Re: A long strange trip

[thomst@netcom.com (Thom Stark)]

> > > At 11:40 PM -0600 12/24/96, Thom Stark wrote:
> > > >Y'know, one thing the IAB, ISOC and ISOC's Board ought ALL to commit to
> > > >RIGHT NOW is that, when the NSI contract expires, NSI's ability to
> > > >update the DNS root servers should IMMEDIATELY be revoked.
> > > >
> > > >This would not only end NSI's monopoly on the .com domain, but forever
> > > >eliminate NSI as a registrar--something that, in my view, they richly
> > > >deserve for being:
> >
> > To which Dave Crocker responded:
> >
> > > 	How do you propose to implement this suggestion in a fashion which
> > > does not also penalize all the .com/.net/org users?
> > >
> > > 	As we keep saying, operational impact needs careful consideration.
>
> To which Thom Stark replied:
> >
> > Absolutely.
> >
> > As at least one of the lawyers on this list has observed, the records
> > which NSI has generated regarding "its" customer base are actually the
> > property of the US government, specifically of the NSF.  Upon the
> > expiration of its contract with the NSF, NSI will be obligated to give
> > up those records to the NSF as part of the process of concluding the
> > contractual relationship.
> >
> > No penalty would apply to .com/etc. users who were registered and whose
> > domains were being serviced as of the date NSI goes out of business as
> > a registrar.  Their WHOIS records, as well as the paper trail would be
> > transferred to NSF, which, in turn, could simply pass them on to the
> > new registrar's group via CORE or any other intermediate which might be
> > created for the purpose.  No service interruption need occur for the
> > users.
> >

Simon Higgs then objected:

> And in case NSI refuse to hand over this information and just wipe it
> clean, who holds the back-up?

Again, as at least one knowledgeable lawyer on the list has pointed out,
as a US government contractor, NSI doesn't have the legal option to 
simply destroy data which it manages in trust for the NSF.  Although it
couldn't physically be prevented from actually deleting it, the potential
repercussions for NSI and its parent, SAIC, could be pretty severe,
assuming enough of a hue and cry were raised.

Given the damage to the large number of powerful corporations whose
domains are among those which would be affected, I think it's reasonable
to assume that NSI/SAIC would find itself the target of a fairly 
significant amount of flack, should they foolishly choose to engage in
such dog-in-the-manger behavior.

Regards,

Thom Stark

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