IP: Rutt Report #1 - An Introduction

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> From: "Rutt, Jim" <JRutt () netsol com>
> To: "'Dave Farber'" <farber () cis upenn edu>
> Subject: Rutt Report #1 - An Introduction
> Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 20:11:02 -0400
> X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2448.0)
>
> [for posting to the IP list]
>
> Dear Fellow Netizens:
>
> As you may have heard, last month I joined Network Solutions, Inc. as CEO.
> For those of you who don't know, Network Solutions (with the help of our
> many distribution partners) registers names for the com, net and org domains
> on the Internet.  Domain names are the unique identifiers (such as
> jimrutt.com, viperclub.org, aol.com, etc.) that labels Net resources in ways
> that humans can more easily remember (under the surface, the computers use
> numbers like  198.41.0.196 to talk to each other).  Through this role,
> Network Solutions plays a vital part in supporting the growth of the
> Internet and in protecting its stability and security. 
>
> I want to introduce myself to those of you in the Internet community who
> don't already know me. I want you to know who I am, and what I believe about
> this incredible thing we call the Internet. 
>
> The first thing I want to tell you is - I love the Net! I am a bona fide Net
> head who first went online way back in 1980, when I went to work for "The
> Source," one of the first consumer online services.   At The Source, I was
> intimately involved with developing early versions of e-mail, bulletin
> boards, and even e-commerce.  (I think I coined the expression "snail mail"
> - cite: January 1981 The Source "Post" bulletin board system - but claims of
> earlier usage welcomed!).   I was the inventor of The Source's "User
> Publishing" program that allowed our customers to publish their own
> materials on the network, a precursor in some ways to today's personal Web
> sites.  I was also Godfather for Harry Steven's PARTICIPATE offering, one of
> the first operational many-to-many computer conferencing environments.
>
> I left The Source in 1982 to co-found Business Research Corporation, which
> created several successful online information products for the investment
> community including Investext and First Call.  Meanwhile, I became a
> habitual CompuServe user, participating in numerous SIGs, CompuServe's
> version of bulletin boards.  I was also a regular in MegaWars III as well.
> I wrote one of the first PC software combat front ends for Megawars. If any
> of you were bushwhacked on reset night by "Mother Fletche," ship 4726, that
> was me!
>
> My next home in cyberspace starting in 1989 was The WELL (www.well.com), the
> pioneering many-to-many computer conferencing system that arose from the
> Whole Earth Review and Catalog. It was on The WELL  that  The Electronic
> Frontier Foundation was thought up.  I was part of the startup group and
> became member number seven or so.  While I don't agree with everything they
> say, I've been proud to be an EFF member ever since.  It was on The WELL
> that I became a regular user of the Internet proper.  Before long, to get to
> The WELL more efficiently, I became a customer of NETCOM, one of the very
> first commercial ISPs. This  put me on  the Internet, mainline.  Later,  I
> was one of Bill Schrader's first customers for a full UUCP feed at PSI.
> While I mostly participated in misc.rural and comp.lang.perl, I found the
> evolution of the alt.* hierarchy fascinating.
>
> In 1992, I took my Net experiences back into the commercial world. I helped
> transform The Thomson Corporation (www.thomcorp.com) from a
> big-but-somewhat-stodgy publishing company into an aggressive, Net-oriented
> information company.  I started Thomson Labs in 1994 with a major focus on
> the Internet and related technologies.  By 1998,  well over $2 billion of
> Thomson's revenue was from electronic products.  A major transformation for
> a company whose previous core competency had been stamping ink on dead
> trees!  I was Chief Technology Officer there (and chief of Internet
> evangelizing) when I left to become CEO of Network Solutions.
>
> Why all the history?  Because I want to be sure you know that Network
> Solutions, a trusted Net third party, is led not by "a suit" who could just
> as easily have wound up at a disposable diaper business, but rather by a
> real Netizen who really cares about the Internet today and in the future.
> Of course, as the CEO of a publicly traded company I have a duty to our
> shareholders as well. There's no conflict, in my mind. I sincerely believe
> that what is good for the Net is good for Network Solutions.  We're here to
> grow with the Net.
>
> In the past, perhaps Network Solutions hasn't reached out to the Net
> community as much as it might have.  Building the robust infrastructure that
> has supported the explosive growth of the last few years has kept our folks
> focused on the technical and operational tasks at hand.  But I'm here to
> tell you that while stability, security, and service will remain Job 1, we
> will begin more aggressive outreach and interaction with the Net community.
>
>
> To that end, I am establishing the office of Internet Ombudsman, whose job
> it will be to work with the various constituencies of the Net, to make sure
> that wherever possible we are doing right by Net values.   This ombudsman,
> whom I will name soon, will have access to my office at any time.  When we
> are doing or proposing something that threatens the values we hold, it will
> be up to him or her to tell me about it. As I said before, what's good for
> the Net is good for Network Solutions.  
>
> We'll be doing other things to reach out as well.  We'll further engage in a
> dialog  on  our domain name dispute policy with the Net community.  We'll
> also continue to solicit your views on some of the most vexing issues around
> the domain name management system, like the need to take care of both the
> privacy of registrants of domain names and the legitimate needs of trademark
> owners to have access to information.. 
>
> So just what are these Net values?  What set of philosophies allowed a
> simple, obscure research network to become the central nervous system for
> the planet earth?  How does it support a myriad of noncommercial purposes
> while at the same time serve as the basis for a commercial marketplace that
> grew to $300 billion in 1998 and will represent trillions of dollars of
> economic activity by early in the 21st century? (see
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/daily/june99/internet20.htm). 
>
> I would argue that the essence of the Net value system is to be found at the
> intersection of almost total freedom with voluntary and truly
> consensus-based cooperation.   The Net's freedom provides the most
> unfettered workspace ever created by or for the human mind. Cooperation on
> the Net allows us all to work together to make the whole so much greater
> than the sum of the parts.  When the cooperation is truly voluntary, the
> free market in ideas allows the best models to prevail.  There are many
> dead Internet "standards" out there (OSI anybody?) pronouncements by
> self-designated net-gods that folks on the Net community rejected.  They
> were dead on arrival.  This is as it should be. The cooperative community
> that constitutes the Net is smart enough to quickly figure out what is in
> its own good, and smart enough to ignore the rest.
>
> As free and unfettered as the Net is, there is a need for a few very basic
> rules of the road, such as protocols for things like TCP/IP and HTTP,
> assignment of unique IP addresses, and ways to avoid collisions around
> domain names.   What I would say, though, is that the goal should be to have
> as few rules as necessary.  And these rules should always be about technical
> issues that define how the Net functions, not about policies that dictate
> what it is to be used for.
>
> Some folks may argue that this freedom doesn't produce neat, tidy results,
> and they are right.  Freedom is messy.   But it is the freedom to
> experiment, try things never envisioned before, and to do the unexpected
> that has allowed people to make the Net the astounding success that it is.
> We need to preserve to the maximum degree compatible with stability and
> security the traditional freedom of the Net if it is to remain this amazing
> engine of innovation. 
>
> Of course, this freedom does not free us from responsibility to obey the
> law.  And the unique aspects of cyberspace will no doubt require from time
> to time new laws and new interpretations of old laws.  Those laws, though,
> should be enacted through elected representatives who are accountable for
> their actions to their constituents, and whose actions are subject to
> judicial supervision.  Laws for cyberspace should not be made by people who
> are unelected and unaccountable.  History has shown that no matter how well
> intended, authority that is unaccountable is dangerous.  
>
> There's some heavy politics coming down around the Net these days, that
> could put at risk the freedom and cooperation that has allowed the Net to
> flourish. Those politics will be the subject of my next Rutt Report - coming
> soon!
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Jim Rutt
> CEO Network Solutions 
>
> Dear Fellow Netizens:
>
> As you may have heard, last month I joined Network Solutions, Inc. as CEO.
> For those of you who don't know, Network Solutions (with the help of our
> many distribution partners) registers names for the com, net and org domains
> on the Internet.  Domain names are the unique identifiers (such as
> jimrutt.com, viperclub.org, aol.com, etc.) that labels Net resources in ways
> that humans can more easily remember (under the surface, the computers use
> numbers like  198.41.0.196 to talk to each other).  Through this role,
> Network Solutions plays a vital part in supporting the growth of the
> Internet and in protecting its stability and security. 
>
> I want to introduce myself to those of you in the Internet community who
> don't already know me. I want you to know who I am, and what I believe about
> this incredible thing we call the Internet. 
>
> The first thing I want to tell you is - I love the Net! I am a bona fide Net
> head who first went online way back in 1980, when I went to work for "The
> Source," one of the first consumer online services.   At The Source, I was
> intimately involved with developing early versions of e-mail, bulletin
> boards, and even e-commerce.  (I think I coined the expression "snail mail"
> - cite: January 1981 The Source "Post" bulletin board system - but claims of
> earlier usage welcomed!).   I was the inventor of The Source's "User
> Publishing" program that allowed our customers to publish their own
> materials on the network, a precursor in some ways to today's personal Web
> sites.  I was also Godfather for Harry Steven's PARTICIPATE offering, one of
> the first operational many-to-many computer conferencing environments.
>
> I left The Source in 1982 to co-found Business Research Corporation, which
> created several successful online information products for the investment
> community including Investext and First Call.  Meanwhile, I became a
> habitual CompuServe user, participating in numerous SIGs, CompuServe's
> version of bulletin boards.  I was also a regular in MegaWars III as well.
> I wrote one of the first PC software combat front ends for Megawars. If any
> of you were bushwhacked on reset night by "Mother Fletche," ship 4726, that
> was me!
>
> My next home in cyberspace starting in 1989 was The WELL (www.well.com), the
> pioneering many-to-many computer conferencing system that arose from the
> Whole Earth Review and Catalog. It was on The WELL  that  The Electronic
> Frontier Foundation was thought up.  I was part of the startup group and
> became member number seven or so.  While I don't agree with everything they
> say, I've been proud to be an EFF member ever since.  It was on The WELL
> that I became a regular user of the Internet proper.  Before long, to get to
> The WELL more efficiently, I became a customer of NETCOM, one of the very
> first commercial ISPs. This  put me on  the Internet, mainline.  Later,  I
> was one of Bill Schrader's first customers for a full UUCP feed at PSI.
> While I mostly participated in misc.rural and comp.lang.perl, I found the
> evolution of the alt.* hierarchy fascinating.
>
> In 1992, I took my Net experiences back into the commercial world. I helped
> transform The Thomson Corporation (www.thomcorp.com) from a
> big-but-somewhat-stodgy publishing company into an aggressive, Net-oriented
> information company.  I started Thomson Labs in 1994 with a major focus on
> the Internet and related technologies.  By 1998,  well over $2 billion of
> Thomson's revenue was from electronic products.  A major transformation for
> a company whose previous core competency had been stamping ink on dead
> trees!  I was Chief Technology Officer there (and chief of Internet
> evangelizing) when I left to become CEO of Network Solutions.
>
> Why all the history?  Because I want to be sure you know that Network
> Solutions, a trusted Net third party, is led not by "a suit" who could just
> as easily have wound up at a disposable diaper business, but rather by a
> real Netizen who really cares about the Internet today and in the future.
> Of course, as the CEO of a publicly traded company I have a duty to our
> shareholders as well. There's no conflict, in my mind. I sincerely believe
> that what is good for the Net is good for Network Solutions.  We're here to
> grow with the Net.
>
> In the past, perhaps Network Solutions hasn't reached out to the Net
> community as much as it might have.  Building the robust infrastructure that
> has supported the explosive growth of the last few years has kept our folks
> focused on the technical and operational tasks at hand.  But I'm here to
> tell you that while stability, security, and service will remain Job 1, we
> will begin more aggressive outreach and interaction with the Net community.
>
>
> To that end, I am establishing the office of Internet Ombudsman, whose job
> it will be to work with the various constituencies of the Net, to make sure
> that wherever possible we are doing right by Net values.   This ombudsman,
> whom I will name soon, will have access to my office at any time.  When we
> are doing or proposing something that threatens the values we hold, it will
> be up to him or her to tell me about it. As I said before, what's good for
> the Net is good for Network Solutions.  
>
> We'll be doing other things to reach out as well.  We'll further engage in a
> dialog  on  our domain name dispute policy with the Net community.  We'll
> also continue to solicit your views on some of the most vexing issues around
> the domain name management system, like the need to take care of both the
> privacy of registrants of domain names and the legitimate needs of trademark
> owners to have access to information.. 
>
> So just what are these Net values?  What set of philosophies allowed a
> simple, obscure research network to become the central nervous system for
> the planet earth?  How does it support a myriad of noncommercial purposes
> while at the same time serve as the basis for a commercial marketplace that
> grew to $300 billion in 1998 and will represent trillions of dollars of
> economic activity by early in the 21st century? (see
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/daily/june99/internet20.htm). 
>
> I would argue that the essence of the Net value system is to be found at the
> intersection of almost total freedom with voluntary and truly
> consensus-based cooperation.   The Net's freedom provides the most
> unfettered workspace ever created by or for the human mind. Cooperation on
> the Net allows us all to work together to make the whole so much greater
> than the sum of the parts.  When the cooperation is truly voluntary, the
> free market in ideas allows the best models to prevail.  There are many
> dead Internet "standards" out there (OSI anybody?) pronouncements by
> self-designated net-gods that folks on the Net community rejected.  They
> were dead on arrival.  This is as it should be. The cooperative community
> that constitutes the Net is smart enough to quickly figure out what is in
> its own good, and smart enough to ignore the rest.
>
> As free and unfettered as the Net is, there is a need for a few very basic
> rules of the road, such as protocols for things like TCP/IP and HTTP,
> assignment of unique IP addresses, and ways to avoid collisions around
> domain names.   What I would say, though, is that the goal should be to have
> as few rules as necessary.  And these rules should always be about technical
> issues that define how the Net functions, not about policies that dictate
> what it is to be used for.
>
> Some folks may argue that this freedom doesn't produce neat, tidy results,
> and they are right.  Freedom is messy.   But it is the freedom to
> experiment, try things never envisioned before, and to do the unexpected
> that has allowed people to make the Net the astounding success that it is.
> We need to preserve to the maximum degree compatible with stability and
> security the traditional freedom of the Net if it is to remain this amazing
> engine of innovation. 
>
> Of course, this freedom does not free us from responsibility to obey the
> law.  And the unique aspects of cyberspace will no doubt require from time
> to time new laws and new interpretations of old laws.  Those laws, though,
> should be enacted through elected representatives who are accountable for
> their actions to their constituents, and whose actions are subject to
> judicial supervision.  Laws for cyberspace should not be made by people who
> are unelected and unaccountable.  History has shown that no matter how well
> intended, authority that is unaccountable is dangerous.  
>
> There's some heavy politics coming down around the Net these days, that
> could put at risk the freedom and cooperation that has allowed the Net to
> flourish. Those politics will be the subject of my next Rutt Report - coming
> soon!
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Jim Rutt
> CEO Network Solutions 
>
> While I can not respond to all your emails please send your questions,
> comments or complaints about Network Solutions policies or business
> practices to ombudsman () netsol com