[Membership] Re: [IFWP] Re: (!) Vint Cerf designing network for solar system (!)

[Ronda Hauben <ronda@panix.com>]

Matt

>Ronda, you quote all the "be liberal" parts of RFC 3, but not the "be
>conservative" part:

>>	The content of a NWG note may be any thought, suggestion,
>       etc. related to the HOST software or other aspect of the
>       network.

Are you saying that ICANN is *not* related to some aspect of 
the network?

And I wasn't talking about Bob creating an RFC but about the 
spirit of the RFC's to welcome all discussion, which is the 
same spirit I found on early MsgGroup mailing list, on early
Usenet, in the Unix community, and the way I was greeted when
I first got on Usenet and continue to find as the essential
Internet and Usenet culture.

It is ICANN that is a pollution and sadly this pollution seems
to be spreading to the IETF mailing list.

ICANN is about the issues that the IETF needs to sort out,
namely the structures and forms and processes for scaling.

Instead of the IETF figuring out what is needed, we have a 
new kid on the block usurping the venue and claiming that
the commercial, conflict of interest concerns of industry
are superior to the experimental methodology of computer
science and technology for solving the problems of 
how to scale the Internet.

I was at the ISOC press conference in July 1998 when 
Vint Cerf and others talked all about IP on Mars
and hid the fact of what was being done with 
respect to privatizing the controlling functions of
the Internet and the functions needed for scaling.

Included in this privatization is the IETF and the 
protocols, so the fact that Bob was asking for
discussion of the issues at the IETF was not a surprise,
only the surprise was how silent has been the IETF
in discussing this publicly and how the effort instead
seems to be to shut up anyone who raises these issues.

Do you not think what is happening with ICANN is 
appropriate for the IETF to be discussing publicly?


>Allisat's messages have been called off-topic for the ietf@ietf.org
>venue.  You made a lot of noise without answering that charge.

I responded to this message. Also I have at times looked
at the IETF discussion list and saw Bob's messages and
discussion of them that seemed helpful. And I have
seen folks raise issues like scaling and get only one
or two serious responses and then other responses that
seemed to suggest the topic was inappropriate for IETF
discussions.

But ICANN is about scaling, and if scaling the Internet
isn't an appropriate topic for IETF discussions, I wonder
what is.


I, for one, will not further pollute the IETF list with this
>contribution to the thread.  (I'll spare NANOG too.)



______________________________________________________________________
>Matt Crawford   

Ronda

ronda@panix.com


             Netizens: On the History and Impact
               of Usenet and the Internet
          http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/netbook/
            in print edition ISBN 0-8186-7706-6