Don't Forget GAR

[Jim Fleming <JimFleming@doorstep.unety.net>]

On Sunday, April 12, 1998 2:49 PM, Karl Denninger[SMTP:karl@mcs.net] wrote:
<snip>
@
@I know darn well what I'm talking about because I do it every single day
@Alec, unlike the people who have had a "free ride" within ARIN and NSI
@before them for MANY years.
@

Lets not forget GAR, the Global Address Registry that ARIN claims
has been in the works for over a year. <http://www.arin.net/greenpaper.html>
Not only is ARIN not looking to reduce costs, they are encouraging the
creation of MORE tax collecting structures. This appears to be a political
move to divert attention away from ARIN and to make it appear as if ARIN
is entrenched and can not be changed.

The U.S. Government needs to re-open all of the matters related to the
InterNIC. ARIN was not created out of any need to offer a unique service.
ARIN was created to allow NSI (and SAIC) to divest itself of the bad publicity
that has surrounded the IANA's policies for many years. SAIC needed to
get rid of ARIN because it was causing spotlights to be turned on their
other government contracts which was not desirable. NSI was happy to
shed ARIN to allow it to make its IPO and to get ready for their DOJ
orchestrated WorldNIC/InterNIC transition. ARIN was a good place to
store the IANA hot potatoes. Now NSI is free to enter the market and ARIN
has to deal with the fundamental issues of fairness and resource allocation.

In my response to the Green Paper I point out that it is better to face
these facts and to minimize costs rather than continuing to build one
beauracracy after another to try to cover up the problems. The Green Paper
proposes to move the IANA to a corporate structure. I claim that the IANA
is already there, in the form of Jon Postel being on the Board of ARIN.
ARIN then pops up with GAR, as yet another group to fund. I suppose
this will require another 15 people and another plush office in Virginia and
yet another "CEO". This would be in addition to the proposed IANA Inc.

What is amazing about all of this is that the Internet Society sits around
and writes papers asking the U.S. Government not to tax the Internet
while the Internet insiders spend their time trying to cook up the next
way to extract taxes from ISPs and users. All of this drives the costs
up and there is not inherent benefit or new services. Also, most of the
taxes flow into the same small group of people's hands in and around
Washington, D.C. No surprise here.

Meanwhile, companies are making investments and placing capital
at risk building registries and the necessary facilities to operate those
registries and these people are derailed from bringing their investments
on-line. Who derails them ? The same people who are working to build
their own little society complete with its own tax agencies all funded
from capital and facilities provided by the U.S. Government and all
shielded from risk of failure by monopoly guarantees of market share.

Surely someone in the U.S. Government that understands capitalism
will see that the Internet socialism is a dead-end path and discourages
investors and attracts people who will attempt to live off of the taxpayers
and will continue to feather their nests all in the name of doing the right
thing which really amounts to paying them money and allowing them
to play all day long. That is not a productive direction to head...

-
Jim Fleming
Unir Corporation
IBC, Tortola, BVI