Re: [ga] More on Sitefinder suspension

[Karl Auerbach <karl@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, 23 Sep 2003, Dan Steinberg wrote:

 
> Nothing in courts is a slam-dunk but this one...seems from this vantage
> point...to be a long-drawn out action ending in a loss.

I'm not so sure about the loss, but I agree with you and also foresee a
long and expensive process.  ICANN has crippled its ability to act with
authority in this matter because of its life-long non-attention to
technical issues pertaining to stability and its fixation on
business/economic/trademark regulation.

The DoC perhaps has powers, but it to has wounded itself by failing ever
to demonstrate that it has any cognizable statutory basis of authority.  
And it has oft-times demonstrated that it is rendered motionless by its
fear what might happen to the net if it disturbed NSI/Verisign's hegemony.

See my note on this at: http://www.cavebear.com/cbblog-archives/000056.html

(General URL: http://www.cavebear.com/cbblog/ )

As I see it, it's going to take a combination of several things to fix 
this situation:

  - A unified message from the IAB/IETF/ICANN/ITU that this thing is a bad 
thing from a technical perspecitve.

  - A clear message from ICANN, registrars, and users that this behaviour 
represents an unfair trade practice.

  - Someone with guts at the DoC and who is willing to put his/her job on
the line and willing to give the order to pull the contractual plug on
the 1993 cooperative agreement.

  - A viable and capable registry operator standing in the wings that can 
instantly pick up the registry operations.

  - A well orchestrated press campaign to spread the word about what is 
being done, and why.

	--karl--