Network Solutions:

[Tim Walker <tim@cyberia.com>]

	I am simply an Internet programmer. Many of my programs however have
revolved around domain name availability and verifying the validity of DNS
servers records for my employer. Am I to understand that Network Solutions
can simply come in and ban access to what was previously public records and
hold the Internet community hostage to their demands whenever they choose
with no public notice? 
	I was able to fix the majority of the programs that I have written to
continue to work, although I have been disapointed with the results of a
simple whois search that still gives Network Solutions a means to SPAM
their ads on the results page. I was also very disapointed to find out that
Network Solutions shut down access to telnet into rs.internic.net which was
previously a very valuable (public) resource for ISP's. 
	Domain names are the heart and soul of the Internet. They are the meat
that makes a meal for a successful business on the Internet. If this is the
way that the Internet community can expect the Domain Name system to be
handled in the future then I would rather that you allow the US Gov to
begin taxing transactions. The current events will be more devestating to
the industry and the service that Service Providers are able to provide to
their customers.
	I suppose we should have taken more notice durring the closed door
meetings that led to this and expected something like this, but I truly
believe that most people in the Internet community believed that the people
representing them behind those closed doors believed enough in the free
speech mentality that created this technological explosion to continue the
trend. (Appologies for the run-on sentence).
	I would like to point out that despite what they think, Network Solutions
did not pay for that database. We in the Internet community paid for that
database. The US Government paid for that database. Network Solutions
maintained that database with our funds weather it was from the Internet
community's registration fees or from tax dollars. The Internet community
built Network Solutions and this is how they thank their investors. I hope
that this action will be corrected and those databases will once again be
public domain. 
	If I haven't said enough, did anyone else catch what the Network Solutions
shareholders told them today? A 15% drop in stock should say it all.

Tim Walker