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ccTLDs Revolt Against ICANN
person-0.9a writes: "It seems that the ccTLD organization is very unhappy with how little they get from ICANN. They're so unhappy in fact that the ccTLD's have removed themselves from ICANN. Check out this article on zdnet for the full story."
ahh...an issue of "taxation without representation". The ccTLD's are the operators of ALL the international domains (.uk, .fr, etc..). Does that not also include .us? Did .us seperate from the mother commerce agency?? Are we in revolt against ourselves?
This is the worst thing they could do, because it completely removes any sort of leverage the ccTLDs could have over ICANN. There's no rational reason for it.
Here's an analogy: look at our trade relationship with China, for example. Bush is extending China's normal-trade status for another month precisely because revoking it would prevent the sort of constructive cooperation and criticism the US can retain over China's human-rights atrocities with the maintaining of trade. The reason China's stopped executing its disidents is because of this sort of economic persuasion. Money and thuggery intrinsically oppose each other.
If the ccTLDs want to change ICANN, then they must try to do so from within through the proper channels. That's the only way real change ever was made in this world.
The ccTLD's are protesting ICANN only as far as ICANN is thie organization that is supposed to support their technical decisions. In actuality, it's the DNSO and the heirarchy within ICANN that is being protested.
I was thinking about this the other day, and was wondering when, if at all, the ccTLD people were going to come out for, against, or neutral in the ICANN problems of late. While this isn't a response against the TLD policies, it is a response against the organization in general, and if the ccTLD's were to take their business elsewhere (i.e., New.Net), it could cause serious problems for ICANN's legitimacy as the "One True Root", since New.Net would also be hosting about 250 legitimate TLD's.
And on a side note, what's the big deal ICANN seems to have about adding a whole bunch of TLD's anyway? IIRC, a large percentage of the ccTLD's were added within months of each other, and it doesn't seem that the net has blown up yet. Why is adding 10 more gTLD's going to cause problems?
This space for rent. Call 1-800-STEAK4U
zdNet: "It is said that the ccTLDs are revolting."
ICANN: "You said it! They stink on ice!"
How ironic that it is Britain and all the other countries that are revolting against the US-dominated ICANN tax authority, for the same reason that the colonists dumped England's tea shipments into the harbor.
Irony can be pretty ironic, don't you think?
Edith Keeler Must Die
The intro blurb is wrong. The revolt is not against ICANN, but against the structure of representation within ICANN. The ccTLDs voted to leave the Domain Name Supporting Organization, not ICANN itself. In fact, what they are looking for is increased representation on the ICANN Board, not to leave the organization altogether. -- Bret
Apparently as confused as ICANN itself;
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appointed to the ICANN board when it was created nearly more than two years ago.
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High profile attacks on the might is right approach of ICANN can't be bad for the internet in the long run. Government isn't going to contain it.
In space, no one can hear you moo.
If one third of the operating income walks away from the spectators seats and into a crucial segment of the internet domain routing structure with its own service to fulfill then and IMHO only then will we see the Commerce Department become involved and require the almighty icann to accept public standards and play nice.
I think this is a good thing. That way no single frame of mind will have total sway over how we settle disputes for names and what it costs to have a presence.
Suddenly ICANN doesn't seem as important anymore when they are being instructed by the commerce department to cooperate in the intrest of the greater good.
R_V_Winkle
One of four things can happen right now:
- Chaos: Everybody follows suit, but in different directions. We end up with 50 different clusters of TLDs all with their own agendas. (visit us at www.server.com on DNS net 7!)
- Order: We get together and everything works to the benefit of the internet in general (ICANN benefits nobody - not even corps!)
- Bad Order: We just get another ICANN.
- Nothing: Sorry Slashdot, it happens sometimes - nothing happening that is...
Anybody venture to guess which one it will be?So you're a karma whore, eh? For the right price, I'll be a karma pimp...
SIG: HUP
Corrections:
It would be more correct to say "They've been talking for years", not months.
There are 18 seats on ICANN, not 19. In theory, 9 are elected by the three supporting agencies, and 9 elected by the internet "at large" but in reality, 6 are elected "support" seats (none of which are the ccTLD seats) and 4 elected "at large" seats. The rest are held by legacy appointees.
Some history on this:
ICANN was formed in 1998, essentially by the US, who appointed 9 people to the board at that time.
'Round about September 1999, 3 of the seats were supposed to have been filled by elections of the ccTLDs, but they didn't elect them. ICANN claims that they "decided to defer" the election. The ccTLD's claim they were not allowed to participate in this "decision." IOW, (if you believe them) they were defrauded of their three promised seats in 1999. It's hard to know who to believe in this, but I note that the seats are still aren't held by ccTLD's elected members. I think it's extremely unlikely that the amendments to the ICANN bylaws would have passed had those seats been filled by the ccTLDs.
Among other changes, the amendments have allowed 5 of the legacy appointees to remain without contest. Without the changes, they would have had to win an election to remain seated, and I for one, believe they wouldn't win.
ICANN is owned. What's the point in waving your arms about it at this point. The only possible sanity would have to come from congress and bush, fat chance there. So basicly the people have lost control over DNS. Move on to the next injustice.
They're not revolting vs. the centralization and assumption of power by ICANN, they just want a piece of it themselves.
Look; see what monkeys we are. Such is man.
Master of odors. Using his powerful scent, Stinkor destroys all.
Perhaps its time more people focused on ideas like OpenNIC.