[Comment-Aso] Fw: Letter from the RIR Cartel...

["Jim Fleming" <JimFleming@unir.com>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Fleming <JimFleming@unir.com>
To: gih@telstra.net <gih@telstra.net>
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Date: Saturday, August 14, 1999 12:58 AM
Subject: Letter from the RIR Cartel...


>@@@ http://www.ripe.net/mail-archives/aso-discuss/current/msg00043.html
>
>"We, the Board members of the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs)..."
>...
>"any Internet address allocation policy has far reaching, and potentially
>quite dramatic business, technological and social implications."
>
>"...allow for a broad range of potential policy outcomes to be aired and
>discussed"
>
>"first potential direction was to ensure that the ASO itself adequately
>encompassed all potential interested parties directly within the ASO
>framework itself."
>
>"second school of thought was to create an ASO which allowed the fair
>and open participation of those bodies which are the current recipients
>of allocated addresses through the self-regulatory structures of the
>Regional Internet Registries."
>...
>"In so doing we are mindful that the complete panoply of interested
>parties are not directly represented within an ASO, but rather are
>represented by being members of ASO member organizations,
>similar in manner to the DNSO constituencies. We do see that the
>broader structures of ICANN itself strive to pull together the
>massive diversity of interests which collectively are the Internet
>today, and there is little to be gained, and perhaps much that could be
>regretted in the future, if such a direction were mindlessly replicated
>within the ASO proposal."
>...
>"We recognize that ICANN's role is limited to global policies relating
>to Internet addresses, and that ICANN, and its supporting organizations
>make no claims whatsoever to usurp other bodies undertaking similar
>roles within other communications technologies, such as for telephony
>or Local Area Network Media Access Control addresses."
>...
>"We commend ETSI for being one of the first telecom industry bodies to
>express an interest in Internet address allocation policies, and in so
>doing we would also welcome many other industry, trade, governmental and
>consumer-based bodies at international, regional and national levels to
>express a similar level of interest in this activity."
>...
>"Rather than attempting to assert undue and improper influence within the
>ASO by usurping the balance between the membership of the RIRs and the
>ASO, we suggest to ETSI, and all other interested parties, a course of
>action which recommends that they become active participants within the
>scope of the Regional Internet Registries' activities, and assist in the
>efforts of such bodies to create sustainable and stable self-regulatory
>regional service bodies."
>
>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
>
>In my opinion the translation for all of these "wiggle words" is...
>
>1. ICANN....the RIRs can easily blow you away, so don't mess with us...
>
>2. The RIRs want ICANN to endorse them to keep them in monopoly
>positions of controlling and selling IP addresses and give them a place
>in the MLM - Multi-Level Marketing empire close to ICANN, but not
>ICANN, so that they are immune from the problems ICANN will face
>and so that they can always claim to be...just a small part of a big
>organization...and doing everything for the good of the community...
>
>3. In return for this endorsement of ICANN, the RIRs expect that other
>organizations will be dispersed BELOW the RIRs in the pyramid
>while being told that they are participants of the highest level by
ICANN...
>(i.e. the RIRs want ICANN to give everyone the mushroom treatment)
>
>In summary...the RIRs must think the rest of the world is as
>clueless as the ICANN Board and will not see right through
>this structure...which of course the RIRs would like everyone
>to believe is for the good of the Internet, while they all line their
>pockets with the fees and taxes collected from being the only
>private companies controlling the Internet address allocations
>and the DNS entries that reflect those allocations...
>
>Folks, it does not have to be this way...if you allow this type
>of "spin" to continue and to shape the future of the Internet then
>you will ALL be helping to create a system which will saddle your
>children with a governance structure which is far worse and more
>corrupt than the structures that the Internet originally claimed
>to be "routing around".
>
>I realize these topics are complex...if you want to simplify it all...
>...follow the money...it tells the whole story...
>
>
>Jim Fleming
>
>