RE: [ga] Death Struggle in Name Space

[Roeland Meyer <rmeyer@mhsc.com>]

> From: Roberto Gaetano [mailto:ga_chair@hotmail.com]
> Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2001 8:30 AM
> >Secondly, I disagree with your conclusion. BIZ is a valid
> >business, which may be protected by law (US Constitution, 
> >4th Amendment).
> >The USG cannot, by direct action or via an agent, cause the 
> >destruction of a
> >lawful business. Since the DOC has final authority over the 
> >USG root zone,
> >entering the NeuStar BIZ would cause destruction or interferance with
> >AtlanticRoot BIZ and would therefore be illegal. So, 
> >bottom-line, they 
> >can't
> >just come along and usrup it. They can try, but that would definitely
> >indicate a court fight, probably with TRO's that would 
> >suspend that action.
> 
> I don't understand this.
> How does the Neustar/ICANN .biz change the situation for 
> users/ISPs who chose to "enhance" their settings and point to
> the alternate roots? Those people will continue seeing the
> AtlanticRoot .biz, and would not even know that USG has added .biz.

Yes and no, you have to understand the way the Inclusive Root system works,
currently.
It all starts with the USG root zone file, as a kernel. It is fetched from
http://rs.internic.net and then the new TLD refernces are added. These
additional TLDs can be anything an individual wants. but, the Inclusive Root
operators use a validated and filtered list of new TLD references. MHSC
starts with the ORSC root-zone, which is filtered manually by Richard
Sexton. MHSC's root zone is not strictly ORSC because we add our own private
TLDs, which are not in the ORSC list (maybe a moot point, at this time
<sigh>).

Currently, everything is "peaches" because the kernel zone file is
effectively static and all the new TLDs are being added to it. There is a
vetting process and a list of policies that govern which TLDs get added and
which ones don't. There are many TLD claimants that are NOT in the ORSC
root, nor are they in the MHSC root. Yes, this sort of places Sexton in
Postel's position WRT ORSC (for the record, MHSC uses its own "services"
files as well).

Where this becomes a problem is when ICANN deliberately adds a TLD in
conflict with one of the existing vetted Inclusive Root TLDs, like BIZ. No
longer, can we simply copy the existing kernel. According to Inclusive Root
policies, the new TLD would not qualify because it is in-conflict and
doesn't pass the FCFS bar. From a policy perspective, this opens a great big
ICANN o' wurms. One that many of us would rather leave sealed. One of the
reasons the Inclusive Root System works well is that EVERYONE agrees on the
content of the kernel. They ALL get it from the USG. Regardless of which
root-zone publisher, the kernel remains the same. 

Unlike ICANN, the Inclusive Root operators practice "First Come, First
Served" (FCFS) with almost religious zeal. Mainly, because it is a "first
principle" that almost anyone can agree on (except ICANN, of course). It is
almost the only thing that all the various root-zone operators CAN agree on.
Even the ICANN has a hard time making a case against FCFS, as a primary
policy. Instead, what ICANN does, is to define whom is "First". This is a
lot like Bill Clinton's weasel-words regarding the meaning of "is". It
barely saved his butt, however, no one was really convinced and everyone
knew what the real score was. The same applies to ICANN's use of FCFS.

What all of the above means is that, if ICANN adds the NeuStar BIZ, then the
Inclusive Root Zone operators would have to, by their own rulz, specifically
remove the NueStar entries prior to incorporating the USG root zone kernel.
Not all of them will do that reliably. This introduces entropy into the
Inclusive Root system. Unlike cryptographic randomness, entropy is NOT good
for production systems.

> The decision would not "destroy" the business: the business 
> will collapse if registrants will massively register in ICANN's
> .biz and not in AR's .biz, while it will stay healthy if things
> happen the other way around. It is true that USG should not
> destroy a business, but should also not be obliged to rescue a
> business that goes belly up due to competition.

You are missing a connector here. If it can be shown that adding the NeuStar
BIZ TLD will forseeably have the effect that you mention here (and that is
very difficult to dispute) then we can establish a causal relationship
between the addition of the TLD and the effect on ARNI's BIZ. Ergo, the
simple addition of the NeuStar BIZ TLD, in the DOC root zone, would
destablize ARNI's BIZ registry. Since DOC is a branch of the USG and ARNI is
a US company engaged in a lawful business, the USG would be in violation of
its own Constitution. I might point out, before anyone else does, that the
USG is already in violation of various other parts of its own Constitution
[The US has been in a continuous State of Emergency since 1952, with various
executive over-rides on parts of the US Constitution being applicable
(Korean War, Viet Nam, Cold War, War on Drugs, etc, old argument, we need
not go there)].

[IANAL - I Am Not A Lawyer. Before taking action on anything I say, you are
encouraged to seek legal advice. ]

> If you want to argue that this is a bully attitude from ICANN, that may be

> true, but OTOH there has been no bid by AR for .biz (contrary 
> to IOD's bet for .web), so I don't see what could ICANN have done. Reserve

> it for future use, maybe?

Actually, the ICANN isn't the issue. USG/DOC/NTIA is. That the ICANN places
them in this position isn't good for ICANN. It could back-fire. IF DOC
doesn't add BIZ, regardless of the reasons, ICANN status is much reduced.
The first rule of leadership command is to NEVER give an order that
can't/won't be obeyed. If DOC does add the TLD and it results in the turmoil
that is likely to ensue, then DOC has the easy way out of disassociating
itself from the ICANN (once DOC recovers the fumble). What ICANN did, in
MDR, was a high-risk move with a very narrow margin of success, without
properly appreciating the downside risks involved. They had a glimmer,
because of WEB, but various factions succeeded in installing blinders wrt
BIZ. In the side-room discussions, everyone was aware of ARNI's BIZ. Some
arrogant idiots were even looking forward to the conflict, not realizing
what everyone loses thereby.

-- 
IANAL - I Am Not A Lawyer. Before taking action on anything I say, you are
encouraged to seek legal advice. 
-- 
ROELAND M.J. MEYER
Managing Director
Morgan Hill Software Company, Inc.
TEL: +001 925 373 3954
FAX: +001 925 373 9781
http://www.mhsc.com
mailto: rmeyer@mhsc.com


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