Re: [ga] Verisign stock price falls off a cliff

[Joop Teernstra <terastra@terabytz.co.nz>]

At 09:13 27/04/02 -0400, Dan Steinberg wrote:
>  And their core business is not DNS.
>They do other *stuff* mostly.  Listmemebers who have cycles to spare can
>check out what businesses Verisign is in, what other companies they
>acquired, and what business these acquisitions are in. Here's a
>statememnt from their website:

That other *stuff* is indeed a bigger contributor to revenue, but it is 
business based on trust and reputation.
Any hint of a stuff-up with the .com registry business and that other 
*stuff* will get hurt too.



>"VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq:VRSN) is the leading provider of digital trust
>                       services that enable businesses and consumers to
>engage in
>                       commerce and communications with confidence."

See the point? Verisign cannot afford a debacle with its 20 Bln. Network 
Solutions division.


>What does this have to do with the GA? As someone pointed out a few
>years ago, less than a thousand people in the world (or on mars) know
>how to spell DNS *and* care enough about it to sign up for the various
>lists (like the GA).
>
>Face it, we may be as a group be able to effect change within (or
>without) ICANN.  But to suggest that we are at all significant at the
>level of Verisign stock price, or that it is somehow linked to
>ICANN....is ludicrous!

A strong word.  Why?
The suggestion was that a large organized group of Domain Name registrants 
benefit from Wall Streets' momentary disgust with their registry and take a 
very small, but politically significant stake that they will use for public 
input at Verisign's General Meeting and private conversations with 
Verisign's management to achieve a Registrant-friendly image based on 
actual improved Policy for the largest Registry of Domain Names.

What is so ludicrous about that? It's in the best traditions of free 
enterprise. Surely someone at Verisign will see merit in it. :)
And surely some organized Domain Name holders will.   It will have a bigger 
overall effect  on Net presence security than talking to to Tucows or 
Register.com

ICANN has been functioning as a "consensus manufacturing" middleman.
A supposed "governance buffer". Its own CEO admits that it has failed in 
this role.
The GA of the DNSO is not changing anything.

We have now reached the hour of truth.
Time for thinking outside the box.

--Joop

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