Re: [alac] Losing SiteFinder

[Esther Dyson <edyson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Veri*S*ign....    more substantive comments inline.

At 12:03 PM 10/5/2003, Thomas Roessler wrote:
> Here's a draft for an ALAC statement based on Wendy's text...
>
>
>
> The ALAC welcomes ICANN's decision to remind Verisign of its
> obligations TO RUN ITS REGISTRIES FOR THE PUBLIC INTEREST AND NOT AS THE 
> FOUNDATION OF A NEW REVENUE STREAM, [[[[by demanding immediate suspension 
> of its

> *SiteFinder**
> "service", and Verisign's compliance with this demand.
>
> SiteFinder's suspension was [[[[not only]]] necessary NOT ONLY

> because it broke
> hundreds of specific applications, and because it was forced on
> Internet users around the globe without any advance consultation or
> notice: SiteFinder ALSO NEEDED [[needs]]]  to be stopped because it 
> BROKE  [[breaks with]]  the
> end-to-end architecture of the Internet to give one company
> monopolistic control of a resource in the center. It's not a contest
> between SiteFinder's search page and MSN's, but between giving
> VeriSign sole, centralized control of the error-handling for
> incorrect URLs and distributing that choice among users and
> applications at the edge of the network. The question is whether
> users can choose what services fit their needs best, or whether
> Verisign can take that choice away from users, forcing them to do
> what's best for Verisign's commercial benefit.
>
> Sitefinder [[[not only]]] affects NOT ONLY the web, but ***M***any other 
> applications
> running on the net.  The question here is whether the network is
> kept open for new protocols and applications, or whether it's left
> to Verisign to decide which applications the Internet supports well.
>
> Keeping SiteFinder out of the center leaves the greatest flexibility
> in the network for those who want to innovate by adding new
> protocols, services, and features AT [[[on]]] the ends.
>
> ICANN has called for "further evaluation and study" of the impact of
> SiteFinder. The proper QUESTION [[[evaluation is]]  for VeriSign to 
> CONSIDER IS [[[determine]]]
> whether it will reimplement its REDIRECTION AND 
> advertiser-supported  search as an
> option at the edge of the network -- where users can elect or
> decline to use it at their will -- or not at all.









> --
> Thomas Roessler  <roessler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> At-Large Advisory Committee: http://alac.info/



Esther Dyson                    Always make new mistakes!
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