[ncdnhc-discuss] New TLDs - plan for more

[J-F C. (Jefsey) Morfin]

At 01:32 01/11/02, Milton Mueller wrote:

>Jefsey, as usual there is something to what you say
>but reactionary antiAmericanism warps your perspective.
>Trust me when I say that there are some major european
>commercial interests who would like very much for the TLD
>space to be opened to development. And you will see
>action on that front soon.


I am afraid you misread me. You are obliging me to detail the things. Too 
bad, you will have to survive my Frenglish.

There is no antiAmericanism whatsoever in what I say. If you read it that 
way it will (and it does cf TLDs, infra) blur your understanding. All what 
I say is that there is a non-European State which has an undue dominance on 
the net (we can discuss at length the reasons why we think it is undue).

This is something no one can accept, except possibly the Americans. The 
undue character is a factor of instability. The one (any one) who has that 
advantage may accept it if he is shortsighted, or give it away against the 
best terms if he has a real vision of its long term interests. This has 
nothing to do with who he is.

For a while we though the US had that a long term vision and tried to 
organize a concert in the governance, what is their interest, IMHO. The 
policy we observed the USG to follow was to open ICANN and statu quo. Then 
Plan B came (before Bush and Sep/11); a change started in Yokohama.

What we now observe is a closed ICANN, confirming itself as a de facto 
Agency. And, may be, new TLDs (I told about one mild option, there are 
others more "dramatic", more challenging, we will see). This looks to me a 
typical school case (as I have been taught) of Democrat to Republican 
"alternance" (switch), such as the one we have right now in France, with a 
traditional protectionist flavor in the US case.

I am purely neutral to that political situation. My interest is the network 
and the development it permits. We are to adapt. The network was endangered 
by the previous ICANN strategy, it is endangered by the current ICANN 
strategy. ICANN strategy is detail, except if aggressive, what we fear. The 
Arpanet technical culture is the problem, and it  does not change yet, but 
it may change with Richard Clarke.

Now, certainly, there are European which would be interested in TLD 
development. I am one of them :-). But I doubt they envision copying the US 
business model. A remark of a civil servant in here: "multiply by 1000 what 
we lose to the US with Internet, to get what they lose in Telecom". Do not 
think "AmerICANN Joke" is anti-Americanism. It is a pragmatic evaluation 
which translates today in NASDAQ results.

IMHO again the real problem is the US network lack of architecture/vision 
(1996 "Information" is what we called "Informatique" in the 50s). The moves 
of ICANN in the coming 2 months will tell us if the US make it to what we 
named Telematique in mid-70s or ever further. What Stuart will say may tell 
a lot: what we look for is the trend. No one can continue the way we do today.

Now the question is simple: will USA an Europe cooperate or compete. 
Competition IMHO would be a total waste of money, efforts, time and lives. 
Cooperation would be quite complex but really interesting in terms of new 
technical and societal developments. With huge positive consequences for 
the entire world. But are the US ready for an e-NATO. If I read Jeff: not yet.

The ball is in their field. Because they have the momentum, the motivation 
and Microsoft, but mostly because they are architecturally and societally 
late? Even if we are not yet ready, we can only wait for yjem (but not too 
long asi it gives them an advantage in their leading areas). In all that 
ICANN is the place where the USG must speak. Stuart started the things 
twice with Security in MdR, with the fake call on Govs. He describes it as 
a "management by surprises."

We will see what he has to say. It will probably be interesting - 
positively or negatively.
But it will not be the whole Internet anymore. It will be the US side of 
the Internet.
He worked hard enough for that to be accepted.
jfc

>--MM
>
> >>> "J-F C. (Jefsey)  Morfin" <jefsey at club-internet.fr> 10/30/02 04:25PM >>>
>We now are in international business/political relations, facing the undue
>domainance of a foreign State. Either we see an alliance and a new
>equilibirum developpng, or we will oppose. New TLDs are a breach in the
>status quo we had been made to believe. There are serveral hypothsis on the
>motivations and the targets, including the mild one I gave.
>
>
>
>
>
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