It chaps my hide (was Re: [thelist] New TLDs on the way .. for better or worse.)

Greg Strange gstrange at e-tsi.com
Mon Jul 17 14:50:30 CDT 2000


on 7/17/00 5:50 AM, George Donnelly at gsd at mac.com wrote:

> once we get into the game of deciding *who* should be allowed to open *what*
> tld's it turns into a power game; it gets political. once you give in and
> accept the concept of a regulatory sceme, It doesnt matter whose regulatory
> scheme is *best* or *most efficient* or *fairest* (whatever these words
> mean), it just depends on cash and "pull". whoever has got the bucks (min
> 50G's in this case) and the connections will have a shot at setting up their
> own NSI.

I guess the thing that gets me so upset about all of this is the issues of
money, access, and politics (whatever politics can actually mean in the
scheme of the Internet.)  The fact that there are TLDs is only due to the
fact that there is a single server or system of servers (i.e.,
root-servers.net) used as hints for DNS servers all over the world.  If
someone really wanted to get around to making their own tld (and I would be
the first to recommend .Greg) all they would have to do is start making a
server or system of servers to hint for the new tlds (and publish a patch
for BIND to allow two hint caches).  A linux-type movement could eradicate
the need for NS or domain registrars completely.  The beauty, the danger and
the thrill of the Internet is that if someone would just do it (where it is
whatever we are currently grumbling about) then it can be done.  I balk at
the idea that the current system is in any way fair.  People traffic in the
very portal to 'open access' that the underlying system called the Internet
offers and represents.  I think it sad that there can't be a Solomon for the
contemporary Internet.  People without access, without money, without
exposure are surely detrimented by a system that rewards sneakery (no,
that's not currently a real word) and wealth.

The other thing I wanted to point out is that there is no inherent reason to
have a domain registered.  The fact that an IP responds to an HTTP /1.0
request and serves that request is all that is required to host a website.
Domain names are merely helpers.  How many phone numbers are there that
aren't in some type of name format like 800-WE-SELL-TLDs?  Are domain names
so important that we should be held in a digital half-nelson?  No.  If we
truly want to cause a revolution in terms of domain name registration, we
should stop registering.  But who's going to do that?  If not now, when?  If
not us, who?

God, that felt good to get off my chest,
Greg Strange





More information about the thelist mailing list