Icann under threat as consultation closes

[Kenny]

http://www.computerweekly.com/Feeds...Icann+under+threat+as+consultation+closes.htm

 

[Ronald Regging]

That article was rather vague and uninformative. So what are the possible outcomes? And what are the possible advantages/disadvantages of the various outcomes?

 

[accent]

I agree the posted article is filler to hold up a bunch of ads. People actualy get paid good money to write that stuff (why not me?)

Try this:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/03/nominet_joins_icann/

There does seem to be movement as the UK has accepted ICANN as the overall internet authority, and Germany is at least getting along better. Looks like we will not have competing internets any time soon, at least in English/ European characters.

another from the same source:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/22/icann_marrakesh_preview/

The US government refuses to state what everyone knows its intention is: to renew the MoU with itself in overall charge, because that will infuriate everyone that isn't the US government.

 

[Ronald Regging]

I appreciate the links, it made for some good reading. I wasn't aware that officially the US government still maintained control over the DNS system. I also read another article that was linked in the last one, which talks about how other countries are growing concerned that as the internet grows and they become more dependant on it for their economies and communication, all the power lies in the hands of the US.
Gives a new meaning to electronic warfare If we were at war with another country, in essense, we could just delete all their DNS records from the root and they'd be completely cut off from the Internet.

To tell you the truth though, giving ICANN their sovereignty isn't very comforting either. You still have a centrally controlled entity that holds the stake of entire countries in their hands. And according to that article, they don't seem to be very efficient.

Also, how does the root work? Is it located on a computer in some building in california right now? What happens if that building is destroyed? This just opens up questions as to the vulnerability of the Internet. Which I don't think anyone is very happy to discuss

 

[Kenny]

Thanks for the additional information.

I agree the posted article is filler to hold up a bunch of ads. People actualy get paid good money to write that stuff (why not me?)

Try this:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/03/nominet_joins_icann/

There does seem to be movement as the UK has accepted ICANN as the overall internet authority, and Germany is at least getting along better. Looks like we will not have competing internets any time soon, at least in English/ European characters.

another from the same source:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/22/icann_marrakesh_preview/

 

[accent]

How does the root work? ...

My numbers are probably a little off here, but there are about 13 root servers for .com, I assume they each have all the information, but I am not sure of that. Two are owned by Verisign, the US military has at least one. Seems like all but a couple are in the USA.

Supposedly non-profit, ICANN certainly has the ability to make people very wealthy.

If I lived in another country I would not be happy with the US controling the internet, either. In Gulf War One the US military sent a message to Saddam's computers, which were at least partly made in the USA, and told them to stop working - and they did. The US is the dominant country at the moment, in many other areas than the internet. It is up to us to use that power wisely and with respect for others.