In reply to his spam mail...Dear [Mr. Lowenhaupt] Sir:
Your bid for tighter
governance controls over the Internet is reminiscent of the story of "The Little
Red Hen". If I recall this children's story correctly, it seems that she began
by asking her barnyard friends, "Who will help me plant the wheat?"
"Not
I," said the pig... "I'm busy," said the cow... etc. This little red hen must
have been one hell of a project manager, as she kept asking for help all through
the development cycle of her initiative. "Who will help me harvest, grind,
bake..." and so on. With little or no help, she persevered, until finally the
barnyard was filled with the aroma of freshly baked bread.
Then, of course, her
friends all wondered how it could be possible that the hen did not ask, "Who will
help me eat the bread?" What nerve, how selfish! Why, I'll bet some of
the hen's peers moo'd instead of clucked, and therefore could not understand her
constant requests for help with her labors. Unless they were blind, though,
they should have noticed her efforts. Perhaps they sought to plead ignorance
of what it takes to make bread, and thinking themselves entitled to the sudden appearance
of her work product, began to form governance committees.
Oh yes, I can just picture
the level of activity picking up at the farm as committees formed, elections were
held, and leaders emerged, all to devise "fair" policy on how the bread should be
distributed.
You say you have "worked for the past 8 years to make the Internet's
benefits available to families and local communities," but the fact that the Internet
was not built for families seems to be lost on you. In fact, the single most
important factor responsible for the Internet's unprecedented growth is that no-one
owns the Internet, or may lay claim to its governance. The fact that the Internet
is actually comprised of thousands of non-geographic local communities may not be
obvious to someone who understands not what cyberspace is all about.
I submit that
the Internet is not for children, families, or governance by self appointed late
comers and know-nots. If an Internet for children is desirable, and I wouldn't
argue that, then build one. It is technologically feasible to create a separate
virtual network that is family friendly, and governed by responsible politicians
such as yourself. It can be done using the same wire that today's Internet
lives on, thanks to the wonderful technology of packet switching, which I think was
invented by Al Gore. Oh, wait a minute, it's already here; it's called AOL.
Why don't you go run for office there?