Fwd: Re: [ICANN-EU] Jeanette and other candidates

[Thilo Pfennig <tp@alternativnetz.de>]

------ Forwarded message ------
    From: Thilo Pfennig <tp@alternativnetz.de>
 Subject: Re: [ICANN-EU] Jeanette and other candidates
    Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 10:20:15 +0200 (MEST)
      To: jeanette@medea.wz-berlin.de

On 22 Aug, Jeanette Hofmann wrote:

> Today, engineers are forced to share their former power with those 
> who use the Net, most of which, unfortunately, belong to the 
> commercial world. 

We would not have an ICANN if the "commercial world" would not have
invested in the infrastructure. This is another common mistake. I mean
this the view of "unfortunately". You cannot expect that the economy
only invests without participating in the power over the net. Even in
politics in the security council this is not a forum that represents the
demographic structure of the world. How can you expect this to be in a
new economic field?

I don't want to exaggerate this. But I would be interested what you
think is "unfortunate"?

Who SOULD own the net? Nobody? The users? Which users? All users? If we
look on the membership of ICANN we see the facts that right now, we
cannot say that the ICANN-members represent the demographic structure of
the world. We have to deal with this. What else could we do?

> I agree, it was the very absence of the telco world that made the 
> Internet possible. But may I remind you that it was american 

Yes and no. Without the cold war, there would not be an internet. On the
other hand: Doesn't the internet is just a logical,natural development
the MUST come and that could not be stopped. The danger came more from
the software/online-service world
(Microsoft,AOL,Compuserve,Minitel,BTX,...) not from the telecom firms, I
think? Those were happy to earn more - the other lost the fight against
the internet. Let's not forget this! The chances of winning against the
free net where very good 10-15 years ago, when only scientists and
students had access to the internet. the same could be said about
Windows vs. Linux? Where was Linux 10 years ago and where is ist now?!


-- 
Thilo Pfennig, Kiel 
<http://Alternativ.Net/>