Re: [alac] ALAC position on VRSN settlement?

["Roberto Gaetano" <alac_liaison@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Folks,
Can we please avoid polluting our position on the specific points of the 
agreement with considerations on the honesty of staff and board?
I am personally against the 7% increase, do not believe that this will allow 
any kind of market forces to autoregulate the thing, and have already 
commented in the Board list that the statement in the Q&A is ludicrous.
However, if we want to achieve any result, we should probably provide a 
political statement and a comprehensive position paper, not allegations that 
could be taken personally and fire back.
Regards,
Roberto GAETANO
ALAC
ICANN BoD Liaison





> From: "John R Levine" <johnl@xxxxxxxx>
> To: "Bret Fausett" <bfausett@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> CC: "ALAC" <alac@xxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: [alac] ALAC position on VRSN settlement?
> Date: 27 Nov 2005 19:18:32 -0500
>
> > price. From comments, it seems that some members of Staff and the Board
> > believe that market forces will keep the price in check.
>
> Jeez, it's like they've been drinking neocon kool-aid.  Turning a lightly
> regulated de facto monopoly into an unregulated one is not exactly a step
> toward competition, particularly with the new TLD process stuck somewhere
> between first gear and reverse.
>
> > I could be wrong, but I'd be more persuaded by a report from an
> > economist or something than I am by the mere reliance on the words
> > "market forces."
>
> I'm not an economist but I played one as an undergraduate, and it's clear
> to me merely from counting registrations that BIZ and INFO are no
> substitute for COM.  Increasing the price of COM may drive a few people
> to other domains, but $1 INFO and free BE domains don't seem to have made
> any inroads into COM.
>
> I agree, I'd like the board to spend a few bucks on analyses by an
> economist and a lawyer (probably both academics) who can see the big
> picture and don't have an interest in the outcome.  As I said before, I
> don't fault the staff's intentions, but as the old quote says, you can't
> make a man understand something when his livelihood depends on his not
> understanding it.
>
> R's,
> John

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