On Sat, 26 Apr 1997, Karl Denninger wrote:
Anyone trying to take "COM" and point it somewhere else will find that they have created a class-action lawsuit with 1,000,000 plaintiffs -- all the people who you instantly disconnect that have COM domains.
I think most people interpreted Paul's statement as meaning that if IANA directed them to continue providing the .COM domain services from a zone file that was not issued by NSI, then they would do so. With the emphasis on continuing the service, i.e. making sure that all 1,000,000 .COM domains continue to operate properly.
Anyone trying to STEAL NSI's COM zone (to appropriate it as their own) will likely find themselves on the wrong end of a monstrous lawsuit, not to mention potential felony theft charges.
Just how did NSI aquire ownership of this .COM zone when it was all built with public money under the authority of the National Science Foundation. Since when does the NSF give away free monopoly franchises?
The Internet isn't your little playground, and it does not belong to Jon Postel, Joyce Reynolds, and Bill Manning.
Those are facts.
It is also a fact that the Internet does not belong to NSI or Denninger. The real question is, which individuals and organizations take their positions of "public trust" seriously and which ones are attempting to leverage such a position into lining their own pockets? So far, Postel, Vixie, et al., are the guardians of the public trust and all those who are lined up in opposition to them appear to be more concerned with lining their own pockets than anything else. Michael Dillon - Internet & ISP Consulting Memra Software Inc. - Fax: +1-250-546-3049 http://www.memra.com - E-mail: michael@memra.com