The Board of Directors of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has given its final approval to a settlement that ends legal disputes with VeriSign (Nasdaq: VRSN) and anoints that company as the operator of the lucrative dot-com registry through 2012.
[icann.org...]
Today, ICANN's Board of Directors approved, by a majority vote, a set of agreements settling a long time dispute between ICANN and VeriSign, the registry operator for the .COM registry.These settlement documents include a new registry agreement relating to the operation of the .COM registry. The new .COM registry agreement will now proceed to the U.S. Department of Commerce for final approval, and the entire settlement is dependent upon this approval before it is finalized. USDOC approval is required due to the unique history of the .COM generic top-level domain and it is the only gTLD which requires such approval. If approved, this settlement will clear the way for a new and productive relationship between ICANN and VeriSign facilitating ICANN's stewardship and technical coordination of the Internet's domain name system.
Sigh, they're forcing the issue. So either: a) the Department of Commerce doesn't approve it, or b) someone sues their a** to kingdom come.
1. It gives VeriSign total control over something that is too important and stinks of a socalist monopoly. At least the period of time for the contract should be minimal. 3 years max, I would like to see an annual review.
2. As part of the deal VeriSign is allowed to increase the wholesale cost of .com's by 28% in the next 4 to 6 years. That is potentially 7% for the next 4 years.......way out of line with general inflation.
3. VeriSign have done a fairly lousey job in all the years they have been granted this monopoly. Is it not time we allowed someone else to try? If they failed we might actually have more respect for VeriSign?
That is a very good idea, a bit of an initial administrative problem, but, given a few months of software development a suitable incorruptible system should be possible.
Unfortunately I don't think it will happen anytime soon.
Politicians argue that they have the right to act "for us" based upon the fact that we "already voted" for them. We don't get to vote on every issue that arises, just an ideology,....at least not today.
Who knows? in 30 years time politicians (elected officials) might be history, and the people will make every decision by casting their vote online.
What some TV stations do today with their "take our poll" type events on certain subjects maybe just the start of a new era in how the people govern themselves :)
