Re: Anti Capitalism?

[Dick desJardins <desjardi@eos.nasa.gov>]

At 1:12 PM -0600 12/30/96, Karl Denninger wrote:
>> On Sun, 29 Dec 1996, Leo Smith wrote:
>>
>> > come from government grants. Since government grants are not proposed by
>> > IAHC to cover startup costs for a registry, IAHC MUST construct a sound
>> > business structure in order for registries to succeed.
>>
>> Good grief!  Are we getting socialistic or what?
>>
>> > It is in the interests of the users of the system that the system operate
>> > in a sound business environment, and that the registries succeed.
>>
>> Registries do not have a divine right to make money.  Each registry
>> entering the business will have to evaluate their risk/reward as any
>> other business.  Nobody is bending anybody's arm to get into the
>> registry business.
>>
>> I take the incredible number of e-mail messages that this list
>> generates as a sign that there is quite a bit of money to be made
>> from this business.  Will all the participants make the same?
>> Probably not.  The oppositions voiced (mainly) are probably efforts
>> to maximize the return, by folks planning to run registries.
>
>Oh really?
>
>How about the people who hold the DBM tables for the registries?
>
>Note how the designation of who gets to do that (and how much they get to
>charge registries for the service) is conspicuously absent?
>
>I wonder why...
>
>Uh huh.
>
>--

Look, Karl, we're trying to get governments out of the way, and let
business models fund the continuing development of the Internet.

But there are lots of business models, not just the ones that
the most vocal people on this list such as yourself are espousing.

An organization (CORE) operating under public disclosure laws
can put out an RFP for a service to hold the DBM tables for the
registries.  Bidders would be required to do whatever it takes to make
that service reliable.  The cost would be lowest bidder who was
qualified to do the job.  That's a business model.  What's wrong
with it?  It's the way most nonprofit organizations work.

The only thing that would prevent it from working is if nobody
wants to be a registry.  Not likely.

The issue here seems to be taking a public resource and making
it into a private domain.  Who says that we the people of the
Internet -- the users -- want that to happen?  If the top level domain
space is an international public resource, and if we the international
people of the Internet don't want it to be used except under our
advice and consent -- using appropriate public organizations and
boards of trustees and disclosure and so on to make it happen --
what's wrong with that?

For example, if the people of the United States don't want to allow
logging on some of our land, don't we have the right to do that without
being called socialists?  (Not that being socialist is good or bad,
but they're OUR TREES!! not some private interest!!)

Dick desJardins, speaking for myself




Dick desJardins
EOS Network Manager
GSFC Code 505, Greenbelt MD  20771
Phone 301-614-5329        FAX  -5267