as a result of Tuesday's tragedy in the US.I had become so disenheartened with
the Afilias .info rollout events that I had just started what I had planned to be
my last post to the forum when the Australian national boadcaster took up the CNN
feed from NY and Washington.
I watched with the same disbelief and dismay as every
other reasonable person as the pentagon burned and the WTC towers collapsed, and
ended up going to bed about four hours later, telling myself that I had watched enough
horror in four hours to last a lifetime.
Like Richy, I had a new perspective on
what had consumed me for eight months, not caring at all for the outcome of the Landrush
lottery, and wondering whether I would do as Richy has done and cancel my cards.
Afterall, the names I had most wanted and had invested most in had been fraudulently
registered in Sunrise, a process devised and supported by the registry and the governing
body - who, when they issued one of their rare public statements - lied by
omission - never addressing the facts or the concerns or interests of the paying
Internet community.
It is apparent by their involvement in the the Afilias
.info rollout, the most influential members of ICANN and Afilias and a number of
accredited and affiliated registrars are not people to be trusted and are unworthy
of the authority with which they have been invested.
For no other reason than to
rid ICANN and Afilias and some registrars of a culture which puts the Internet community
at risk when dealing with them, I urge everyone to remember what the seemingly unprincipled
principals of ICANN and Afilias and some registrars have done out of self interest,
at a quite considerable cost, especially to the unwitting Landrushers.
It seems
to me that the waters will always be dangerous to Internet swimmers as long as the
biggest sharks hold positions of influence in ICANN and some registrars are permitted
to eat the unwary or inexperienced.
The tragedy of Tuesday does not change the
fact that apparently corrupt individuals are corrupting the management of the Internet,
and unless those who have been affected by sham and shame of the Afilias .info rollout
do something to ensure that those responsible for what has happened are not permitted
to do it again, then who will protest for some transparency, some accountability,
some integrity, some sustainability and broader participation in the management of
the Internet in order that the events of the Afilias .info rollout are not revisited
in another name?