and I replied:
Ronda,
have you taken time to look into the numbers of people trying to
register? do you know what the planning estimates were before
registration campaigns were initiated by various organizations?
The planning numbers for registration were on the order of 10,000
people. As of a few days ago something like 145,000 people had
sent in raw registrations. Keep in mind also that there is a
PIN number that has to be sent by mail. There is a calendar
schedule that ICANN is trying to keep for the election itself,
so the PINs have to get to the voters in time for that.
Every possible effort was made to increase the rate at which
registrations could be processed and we've gone from about 1000
a day to an artificially limited 5,000 per day (200 per hour)
simply because staff time to process is limited. Registrations
close July 31.
We all understand that the demand for this franchise far exceeds
our ability to satisfy it in this election cycle. An in-depth study
of the whole process is scheduled to begin after this election,
Ronda - perhaps you were unaware of that? The board detailed specific
areas to be considered. Perhaps the most effective way for your
idea to be considered is to arrange for your proposal to be made
available to the ICANN board?
Vint Cerf
At 12:38 PM 7/30/2000 -0400, ronda(_at_)panix(_dot_)com wrote:
I sent the following to Becky Burr a few minutes ago as a formal
complaint about the ICANN abuse of users
My proposal is online at the Dept of Commerce NTIA web site and
also at http://www.columbia.edu/~rh120/other/dns_proposal.txt
I welcome comments and discussion on the issues raised by the letter
I have sent to Becky Burr and on the actual problem that has to
be solved to protect and scale the vital functions of the Internet
in the public internet.
Ronda
ronda(_at_)panix(_dot_)com
----------
Date: Sun, 30 Jul 2000 11:57:34 -0400 (EDT)
From: <ronda(_at_)panix(_dot_)com>
To: bburr(_at_)ntia(_dot_)doc(_dot_)gov, msondow(_at_)iciiu(_dot_)org,
tom(_dot_)bliley(_at_)mail(_dot_)house(_dot_)gov,
vcerf(_at_)mci(_dot_)net
Subject: Formal complaint of abuse of users by ICANN
Becky Burr
NTIA
U.S. Dept of Commerce
Washington, D.C.
Dear Becky
Have you tried to register for ICANN's membership? First the membership
is an ill conceived notion to try to hide that ICANN has been formed
to deny the public interest with regard to the Internet's names,
numbers and protocols. It's an effort to make it seem that a non profit
corporation can be entrusted with the ownership and control of vital
functions of the infrastructure of the Internet. A nonprofit corporation
can't be entrusted with this. These are vital social and public
resources and they can't be put into a private sector entity.
However, rather than the US government making it possible to
examine the problem of how to protect the vital functions of the
Internet and to scale them in the public interest, ICANN was empowered
by the U.S. Department of Commerce with unbridled powers and a limited
provision was created for so called "membership" of users, i.e. some
limited right supposedly to vote for certain so called at large directors.
Well, people are now trying to sign up for that membership, for that
limited right to vote and it is clear that the ICANN folks are
not even making any access available to that. The version to sign
up at the ICANN web site requires frames. So people who don't have
a browser with frames are not able to even use that part of the
web site. And an alternative web site set up in another country
gives a message of "We are sorry. The database is currently overloaded.
Please try again when the system is less busy." when I tried to sign
up.
Clearly the whole ICANN model is not appropriate for the needs
of the Internet and its users.
I did propose a different model, and a prototype to build this
model to you before ICANN was given the U.S. Dept of Commerce
contract.
Clearly it was crucial that you explore other models and try
to determine what was the best proposal for the problem the
U.S. government was faced with, namely how to protect the vital
functions of the Internet from vested interests and to make
it possible for them to scale.
It seems that the U.S. government wasn't even interested
in trying to identify the problem that had to be solved,
let alone in trying to determine how to solve it.
I am formerly objecting to the whole process of the creation
and development of ICANN by the U.S. Department of Commerce,
and requesting that you find a way to have the proposal I
provided the Department of Commerce implemented.
My proposal provided a means to create meaningful online participation
by users and for computer scientists supported by their governments
to create an open process that would utilize the Internet and
its interactive processes to create the cooperative form needed
to safeguard the vital functions of the Internet's infrastructure.
That is what is needed not an institutional entity to encourage
the "vested interests" to fight over power and control over vital
functions of the Internet.
I am sending this to you as a formal complaint of not being
allowed to register with ICANN and asking that you take the necessary
means to stop the abuse of users and the Internet that ICANN
represents.
Sincerely
Ronda Hauben
244 West 72nd Street Apt 15D
New York, N.Y. 10023
U.S.A.
(212)787-9361
ronda(_at_)ais(_dot_)org
=================================================================
I moved to a new MCI WorldCom facility on Nov 11, 1999
MCI WorldCom
22001 Loudoun County Parkway
Building F2, Room 4115, ATTN: Vint Cerf
Ashburn, VA 20147
Telephone (703) 886-1690
FAX (703) 886-0047
"INTERNET IS FOR EVERYONE!"
INET 2001: Internet Global Summit
5-8 June 2001
Sweden International Fairs
Stockholm, Sweden
http://www.isoc.org/inet2001