ICANN | Comments of Internet Mail Service and Internet Software Consortium on .org Preliminary Evaluation Report

Comments of Internet Mail Service and Internet Software Consortium on .org Preliminary Evaluation Report
(Received 29 August 2002)

The IMS/ISC team applauds ICANN and the three teams that participated in the process for generating a preliminary evaluation. The analysis was an impressive display of committee logistics and resulted in three different rating algorithms, which fed a staff meta-algorithm, which in turn produced a summary result. Unfortunately, your code didn't compile on our systems:

There was no technical due diligence conducted as part of the evaluation. Past performance claims are not documented and no examination of code, logs, or configurations was conducted.
The evaluation was all theory and no practice. Since the distance between theory and practice is so much smaller in theory than in practice, it is no surprise that the evaluations were able to boil complex problems down to simple metrics.

The IMS/ISC team also applauds ICANN for the open and methodical .org bid process. There have been several opportunities scripted for comment and open dialogue. Unfortunately, the next step in the process is based on a moderated bulletin board system at <http://forum.icann/org-eval> which does not allow allow on-line discussion and comment.

Rather than engage in a detailed point-by-point analysis and refutation of the evaluations and their methodologies, it seems appropriate to pull up to 50,000 feet and explain why there is a fundamental difference of opinion about how to do what we call in the trade "technical due diligence." We have thus posted an open letter at <http://not.invisible.net/signals/bin/000270.shtml> and invite your comments as well as those of our fellow .organisms.

        /The IMS/ISC Team/
        Signed

        The IMS/ISC Team
        August 19, 2002

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