From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 10:45:59 +0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: More on U.S. government and domain names
Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.3.95.980130184034.6873G-100000@well.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain





---------- 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. 



































































































































































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---------- 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."