Re: Int'l diversity in iTLD Registries

[Kent Crispin <kent@songbird.com>]

Olivier MJ Crepin-Leblond allegedly said:
> 
> aveek@andrew.cmu.edu said:
> 
> > So I guess the best way to look at it is that some of us do feel that a
> > monopoly of some sorts is needed because we want AUTHORATIVE DNS ANSWER to
> > actually mean something. 
> 
> I agree wholeheartedly with that comment. Too many cooks spoil the broth,
> especially when commercial intentions motivate some of the participants...

This sentiment has been expressed several time, and, IMHO, it is 
misguided.  Right this very moment getting authoritative answers
out of DNS depends on thousands and thousands of DNS administrators 
getting it right.  DNS is a *distributed* database, with 
*distributed* administration.  As I said at the IAHC BOF, DNS isn't 
perfect, but it works well enough.  There is absolutely no reason why 
distributed registries couldn't work at least as well.

> I am surprised that it hasn't been decided that a UN-sponsored agency
> would take over the task of running the registration services. In fact,
> I was wondering whether the ITU would not be a good candidate for the
> post. I do not see a commercial entity taking care of a process as
> sensitive as running the Internet's root server.

Running the root servers is no big deal -- the root domain is tiny.  

Running servers for the .com zone are a much bigger deal, of course.

Keeping DNS working well is important, of course, but that's not 
really the problem at issue -- the problem of registering domain names 
is distinct from the problem of good operation of DNS.  They are 
related, of course, but not as much as you are indicating.

The idea of getting the UN or ITU or some other internation agency has
been mentioned previously.  IMHO (again) it is a bad idea.  I think
there is a problem with having any large potentially bureaucratic
entity running registration, regardless of how it is funded, where
it's oversight comes from or anything else.  A gigantic central
authority is contrary to the engineering aesthetics of the net, not 
to mention intrinsically offensive to good taste. :-)

-- 
Kent Crispin				"No reason to get excited",
kent@songbird.com,kc@llnl.gov		the thief he kindly spoke...
PGP fingerprint:   5A 16 DA 04 31 33 40 1E  87 DA 29 02 97 A3 46 2F