Comments on: Who should govern the Net?

On the hot seat, ICANN Chairman Vint Cerf fires back against critics who say his organization impedes innovation on the Internet.

[Razzl]

ICANN can't forever...

Whoever governs the internet in the short term, it is a basic fact that Nation-states,like the cells of the body, are the fundamental units of control in the world order and must incorporated into the domain structure of the internet. Now that the internet has matured into a fundamental form of communication there are too many elements which fall under the purview of states, such as regulated telecom hardware, language, and law, for their presence to be ignored. Regardless of the fluid technical possibilities for future developments on the net the social fact is that the net in the future will basically consist of national domains (.ca, .ru, etc.) in which national governments will have their own agencies doling out domain names and controlling legal and technical issues within the domain. This is inevitable because states which feel slighted by ICANN's control will eventually force the issue by disrupting the net through coupes such as deliberately issuing competing domain names within their national domain and exercising their control within intranational communications grids. The US will have no choice but to cede control of the net or be satisfied to be cut off from a world of technical "Berlin Walls" built around us.

[John Kuzak]

future developments

http://www.analogstereo.com/mercedes_ml_class_owners_manual.htm

[DeeCeeinDC]

Who's Advocating for the Individual?

I have registered 11 domain names with Aplus.net and because of a dispute about services for one of them but unrelated to my registrations, for which I've paid in full, they have placed a registrar lock on all 11 domain names. ICANN policy prohibits that and I've pointed that out to both Aplus.net and ICANN and neither have responded. It seems arbitration and mediation are only available (and otherwise cost prohibitive) to large, multinational organizations. But what do individuals like me do when WE have a domain name dispute? It seems to me unless ICANN can address the issues of individuals without forcing them to take court action against one of their accredited registrars like Aplus.net, at least some of its power should be given to governmental organizations in each country charged with consumer affairs and enforcement of ICANN policies that prohibit such abuses of perceived power like that of Aplus.net.