Re: [IFWP] Fwd: Re: Power Politics and the New Internet Order

[Kent Crispin]

On Wed, Mar 31, 1999 at 03:40:38PM -0800, Greg Skinner wrote:
> Kent Crispin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> 
> > On Wed, Mar 31, 1999 at 12:22:38PM -0800, Greg Skinner wrote:
> 
> >> Hmmm.  What power does the USG have to prevent people from using
> >> alternative TLDs?
> 
> > None whatsoever.  What keeps people from using alternative TLDs
> > is economics.  The primary value of a domain name on the
> > Internet is that it gives global visibility.  Alt-TLDs are
> > invisible, so there is no practical value to have a domain name
> > in an alt-tld.  Without alternative TLDs, there is no point in 
> > having an alternative root.
> 
> I agree with you, but I wouldn't so much call this the coercive power
> of the USG;

I think we are in total agreement -- the USG, IMO, has almost 
nothing to do with this.  It's just economics.

[...]
>Personally, I have nothing against alternative TLDs.

I have nothing against them either.  I just don't think they 
are economically viable.  They are fine as toys -- I have 
created several, myself.

>I can contact them when I need to.

That would be rather rare, I imagine.


-- 
Kent Crispin                               "Do good, and you'll be
[EMAIL PROTECTED]                           lonesome." -- Mark Twain