---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 18:40:07 -0800 (PST) From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com> To: politech@vorlon.mit.edu Subject: More on U.S. government and domain names [In the way of self-promotion: Yesterday I taped a CSPAN program on online journalism and Internet regulation. It's airing on CSPAN 1/30 at 7 pm, CSPAN2 at 1/31 at 10 am, and CSPAN 2/2 at 5 pm. I'll also be on National Empowerment Television (NET-TV) on Monday 2/2 around 10:15 pm to talk about encryption regulation. Also tomorrow on PBS Technopolitics (airing here at 11:30 am on WETA 26), the topic is crypto. I believe the guests are NAM's David Peyton and Commerce Dept's William Reinsch. --Declan] ********** Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 12:58:11 -0800 From: John Gilmore <gnu@toad.com> To: declan@well.com, gnu@toad.com Subject: Netrape Screwlootions begins operations under US Government plan In response to the publication of the US Government's plan to provide long-term stable operation of the Internet domain name system, we have an announcement. Today we are forming a new company, Netrape Screwlootions, Inc. We claim the domain names ".net", ".rape", ".screw", ".lootions", and ".inc", but will settle for ".screw" in the short term. We have a climate-controlled 24-hour operation center deep in the bowels of the earth, with plenty of spare energy. Though there are no ethical standards required for assignment of a government-controlled domain name, we assure you that we meet the highest ethical standards for the lowest place. We have extensive connections in all parts of the Government, especially the White House, which will guarantee our rightful place in the selection of appropriate organizations to manage the transition from public service to throttled competition and then to the heavenly free Internet envisioned by the plan. We meet all the necessary requirements. Everyone is welcome, and we are open 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. We have standardized on high-quality Lucifer encryption for all our accesses. We have multiple high-speed connections to the upper world, and we daily make an archive of all our customers so that they can be resuscitated for continuing operations if they are accidentally destroyed. Our searchable database of customers is maintained by the Perl-y Gates himself. The first one is always free with us, including our software. Our number of global zones of service is completely adequate, providing non-denominational worldwide access to our facilities. Our management policies have been reviewed by the very highest authorities. We assure you that our technical staff is very expert in its machinations, and we offer them constant practice to refine their skills. We have created alternate dispute resolution for trademark-related complaints. This process does not involve the time, expense, and pain of litigation. Instead, our process involves sending trademark lawyers and domain scammers to the deepest part of our operations center, where their thresholds will be studied by the application of delicate instruments that have taken centuries to perfect. The party who screams the loudest will prevail, as usual. Innocent domain users would be inconvenienced by the use of this procedure, but we do not expect any innocent users to actually register domain names. Both sides in the trademark debate assure us that all domain names infringe trademarks and that all trademark owners are slavering monsters. Our level of security is the best. No-one gets past the guards who protect our portals, and we have been in operation for millennia. No malicious hacker has ever escaped us in the long term. We definitely provide a "hot switchover" capability. We have extensive experience with fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, arson, bombs, and other acts of God and War. It is often said that one's soul is visible in one's face, and what else could be called the public face of a company but its name? Your name will be safe with us. Our prices are quite low, certainly no more than the price of a small mass of pottage. We will be glad to register your ...name with us, and when the appropriate time comes, you will then know our true prices. We are looking forward to it. Moo-haa-haaaaaaaaaa....... ************ Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 12:00:01 -0500 From: Keith Dawson <dawson@world.std.com> To: declan@well.com Cc: politech@vorlon.mit.edu Subject: Re: FC: U.S. gvt plan to fully privatize the Internet At 10:15 AM -0500 1/30/98, Declan McCullagh wrote:

The Clinton administration has released its long-awaited plan to privatize the central nervous system of the Internet.

Declan -- nice summary. See my initial analysis at http://www.tbtf.com/index.html#tbotoday . **** Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 14:43:22 -0500 From: Mikki Barry <ooblick@netpolicy.com> Subject: A-TCPIP/DNRC Press Release Re: Green Paper Press Release January 30, 1998 Contacts: Mikki Barry President, A-TCPIP/ Domain Name Rights Coalition P.O. Box 25876 Alexandria, VA 22313-5876 703.925-0282 Email: ooblick@netpolicy.com Harold Feld, Esq. c/o Covington & Burling 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. P.O. Box 7566 Washington, D.C. 20044-7566 202.662-5132 Email: hfeld@domain-name.org or hfeld@cov.com HERNDON, VA - The Association for the Creation and Propagation of Internet Policies (A-TCPIP) and its working group the Domain Name Rights Coalition (DNRC) welcome the release of the Commerce Department's Green Paper this morning. This paper marks the first time there has been a real effort to capture the diversity of interests in the Internet community on the issue of Internet Governance. "The Internet community should be grateful to Ira Magaziner and his staff for sorting through the hundreds of pages of comments and ideas and producing this well thought out paper," said Mikki Barry, president of A-TCPIP/DNRC. "Now is the time for all small business and public interest organizations who wish to be heard to join with us in helping the Commerce Department focus on ensuring the Internet's continued role in communications and the free flow of information" Harold Feld, Assistant General Counsel of the A-TCPIP/DNRC stated "This is a good first step, but more must come. The Internet is a medium of communications and communities, not just commerce. The vast majority of Internet uses are for communications rather than commerce. We need a clear statement that communications and free speech, including personal and political speech and parody, is valued and protected above all other interests including commerce and intellectual property. The policies of this paper need to reiterate that fact." While applauding the paper's recognition of the role of free market innovators, A-TCPIP/DNRC Vice President and Internet entrepreneur Mike Doughney worried that the paper also contained provisions that would shut out small businesses and people with new ideas. " Dual T1 connections and 24 hour guards make registration services prohibitive for smaller business concerns to enter the marketplace," said Doughney "and allowing one company (even through separate subsidiaries) to be both registry and registrar further stifles the competitive nature inherent to the Internet." Specific points of the paper that the A-TCPIP/DNRC feel need to be addressed include: The make up of the non profit oversight corporation does not include enough seats for small business or for individual users. One seat for each is not enough given that the vast majority of Internet use is by small business, individual users, non profit entities, and others who use it as a forum for communication. The role .us Top Level Domain needs to be clarified. "The .us domain is a valuable resource that is woefully under utilized," said Kathryn Kleiman, General Counsel of the organization. "We are highly encouraged that Mr. Magaziner addressed it in his paper. We stand ready to assist in formulating a coherent policy for its use." Registrars should not be forced to have a domain name dispute policy. Domain name disputes, as with all other disputes involving trademark law need to be settled by court proceedings. Trademark owners should have no superior rights in cyberspace than they have in any other medium of communications. Registrars should not be forced to suspend domain names if an objection (baseless or not) is lodged within 30 days of that name's registration. Doing so would prohibit timely personal, political and commercial speech, and is essentially a 30 day waiting period that would be particularly injurious to small business interests.Further, the automatic suspension is contrary to trademark law because it effectively grants an automatic injunction against the domain name owner where the trademark owner has not proven any likelihood of confusion or infringment. A-TCPIP/DNRC has represented entrepreneurs, small businesses and individuals on issues of Internet governance and domain name concerns since 1995. Its Internet website can be found at http://www.domain-name.org and includes the organization's comments to the Department of Commerce in this proceeding. _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 21:21:48 EST From: von Kriegsherr <kriegsherr@juno.com> To: declan@well.com Cc: politech@vorlon.mit.edu Subject: U.S.Gov.To Turn `Net over to Moguls Who are we kidding? Ourselves. Keeping the `Net under the protection of U.S. soil, so to speak, is the ONLY guarantee that some international Cabal does not decide for us what we will be able to write or research. It's a few short steps from a total control of all information which is declared, "sensitive."