Re: [alac] Losing SiteFinder

["Ken Hamma" <khamma@xxxxxxxxx>]

Esther's edits are good.  I also agree that this should be directed to the 
ICANN board since we are in an advisory capacity to the board.

ken


Kenneth Hamma
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Sr. Advisor for Information Policy, Getty Trust

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Los Angeles, CA  90049-1687

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>>> Esther Dyson <edyson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 10/05/03 11:52 AM >>>
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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