[governance] IGC statement to IGF MAG - content

[Karl Auerbach]

Norbert Bollow wrote:

>> .... crossings of IPR, consumer protection and antitrust efforts - including 
>> net neutrality

> Actually, given the importance of this topic, why don't we
> specifically ask for this topic to be given prominence?

Such broad topics are, in my opinion, likely to not converge on concrete 
results except, and perhaps, after years and years and years.  And given 
the alternative forums already available and the monetary fuel behind 
some of the vested interests, the IG answer might end up being nothing 
more than an historical footnote.

In these early days it is important to pick topics on which people can 
make some real progress and generate (perhaps within a year or so) some 
concrete recommendations.  That way the mechanisms will be exercised, 
the flaws worked out, and most importantly credibility obtained.

Again, I urge that the focus be on matters that have a very firm and 
clear basis in technical issues.  These are far from trivial issues - I 
suggested, for example, the establishment of procedural and 
institutional means for end users (or their ISPs) to request and obtain 
end-to-end assurances of service quality for sensitive applications such 
as VOIP.

Another such topic would focus on the issue of the increasing use of 
technologies that try to play fast and loose with the implicit social 
contracts of using the net - these include some of the new protocols 
that are more aggressive than TCP when experiencing network congestion. 
  Widespread deployment of these technologies might result in a 
class-tiered internet in which some folks get good service and others 
get dregs.  This, again, is not a technical topic in itself, but rather 
is a rather difficult, but again a feasible one involving many tradeoffs 
  affecting innovation.

These kinds of topics are less likely to cause the kind of endless 
debates that will occur if IG jumps immediately to try to become some 
sort of super overlord of everything that in any way could touch the 
internet.

I am already beginning to be concerned this branch of IG evolution may 
start to look like a debate among buggy whip manufacturers while over in 
the next county Henry Ford begins to build his automobile assembly lines.

		--karl--

____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.cpsr.org
To be removed from the list, send any message to:
     governance-unsubscribe at lists.cpsr.org

For all list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance