On 23 June 1999, "Bret A. Fausett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>>How and when will I be allowed to have a say in ICANN?
>
>The simple answer is that you can have a say now.
[...snip of much very useful information...]
>
>As you've probably noted, there is some disagreement about whether the
>avenues I've described allow for _meaningful_ participation, but I
>assumed that you were looking for the information above. I hope this is
>helpful.
*smile* Thank you very much for that information. Some of it I knew,
some of it I wasn't aware of. However, my question was meant not only to
address this aspect of things, but also to point out that it seems that
the voice of the individual domain name owner is being lost in the
corporate shuffle.
I'm not here to take sides, but it does seem to me as though the current
convolutions that ICANN is going through are leading down a path that
will eventually exclude the common person from the process entirely. So
much so that there could be a near future in which the individual could
no longer buy a domain name. Depending on how things work out, this may
or may not leave the door open to a grass-roots movement away from the
current DNS system and the establishment of a new system altogether,
bypassing ICANN and their control over the namespace and IP blocks.
After all, ICANN doesn't control the software. Yet. :)
Sorry for the microrant.
--
Mark C. Langston
UNIX Systems Administrator
San Jose, CA
