I am prepared to take any amount of flack on this one, but add me to the team of
those who have assessed Bob Connor as a sane, sensible, knowledgable and moderate
voice for a fair shake for the customers in the fiasco of the ICANN/Afilias .info
rollout. Compare Bob to the jerk-off who played a sniper's role here for a time,
who in his superior way wrote that he had spent only two weeks preregistering .info
names - which after they were taken in Sunrise - he simply preregistered another
bundle of $25000 names. lol
Some people have credibility - some don't.
It is
for people like me that people like Bob and Richy have been putting in the long days
and nights behind the sceens, trying to protect the investments (and hopes and dreams
- we were all going to change the world for the better and change our own lives and
lifestyles - had we won the .info lottery) of your average Internet citizens, the
legitimate Sunrise applicants and your legitimate Landrush applicants.
If there
is not a postponement of the Landrush until all fraudulently registered Sunrise names
are purged, or there is not a preservation of all Landrush applications for names
already fraudulently registered, then when the balls drop on whatever bloody date
the lottery will be, then it will all be over for people like me who invested enormous
amounts of time and energy, and for my pocket - money.
If the balls drop without
the implementation of a proposal like Bob's, the best I can expect will be a few
names - which without any one of the 10 or 12 "critical" names on my wish list taken
in Sunrise - will have greatly diminished application and value.
I am not one of
those people who can turn around and preregister a swag of new names to fit my business
plans or my bank balance. My race is run if Bob's voice is not heard and his
proposal not implemented.
I completely understand the frustrations of those who
want the Landrush to be over and to be able to get on with their business - I for
one wished I had never become aware of .info - because it has already cost me too
much.
However, unless there are continued attempts to have Afilias have a change
of heart - make that read, make Afilias respond to the circumstances in a responsible
manner in regard to the legitimate expectations of Landrushers to have their preregistrations
honoured - then Afilias/ICANN will have again failed those who have vested them with
the authority and responsibility to manage the Internet and a new registry, and all
the customers of Afilias through its approved and affiliated registrars, who should
maintain their protest for their reasonable expectations and rights to be dealt with
honestly when dealing with registrars and with registries.
If one is able to look
dispassionately at the relationship between Afilias and ICANN by way
of their common personnel, one would be tempted to say that it would need men and
women of the highest integrity in these institutions to be on guard for abuses of
the interests of the customer or public, for human nature being what it is, and history
being such a good record of the abuses of authority when industries are permitted
self regulation.
A dispassionate bystander observing the unfolding events of the
Afilias .info would be forgiven for coming to the conclusion that the men and women
of integrity within ICANN and Afilias are not those in influential positions and
that in every instance the short term benefits of the influential individuals involved
have been placed before the longterm benefits of their organisations and those with
whom they deal, the customer.
There are thank heavens, men and women of integrity
in what has been so glaringly shown to be a pretty grubby business as practiced by
many - from the top to the bottom.
Unless there is passionate and reasoned protest
- ICANN - Afilias - Neulevel - whomever - will conduct business as usual, in the
manner that has dismayed so many of us with .info experience - and that is simply
not good enough.
Short term interests are being served at too great a cost to be
tolerated by the Internet community and the general public, with wellfounded and
legitimate expectations and rights to be treated fairly and equitably by those in
authority.
Unless there is continued passionate and reasoned protest by those affected
by the Afilias .info fiasco, then why should we expect anyone else to do it for us,
and why should we expect that those currently vested with authority to change to
a mode of practice which includes accountability, transparency, sustainability, and
broad participation.
If the only good to come from the Afilias .info rollout is
the exposure of the men and women of Afilias and ICANN as being responsible for the
development of a culture within their organisations which is selfinterested rather
than for the public good,
then only with sustained, passionate and reasoned protest
will this exposure provide the opportunity for a change of culture. I believe
that only through a purging of the current influential personnel and their mode of
practice will the culture change and future Internet users have reason to believe
their interests are being served and that they can trust all registries and registrars.
At
this monent, Afilias and ICANN and too many registrars stand disgraced by the opportunism
they have displayed during the Afilias rollout. This is the moment they would
like us to give up out of frustration, walk away and get back to business, or just
look the other way.
At this moment we have to assure them that those of us who
have invested so much and been given no chance at all to participate in an equitable
Landrush are not going to give up in frustration, walk away or just look the other
way.
I am pleased to say that I feel I have become acquainted with some very fine
people during what is really a very sad affair. Unlike those who have orchestrated
the Afilias .info rollout events, these fine people who include the likes of Bob
and Richy are people who stand up for themselves - and for others - and take some
flack - for reasonable and equitable solutions.
Now I will shut the f*ck up for
a moment - but don't expect me to FOAD - f*ck-off and die, the way Afilias and ICANN
would wish.