Verisign on Process

Wed Oct 8 19:30:49 UTC 2003

-- On Wednesday, October 8, 2003 14:19 -0400
-- "Howard C. Berkowitz" <hcb at gettcomm.com> supposedly wrote:

>> By Declan McCullagh
>> Staff Writer, CNET News.com
>> http://news.com.com/2100-1038-5088128.html

>> "I don't want to go beyond the agenda," replied Chuck Gomes,
>> VeriSign's vice president for its registry service. Citing concerns
>> of proprietary information and competitive advantage, he added that
>> he didn't think he could guarantee any advance notice of similar
>> changes in the future.

> Gomes' position truly bothers me if a registry, given that it meets the
> formal definition of a technical monopoly, is planning around competitive
> advantage.

I think this is the basic problem between Verisign & the network operators.

The registry service should have no competitive advantage.  It is a public 
trust, a monopoly granted with the assumption it will be run with the best 
interests of the Internet, not in the best interest of Versign's bottom 
line.

I am all for capitalism, would not have it any other way.  Verisign has 
said that we are upset over commercialization.  They are dead wrong, 
period, end of sentence.  We are (well, *I* am) upset they are costing me 
money and doing it using a monopoly we granted them to serve us.

Contrary to their belief, they do not own and may not use the registry in 
any way the community feels is detrimental to the community as a whole. 
This is most obviously viewed as detrimental by the community.

They are so adamant in their position I sometimes wonder if they honestly 
believe their own arguments.  It has to be they either do not understand, 
or they are intentionally misleading the press and end users to do 
something they know is wrong.  Any bets on which it is?  Anyone care which 
one it is?

-- 
TTFN,
patrick