fyi: an example individual response to Verisign spin

Tue Oct 7 18:02:06 UTC 2003


Subject: [IP] Yesterdays WJS article on Versign
http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200310/msg00057.h
tml

------- Forwarded Message

Date: Tue, 07 Oct 2003 04:45:48 -0400
To: ip at v2.listbox.com
From: Dave Farber <dave at farber.net>
Subject: [IP] Yesterdays WJS article on Versign

>Date: Mon, 06 Oct 2003 15:17:34 -0700
>From: Dave Crocker <dcrocker at brandenburg.com>
>Subject: Today's WJS article on Versign
>To: newseditors at wsj.com
>Cc: Nick Wingfield <nick.wingfield at wsj.com>, Dave Farber <dave at farber.net>
>
>Re:  Nick Wingfield's article
><http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB106519977252395300,00.html?mod=dartTechtod
ay>
>
>
>Hello,
>
>"VeriSign's critics, of course, see it differently, accusing VeriSign of
>undermining the collectivist culture of the Internet, through which engineers
>hash out key changes to the network through standards groups. Unlike the Web
>and e-mail, which have become thoroughly commercialized through advertising,
>the low-level Internet routing software that VeriSign altered with its new
>service has remained relatively insulated from efforts to make a profit." ...
>
>Although notably better than most of the articles on this topic, Mr. Wingfield
>still managed to buy Verisign's spin, both its erroneous facts and its
>erroneous perspective.
>
>First of all, the service that Verisign runs has been for profit for as long
>as it has run it. That's roughly ten years. In addition the problems caused by
>Verisign were not just in the eyes of "technologists".
>
>Second of all, consider the service they suddenly changed in terms of its
>equivalent in the world of telephone. Imagine dialing a non-existent number or
>asking 411 for the number of a non-existent entry, and not being told that
>there is no listing. Instead, you are given a phone number that feeds you
>advertising. Would you view this as "a valuable navigational aid for users who
>might otherwise hit an online dead-end?" Probably not.
>
>The problem, here, is not a culture-clash between commercial ventures and
>naive technologists. Verisign contracted to provide a critical infrastructure
>service that maps domain names to Internet addresses. The only "clash" is
>between responsible and irresponsible approaches to providing that service. If
>Verisign cannot operate it at a profit, without breaking it, there are others
>quite willing and able to do the job.
>
>d/
>--
>  Dave Crocker <dcrocker-at-brandenburg-dot-com>
>  Brandenburg InternetWorking <www.brandenburg.com>
>  Sunnyvale, CA  USA <tel:+1.408.246.8253>

--------------------------------------

Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/

------- End of Forwarded Message