Internet Governance is Not A Business

["J. William Semich (NIC JWS7)" <bsemich@mail.nu>]

In support of the Paris Draft application to form the DNSO, I'd like to
submit the following comments:


There are two primary reasons the Paris Draft application to form a
Domain Name Supporting Organization (DNSO)  stands out as the most
preferable model for creating a DNSO, in contrast to the ICC (etc.) DNSO
proposal that came out of the Washington meetings.

1. The Paris draft recognizes the long and established series of
technical and policy-based RFCs that form the basis for the Internet -
and are maintained today in current practice. By recognizing this up
front, the Paris draft will assure stability across all sectors of the
domain name space, even as the name space evolves and grows in a free
market.

2. The Paris draft follows the IETF model of self-organizing
constituencies. The Paris draft also has no all-powerful executive
committee making independent decisions that effect the membership. The
names counsel does not function as an executive body in the Paris draft
but as a consensus building mechanism.

Both these reasons have a common thread: They are grounded in the
evolving history of the Internet, and they maintain the continuity of
the Internet's unique (and obviously successful), indirect
self-management and consensus form of governence. 

The one thing that will kill the spark that keeps the Internet evolving
and thriving is the forced implementation, by an all-powerful authority
(as ICANN could become if we are all not careful), of a strong,
hierarchical business-based organizational structure for the Internet
and for Internet governance. The drafters of the Paris application to
form the DNSO all recognized this potential problem in the ICC Draft
application and have worked hard to be sure the DNSO they form (through
ICANN) keeps that spark burning.

It is critically important to be sure that any final DNSO structure
selected by ICANN maintains that loose but effective organization and
approach to Internet governance, and keeps the current RFCs alive as the
historical foundation for future evolution.

J. William Semich (NIC JWS7)
Bsemich@mail.nu
.NU Domain (Niue, The South Pacific)

Co-founder/Secretary-Treasurer of the 
International Association of Top Level Domains (IATLD)

Member and Active Participant, Policy Advisory Body (PAB) of the
gTLD-MoU
Active Participant, IFWP: Reston, Geneva, Singapore and Boston
Active Participant, DNSO.ORG: Barcelona and Monterrey
Signatory, The Paris Draft Application to form the DNSO
Active Memberships: ISOC, ISP/C, APTLD, APIA, Internet Users Society -
Niue