data request on Sitefinder

Jeroen Massar jeroen at unfix.org
Mon Oct 20 17:16:06 UTC 2003


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Howard C. Berkowitz wrote:

> Given that this functionality does exist in web browsers, there's
> the flavor of monopolistic competition that may be vulnerable to
> antitrust action.

Verisign is indeed being monopolistic here.
But you still have a choice of disabling/changing software
on your local machine, that is your personal choice.
If you install the Google/Altavista/Yahoo toolbar like many
people do you will get that functionality. You are probably
hinting to MS's dominant IE position, you can turn it off.
You can't turn off sitefinder easily though.

todd glassey wrote:

> Howard C. Berkowitz wrote:
> > >*if* Verisign gets it through that the installed base has
> > >to bend over because they introduce such a thing it would
> > >be a very bad thing for the internet as a whole and it would
> > >really mean that the internet is yet another commercial
> > >thing controlled by one single entity.
> 
> Hmmm - Jeroen,  I dont think this is what this means at all. 
> What it means is that today there is no one entity controls
> what is routed or passed through and over the Internet.

Not routed or passed indeed, that is IP level and that is done
per ISP/network.

> In fact the Internet is a fiction. It is peering agreements
> and now-adays a number of DNS roots. So then what is it
> you are really looking for? A single authority to manage the Internet?

I am not looking for that. ICANN made it possible that there
was one well-known root (there are indeed others). This root
is currently in control by Versign and they are now going to
just make it work for them, not for the public, not for the ISP's.
If they can do that, it is exactly that, the root is Verisign's
and not that of the public and not of the ISP's.

Verisign should NOT be putting wildcards in the .com/.net
zones as it is NOT their domain, they where entrusted by
the public and with that the ISP's to run .com/.net and
make sure that it keeps working in the way it used to.
But now they are going to make money from a public resource
by abusing their power they have over the .com and .net zones.
Even though many have oposed _after_ they suddenly implemented
it breaking quite a lot of applications and usages.

> For instance - who controls what ISP's route and don't route at the
> client-side level?

The ISP itself because that is their part of the internet.
It isn't called inter-network for nothing.

> Becuase for all intents and purposes, the back-end is
> just pipe. The answer that you will find is that NO ONE controlls the
> Internet today.

DNS is a *very* important application in todays internet,
he who controls that, controls the internet as that is
the biggest user base. I don't see a major fraction of 
the internet suddenly moving away from the current roots
simply because that is the part where the information is.

Ofcourse you can use your .leet domain, but who can access it?

Greets,
 Jeroen

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