Re: [ga] DNSO ICANN board member

[Kent Crispin <kent@songbird.com>]

On Thu, Aug 31, 2000 at 10:52:02AM +0100, Louise Ferguson wrote:
> >     I think the cybersquatting issue is real, particularly now with few
> > TLDs.  I can't get cpt.org, an unused domain.
> 
> People have the right NOT to use a domain, for 6 months, for 6 years or for
> ever.

No, they don't.  The "rights" that go with a domain are purely defined 
through contracts and laws, and those "rights" are being developed as 
we speak.

> Since when have I been able to take possession of one of your houses
> because you don't live in it? Are my rights to do so affected by the number
> of houses you own, by how high you let the grass grow, by whether you put
> the house up for sale, or by its state of repair? Can it be repossessed if
> your mad dog bites the postman, or if you organise demonstrations in your
> front yard? No.

Yes.  Every one of those things, under some circumstance or another, 
can affect your "right" to your real property.

There are no a priori "rights" to domain names -- no rights of free 
speech or expression, no rights of possession or ownership.  People are 
busily trying to *assert* rights to domain names, but nobody is 
special, it's just a free-for-all of people saying "mine mine mine", 
and the winners are yet to be determined.

-- 
Kent Crispin                               "Do good, and you'll be
kent@songbird.com                           lonesome." -- Mark Twain
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