IP: new architect - ICANN of worms

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

People keep asking me why I don¹t publish items that say good things re
ICANN. I would and very infrequently do when and if I get such. I am tired
of endless negative items re ICANN and have biased away from sending them
on. But when I get forwarded a note like this ....

Whem will ICANN stop shooting them selves in the foot?

Dave

------ Forwarded Message
From: CNull () cmp com
Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2002 14:28:18 -0700
To: dave () farber net
Subject: FW: new architect - ICANN of worms


Dave, 

Is ICANN regressing into infancy?  You be the judge... here's ICANN board
member Jonathan Cohen's inexplicable response to my recent New Architect
column digesting recent events at ICANN.

CN 

Editor-in-Chief 
New Architect magazine
http://www.newarchitectmag.com/

PS My MBA is from The University of Texas at Austin and the "B" stands for
"Business." 




"Jonathan Cohen" <jcohen () shapirocohen com> 08/16/2002 12:28 PM
        
        To:        <null () newarchitectmag com>
        cc:        
        bcc:       
        Subject:        FW: new architect - ICANN of worms






-----Original Message-----
From: Jonathan Cohen [mailto:jcohen () shapirocohen com]
Sent: Friday, August 16, 2002 11:58 AM
To: hewitt () icann org
Subject: RE: new architect - ICANN of worms


What a biased, superficial,distorted out of context,sensationalist piece of
crap.The STAR needs this man to write copy for "Space Alien impregnates Pop
Singer Madonna"..except even that may require some reasonable research and
..."Facts"..where did he get that MBA? and what does the B stand for?
Jonathan
ps please feel free to forward my comments to Mr.Null and Void. Or the Board
if they want a chuckle. God its a hoot being aVolunteer in Cyber-Hell!!

-----Original Message-----
From: Mary Hewitt [mailto:hewitt () icann org]
Sent: Friday, August 16, 2002 2:33 PM
To: hewitt () icann org
Subject: new architect - ICANN of worms





ICANN of Worms
The Internet governing body is short on answers and out of time
By Christopher Null
New Architect
September 2002

Even if you're a casual New Architect reader, you've likely noticed that a
new mug is staring out at you from above these words. I'm pleased to inherit
the leadership of the magazine from my esteemed colleague Amit Asaravala.
And while I'm not big on introductions, a few words of prologue seem in
order, if for no other reason than to convince you that this magazine is in
good hands.

My background includes editorial stints at Smart Business and LAN Times
magazines, and before that, I put in several years in software development
and IT management. I have an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin (and
was born and raised in Houston), but speak with no trace of a southern
accent.

I've been steeped in the Internet since the only "browser war" was between
you and your copy of Mosaic. On a dare, I launched the movie review Web site
FilmCritic.com in 1995, and much to my astonishment, the site is still
kicking today. From my catbird seat, I get to observe the Internet as it
impacts everything‹business, entertainment, pop culture, and mainstream
society. It's the perfect vantage point for leading New Architect into a new
era, one in which technology is no longer a curiosity, but a vital part of
any thriving enterprise.

I hope you continue to enjoy New Architect as it evolves. I encourage you to
write me with your ideas, concerns, and suggestions, or just to say hello.


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If any Internet issue demands your immediate attention, it's the battle
that's being waged over the future of the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers (ICANN). Of course, you can be forgiven for ignoring the
protracted skirmish‹it is epic in its scope and extremely complex. In case
you haven't been following the news, here's a sampling of recent ICANN
developments.

Karl Auerbach, an ICANN director, sued to inspect the corporate records of
his own organization. His case is still pending.

Congress opened a bitter inquest regarding the group, demanding
accountability and a definition of ICANN's actual responsibilities. Congress
is even threatening not to renew the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that
gives ICANN a license to operate.

Former chairwoman and once-ardent defender of ICANN Esther Dyson pronounced
the current organization "nothing but juvenile" and "a real cesspool."

Critics claim the group has too much power. Directors claim it has no power
at all. Supporters say the group is hampered by its attempts to appease too
many stakeholders. Critics say it successfully caters to the needs of no
one.

And of course, critics also say that the organization's semi-secret meetings
breed distrust and a lack of accountability. Supporters moan that all the
group does is meet and talk endlessly, never making decisions or putting its
lengthy proposals into action. When the group does get down to business, we
end up with new TLDs like ".aero," ".museum," and ".coop." If I ever visit a
".coop" (reserved for co-operatives) in my life, I'll be shocked‹though the
poultry industry really needs to hop on chicken.coop.

Even the ".name" TLD, which was supposed to be limited to personal
firstname.lastname.name URLs, already has become corrupted beyond belief.
Users have registered thousands of bogus sites, from greenbay.packers.name
to sharper.image.name to santa.santa.name.

But annoying TLD issues are almost beside the point. The big question is
what's going to happen when the bloated, power-mad organization does
something that can't be cleaned up so easily. ICANN has only been around
since 1998, and for almost a quarter of that time, it's been mired in
"reform." The current operating budget is about triple the estimate of the
original MOU (those jaunts to Ghana don't come cheap!).

At a mere 7,000 words, the latest ICANN reform document proposes a
blistering series of changes, full of non-voting liaisons and advisory
committees. Not surprisingly, Internet discussion has now centered on
whether to scrap the whole thing and start from scratch. At this point, it
isn't such a bad idea. Why not socialize the ICANN experiment? As loathsome
as it sounds, even the IRS runs better than this.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

Christopher is editor-in-chief of New Architect. He is the former executive
editor of Smart Business magazine and managing reviews editor of LAN Times
magazine, and has held several positions in software development and IT
management. Contact Chris at null () newarchitectmag com.











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