Internic address allocation policy

Tue Nov 19 06:14:51 UTC 1996

On Mon, 18 Nov 1996, Jim Fleming wrote:

> @ relationships with key suppliers and customers. The Internic IP registry
> @ is a key supplier for any large ISP and that means if they have not
> @ developped a relationship with the IP registry people during their early
> @ days, they will run into this sort of problem when they need the IP
> @ registry's help.

> Hmmm...develop a relationship...are people getting married ?

Yes. In order to succeed in business you must develop relationships with
key suppliers that are much like marriage relationships.

> or just trying to get a government clerk to assign some numbers ?

Government clerks are not involved here. 

> Anyone that has not figured out by now that the Internet is a
> country club like place where you have the "haves" and the
> "have nots", and the "right people" and the "wrong people"
> and people with relationships and those without, then you
> have not looked very closely at the system.

That's the way the world works. Why should the Internet be different?
I'd rather deal with real people, warts* and all, than deal with cold
faceless government bureacracies.

> One would hope that the "system" had been designed to
> accommodate an expanding number of people helping to
> provide the infrastructure and the commitments needed to
> protect some of the precious natural resources of the
> Internet. In my opinion, the technical system *has* been
> designed this way, but the *people* system has not.

We all know that nobody predicted such a long run of exponential growth
and that nobody has been prepared to handle this kind of growth. All we
can do is to try our best and not give up too easily. 

> What we now see evolving is a system which does not
> protect the natural resources of the Internet but instead
> operates to protect the "people resources" of the Internet.

And what use is an Internet without the people?

> Actually, the people do not probably matter as much
> as the money they represent.

You're too damn cynical, Jim.

> More and more people
> are suggesting that non-Internet meetings be used
> to solve problems. 

That's right. It does people good to get their heads out of the
cyberclouds, their feet planted firmly on the ground and their hands
clasped in somebody else's with a smile on the face. This is how you get
things done in the REAL WORLD.

> forums. Why ? Because only those people with the
> money can participate. The barrier to entry is being
> raised to make sure that only the "right" people get
> in. 

These barriers have always existed. Anyone who really needs to go
someplace can find the money although it often involves REAL WORK. But
that's the REAL WORLD for you....

> I predict that all of this will lead to a new generation
> of teachers, students, inventors, citizens, and
> government officials building a true Internet using the
> current network as a base. 

Bah, humbug! I've seen the Internet these kind of people try to create.
They call them FREE-nets and then tangle everyone up in petty politics,
power struggles and mindless sniping. Instead of bringing people together,
they divide people between the commercial providers (with 95% market
share) and the community networks (with 5% market share) all the while
claiming that they are great because they have brought the power of the
Internet into the community. Internet access in North America costs less
than a month's supply of cigarettes. How many poor people can't afford
cigarettes? Not many.

> People are not going
> to continue to tolerate being oppressed by these
> policies and systems which are designed to favor
> a small elite group of people at the expense of
> the performance of the network. 

Great description of the would-be elites who created the freenets and
community networks of the world.

Michael Dillon                   -               ISP & Internet Consulting
Memra Software Inc.              -                  Fax: +1-604-546-3049
http://www.memra.com             -               E-mail: michael at memra.com