Farber on self-governance

[Will Rodger <rodger@worldnet.att.net>]

Below is a statement from Dave Farber, EFF board member, distinguished
computer scientist at the University of Pennsylvania and all-around Net
Savant.

Surely readers of this list will heed his warning.


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Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 05:44:29 +0900
To: ip-sub-1@majordomo.pobox.com
From: Dave Farber <farber@cis.upenn.edu>
Subject: IP: Self Governance -- to be or not to be
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Ever since, and even before, the issuance of the DNS White Paper, there has
been a flurry of plans to hold meetings to establish the organization that
was proposed in the paper. While that is of course great, unfortunately the
meetings are viewed by many as a battle to establish supremacy and
ownership of the new organization. They are not only uncoordinated but they
often slam the others as fakes, setups by the establishment (whichever
establishment you want) etc. 

I find this very unfortunate -- no very dangerous. In back of  the whole
USG process was, I believe, the hope that the network community was mature
enough to take on self governance. If we blow it the result will be
governance by Governments with all the negatives that holds for the future
evolution of the net.

What do we do. We could act grown up!! We could coordinate the meetings and
make it appear like we are organized. I wonder if the net establishment is
indeed willing to be grown up or will they fight till there is nothing left.

Personally what I would like to see is for a neutral international
organization to call for/coordinate a set of meetings that aim at the
evolution of self governance. Since the Internet is so important to the
evolution of the worlds science and technology I would see if the
Organization of National Academies of Science (not just the US) would take
on such a difficult task. There may be other non governmental organizations
who have a vested interest in a good result but have no desire or mandate
to benefit from a particular solution.

I will help as i can.

Dave

"Photons have neither morals nor visas"  --  Dave Farber 1994




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