, you get them from your upstream provider. If you need a /20 or larger (approx. 2^12 unique IPs) you can find out all about how to get one at ARIN [arin.net] or your country's local registry (links can be found on the above ARIN page.)

  • Go to this link. [slashdot.org] It won't happen.
  • it's a small island in the Indian ocean - Cocoas [odci.gov] or Keelings Islands - territory of Austrailia, pop. 636, sale cash crop: coconuts. Just the perfect site for your servers.

  • Re:Govt. funding? (Score:3)

    by anticypher ( 48312 ) <<moc.liamg> <ta> <rehpycitna>> on Friday July 14, 2000 @09:22AM (#932467) Homepage
    Secondly, how does one get a bank of IP addresses these days?

    Nobody owns their IP addresses. You rent them from an internet provider. Each provider rents from a provider further up the hierarchy.

    At the top of the pile is the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority [iana.org] who have diced and sliced the existing IP address range into pieces, and given authority over those pieces to a handful of regional authorities. This keeps the inter-regional routing simple.

    See this [arin.net] link for a description of the process.

    The ICANN exists just to make the internet a confusing place. In confusion, there is profit!

    the AC

  • There is a .us TLD, but it's mainly used by gov't offices. It would be nice if people started using .us, but I don't even know if we can register them. Besides, everyone, even in non-US countries, just wants .com. There are even a lot of sites in the UK that are foouk.com, so clearly they are UK-specific, but they still want .com. But you never read trade mag articles about the .co.uk revolution, do you?
  • i agree with what you're saying-- "one voice is small, but one hundred are not." think if several /.ers register and vote, one voice will become part of thousands, not a hundred. it's like the /. effect. notice how many links are broken just because the story was posted here. if there is a strong candidate, or a strong issue, it will be discussed here and people will listen and vote.

    geeks of the world unite!
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • They want your info so that they can prove that you exist.

    And people who exist, exist to consume. Companies like consumers so much they pay for consumers addresses. ICANN has still not shown what they will do with your information after they confirm that you exist.

    Kagenin
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Ever wonder why every country besides the US has a particular TLD (e.g. .co.uk, .cz, .to, .cx)? Why is there not a .us TLD? There is, and has been for many years. It's not as popular as .com, .org., and .edu, but .us sites are out there. In particular, many state and city government web sites can be found in the .us domain. Try www.state.il.us or www.ci.urbana.il.us, for instance. Registering in .us is by no means restricted to government sites, though. Registering in .us is generally much cheaper than registering in a Big Three TLD, and may even be free. See www.nic.us for more information.
    --
    WordSocket Voice BBS Software
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Off topic yet again, but...

    This is the US TLD [www.nic.us] It's very heirarchial, and messed up IMHO. But it's there.

    Yes, I am karma whoring for -1 informative.

  • According to the email they sent me when I signed up, they're supposed to send me a PIN via snail mail. Then I use that, combined with my ID to verify my membership. It's been 2 weeks and I haven't received my PIN yet. Has anyone else gotten theirs? How long did it take?

  • Registering and voting can't hurt, so I think it's right to go for it (once their database recovers from being /.ed, of course). They don't seem to be making much of a privacy commitment, but I think that's a small risk. If you want to vote, but don't want the spam risk, you can always register with a deletable mail account. Heck, I've my own mail server, I'll give you an account to use if that's your concern.

    I'm also going to self-nominate, since I'd like to see some more radical views get expressed in the debate, even if the election is rigged and the folks elected will be a small minority of the Board.

    See The OpenDNS Project [unrated.net]'s pages for a description of a truly democratic name system.

  • But with government funding, they can get in deep doggie doo doo if they do go back on it.

  • Not to mention they snail mail you your PIN.

  • How many 'agreements' have you made where one party can change terms midstream?

    Try every single credit card company I've ever dealt with. Incidentally, If any of you have/have had a Citibank card over the last two years, they owe you money. There's a class-action lawsuit, something about Citi charging people 1/8th of a day extra interest each month over the last two years. If you lost your card for being a day late or don't have one of theirs anymore, you can ask for a refund/credit report change.

    -jpowers
  • I signed up March 2nd, I got a mail about the PIN letter to be mailed April 14th and I think I got it somewhere in the beginning of May (it's not dated).

    So I hope they speeded up the process, otherwise they have a problem.

  • OK... (Score:2)

    by Danse ( 1026 )

    So what happens when it becomes obvious to the common idiot that they've completely failed to meet these principles?

  • Of course there's a legitimate need for this information. There's ALSO a legitimate need for my shipping address when I order toys online. That doesn't stop my information from being misused. What if the governments all decided they wanted to get rid of the techies? It would be very easy to get those from ICANN and have us eliminated, read some science fiction. What promises are they making to keep this information anonymous? What if they publish it and some smart marketing company grabs it to target us for hi-tech marketing? There is ALWAYS a legitimate use for private information. The problem is there is ALWAYS a potential for abuse of private information. When you vote offline, your vote is not tied to your identity, nor is your information, AFAIK, available to anyone for purview. That system still works.

  • It took maybe 2 and a half weeks; you should have it soon.

  • yeah, it was mentioned in a comment on some other nsi issus/alternative dns registration story.

    any us citizen or company can get a free .us domain. it's localized, so if you live in los angeles, it's blah.losangeles.ca.us or something similar.

    anyways, enough with the crap, here's the link. www.nic.us [www.nic.us].

    --

  • Check out the OpenDNS Project [unrated.net]. That's exactly what we're doing. If you'd like to join us instead of setting it up yourself, join our discussion list. If you want to do your own instead, would you let us know so we can arrage for the projects to cooperate?
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • I got mine in the snailmail, but have never been able to use it because the web site has always been too busy. It would be faster if I could just login and do stuff by snailmailing back to them.


    ---
  • Try every single credit card company I've ever dealt with

    Uh uh. You signal your assent by using the card. NetSol simply rewrites 'your' agreement and says you're now bound by it, pal, unless you opt out by canceling your domain. No 'agreement' should require an affirmative act to prevent it from taking effect.
  • Hey, Turing!!

    Before firing off a rebuttal to a comment, you should sit down and think... "Huh. Is he making a joke?"

    Otherwise, you look... well... I'll omit how you look in order to avoid losing Karma.
  • They will have to in order to allow vote-in nominees, who currently need support of 10 or 15% of members. Where will they get that list from?
  • Actually, what I want is a subnet, but I've been blessed with the luxury of TCI@Home *hack* *hack* *cough* *cough*. Any way to do this?
  • Everytime I have tried to 'join', it returns a
    "DATABASE OVERLOADED, TRY LATER"
    Has anyone had any success

    meatplow
  • Ever wonder why every country besides the US has a particular TLD (e.g. .co.uk, .cz, .to, .cx)? Why is there not a .us TLD?

    Uhhh, you're a moron. As others have pointed out, there is a .us domain, and yes, you can register domains under it (although you have to fit them into the geographical hierarchy under .us - gee, imagine that, structure), and yes, registrations are free. Go to www.nic.us [www.nic.us] for more information and to register a domain.

    --

  • Okay, now let's think about this for a second.

    Currently, there aren't so many good, easy-to-remember, domain names left in .com, .net, and .org. Wouldn't adding more TLDs alleviate the problem?

    Not exactly.

    All you're doing by creating more TLDs is moving the problem up one level. Sure, people can create toys.store to compete with toys.com, but do you really think that once all the good toys.[insert-new-TLD-here] domains have been taken anybody will really want to have a domain named toys.a-new-tld-for-me? I think not. In fact, if you create 100 new TLDs, I can still see only a small handful like .com and .store actually becoming popular. All that's happened is that the problem has been moved up one level.

    Now, I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't open up *some* new TLDs simply to alleviate the pressure. Unfortunately, a real solution will have to come from somewhere else, like creating a system where the geographical location of the company plays a part in the domain name. Thus, amazon.com might become amazon.seattle.wa.us. Suddenly, there's no longer any real need guard your domain name so viciously because all the "prime" real estate in TLDs has been removed.

    Yes, I know that a .us geographical already exists. I also understand that some locations may be more popular than others. Finally, this isn't a real suggestion that I expect ICANN to act on, but more of an example how the TLDs could be expanded in a real meaningful way rather than just adding more TLDs which will again differentiate between prime real estate and trash.

    Thoughts?

    /EJS

  • Before firing off a rebuttal to a comment, you should sit down and think... "Huh. Is he making a joke?" If he was making a joke, it was a poor one. In order for a troll to be funny (if indeed they ever are; personally the novelty of trolling wore off for me about 1985 or so. It's a juvenile activity, after all) the troll needs to present a position so ludicrous (and original) that it's hard to imagine a person seriously holding that opinion. That's not the case here, what with so much privacy paranoia running around the net.

    The followup ("the government will hunt down the techies if they enter their ") gets a little closer to the right idea, although that one fails on the originality front. Overall rating: *yawn*.
    --
    WordSocket Voice BBS Software

  • Now we're getting way offtopic, but I'd recommend getting yourself a cheap 486 box with a couple ethernet cards, install Linux or the LRP [linuxrouter.org], and read up on IP Masquerading [linuxdoc.org]

  • I am impressed by your ability to pick out a relatively unimportant detail in a user comment and draw such a generalized conclusion so quickly.

    Really, why don't you spend some time trashing my original idea rather than stopping on one supporting detail that I got wrong (very wrong, but that's beside the point).

    The fact that the .us TLD exists but is implemented in a weird heierchical manner actually supports my idea. Let the governments have their little heierarchies to screw them up or whatever, but don't let them touch the other TLD's.

    Now, please, pick the idea apart--even generalize it to "Let the governments have their little heierarchies to screw them up or whatever, but don't let them touch the other TLD's. Uhhh, you're a moron" if you want. Just don't tell me the same thing for a seventh time.

    I enjoy it when someone can attack an idea (even my own) and tear it to the ground.

  • Read less sciense fiction. Read more of ICANN's FAQ:
    "Will ICANN protect my personal data?

    Yes. ICANN will use the personal data you provide in the application form only for purposes relating to its At Large Membership and election efforts. Your data will not be sold or transferred to unaffiliated companies or organizations, or used for any commercial purpose whatsoever."

  • Mod me down for redundant (no, really), but now that the ICANN thang is "hot again" I would like to repeat my post from the last discussion on this:
    -----------------------------------------------
    Okay, perhaps this is not the perfect solution... however at present it presents the only vaguely-workable solution to the domain name disaster we are experiencing. A lot of people on this site have voiced some very strong opinions and some very viable ideas on solutions. ICANN is sure as hell not lurking /. to come up with policy... so take your ideas and opinions to the source. The worst that can happen is that they are ignored. If you don't sign up, you're gauranteed that your ideas/opinions will be ignored. Most notably, I expect that the people who had good ideas about tlds to sign up. In case you have forgotten who you are, here's the list:
    SlushDot
    Colin Smith
    Montressor
    m.o
    alarmo
    Snarfangel
    dsplat
    Mr Z
    CoughDropAddict
    Greyfox
    kerrbear
    mtphoto

    Additionally, there are several folks who have voiced very strong and (sometimes) very well reasoned opinions about domain name administration. I would like to remind said folks again that, while we enjoy your input here, it has zero chance of making an impact on reality if stays on slashdot. If said people need to be reminded of their identities, they are:
    JohnJake
    Duane Dibbley
    DHartung
    titus-g
    cd_Csc
    chrome koran
    robman
    haplo21112
    hidden
    Garry Anderson

    Lastly, remember that since ICANN is not inviting you specifically to join, a vote of abstention (by not joining) will go unheard.... and if anyone has a better, workable solution, speak it.

    ------------------------------------------------
    end copy/paste

  • Copy and Paste... (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Viola! Instant karma!

  • The major problem with relying on geographical domain names is that some companies are located in more than one location. Does a company like WorldCom go with a .us or a .uk domain? Both? Why should it have to. It's a worldwide company. Restricting it to any country domain is stupid.

    I think the original intent of the TLDs is probably the best one. The problem was, they didn't have enough to keep up with it. Organize TLDs into certain fields, and then restrict them. Don't let anyone other than ISPs, ASPs, etc. get a .net domain. Don't let anyone other than non-profit organizations get a .org. They got stuck, though, because they didn't make enough to split up, and EVERYONE was stuck with .com. So what does Ford Electricians do when the want a domain? They're stuck with something really long, because Ford Auto grabbed all the domain names. What you should have is ford.auto and ford.craft or ford.elec or something like that. Slashdot would be slashdot.news. The problem with that...you're stuck with far too many domains than most people want to deal with. And even then, some companies, organizations, etc. are going to spill over into one or more possibilities. But it's far better than what we've got now.
  • Since the 'at large' membership database is being slashdotted, I thought I'd point out that many of you are (or aren't) being presented an important opportunity here. That being said, let's consider the types of Slashdot reader that are signing up today:

    Lurker: won't be contributing much to the message board debates.

    Zealot: the support for .gnu has been found!

    Troll: disruption, misinformation and FUD are the M.O.

    IT Pro: Will harp on the technical failings of any proposed plan. (instead of making it work)

    Karma Whore: The likeliest 'self-nominated board member', think of the karma there! Will the first /. reader to hold a seat get to post directly on to the front page?

    1337 h4x0r: No such thing really, right?

    Windows User: commonly confused with troll. Anyone who is a windows user and stuck on slashdot is probably looking for something more fulfilling, and this may be it...

    I am an 'at large' member, I've had my membership for a little over a month now, and I was a little concerned at first that the slashdot demons had been unleashed. But really, if some of todays new members forget all about this in a week, that makes my vote all that much stronger. there is a limited number of memberships, after all. Which leads me to suspect that maybe the upper limit of memberships was reached toaday after the first few 10's of 1000's of slashdot readers showed up to hop on the bandwagon. All in all, I guess it's better to share the wealth, as it were, than to keep this a secret for infrastructure geeks only.


    :)Fudboy
  • What's the difference between a viola and a trampoline?

    You take your shoes off to jump on a trampoline.

  • Yup I got mine perhaps /. could have interviews with all the candiates so we could decide who is the best then all use our votes wisely.

    James
  • I was thinking I'd go right off bind. Bind is hairy and nasty and apparently makes it way too easy to corrupt the root servers if you don't know what you're doing. When people who don't know what they're doing can corrupt your root servers, you've got a problem.

    I'm trying to come up with something sufficiently not-bind-like that would still be useful. gethostbyname et al will have to be rewritten, but that's not a huge big deal. At least, not for us Linux guys.

  • I can agree with that. Several folks on the discussion list have suggested ways that a replacement could go and are looking into them. We're using BIND now (though one TLD site is using DNSCache and we have a user site which is running some Win98 name server), of course, because it's there and we have to least stay compatible with it (as long as that's what most sites use) if we want to be globally accessible.

    If you decide to work on a replacement, can you keep us informed of your progress? What I'm most interested in is the policy/social layer, so I'm not particularly wedded to any server program.
  • There is a tld for each country, even the US. They even have ones for states (.nd.us for North Dakota)

  • If you're really interested in ICANN (Score:3)

    by GuNgA-DiN ( 17556 ) on Friday July 14, 2000 @01:48PM (#932509)
    You should join the General Assembly of the DNSO [dnso.org] (Domain Name Supporting Organization of ICANN) too.
    http://www.dnso.org/dns o/notes/2000.GA-voting-registry.html [dnso.org]

    They advises the ICANN Board with respect to policy issues relating to the Domain Name System. I joined working group 'C' last year and participated in the debate over new TLDs. Not a whole lot came out of it, but at least I tried.

    I think that /. readers should pay attention to ICANN, and what Esther Dyson and her cronies are up to. If you don't stand up and speak your mind, companies like Micro$oft, MCI, and AT&T would be happy to do it for you. We need a larger representation of non-commercial users.

    While you're at it, you might want to join the Individual Domain Name Owners' Constituency [democracy.org.nz] too.

  • I used to think Esther Dyson was a smart woman... and I still think so, but one person's brains aren't enough... meritocracy still depends on who's doing the defining of "merit." There's at least a perception of her trying to run things... and ever since I wasn't in the "in crowd" in grade school, I've hated cliques.
  • Yeah, and we CAN all jump off 3-foot stools at a coordinated time so the shock wave knocks China off the face of the planet - we CAN, but we won't.

    ($10 psuedo-bucks for the person who IDs the story and author)

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • If history is any indication, you won't make any difference in the ICANN process. First, the rules are stacked against you due to the gaming in the ICANN formation process. Second, whenever ICANN has potentially compromised its control in the past, it has simply violated its by-laws or changed the rules to retain control. Finally, even if you win every single board position (very unlikely), you will only control 5/19ths of the board, and still lack a voice in the DNSO.
  • >Finally, even if you win every single board position (very unlikely), you will only control 5/19ths of the board,
    > and still lack a voice in the DNSO.

    Well, then we will just have to assasinate until we have 5/9ths.

    Really, 5/19ths is reasonably strong considering the others presumably aren't as cooperative amongst themselves. More realistically, even if we only got 1 spot, that is still 1 voice for our opinion(ack, I'm starting to generalize), and, most importantly, 1 set of ears to get info on what is really happening. Our representative(s) could write regular bits on slashdot and perhaps poll our opinion and maybe even vote based on it.

    Well, as long as "hamster" isn't a choice. This is a good government opportunity. We should scramble for any chance given to bring choice back to the system.
  • If it's any consolation, I applied when they rolled the original website and got confirmation in the mail a few weeks ago (it was supposed to take days and took months). Clearly, their sense that they can keep the ingroup small is backfiring. Duh. Lots of people have a vested interest in the DNS, including myself. I'm still way too jaded to think my app is anything but shredder-fodder. Nonetheless, I plod on...
    Anyone with valuable info regarding the process of getting something out of the app process PLEASE e-mail me at bob@webmail.domainalchemy.com
    Please don't send a bunch of crap. I get 6 megs of storage, BUT I NEED IT!! TIA.
  • US Registration? What does that mean? If it was high, everyone would complain endlessly about US Domination a la WTO. I think we all know who REALLY is in control (cough, cough, NSI, cough, cough) Go ahead, refute me! bob@webmail.domainalchemy.com
  • Warning- I have declared myself Penultimate ZenithNadir of Internet Consciousness. You, are no longer needed. Sorry, bob@webmail.domainalchemy.com
  • You talkin' craaaaazy and all.....sensical-like. I'm frequently amazed by all the great ideas sitting out in the open on /. Too bad a lack of good ideas isn't the problem. Cynically, bob@webmail.domainalchemy.com
  • Been trying every few hours over the weekend, still haven't been able to get registered. Anyone else have any luck? ./bot

  • Not only is the registration system still hors de combat, but also it's more than a little buggy:

    We are sorry. The database is currently overloaded.
    Current load is 538.
    Limit is 600.
    Please try again in an hour or two.

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