[governance] Good faith at ISOC & comment on IGF

[Carlos Afonso (via governance Mailing List)]

Mostly agree with MM, except for... [see below]

On 02/12/2019 17:46, Mueller, Milton L wrote:
> Responses in line:
> 
> From: governance-request at lists.riseup.net <governance-request at lists.riseup.net> On Behalf Of parminder
> 
> 
> We must understand that unique names and addresses on the Internet are basically a common or public good... Its value is not created by anyone to be able to profit from it, it belongs to all, the logic of which is self evident.
> 
> MM: Domain names are not public goods. This claim is based on ignorance of economic theory and of domain names. A public good is nonrival in consumption and nonexclusive. Domain names are neither. When one entity or individual registers a domain, others can’t use it. Ergo, a domain name is NOT non rival in consumption it is a private property. Also, if I am the registrant or owner of a domain, I can exclude others from using it. Hence, domain names are not nonexclusive. Those facts, to quote someone, are self-evident. Whatever your opinion of the .ORG sale, the notion of public goods is utterly irrelevant.

c.a. --> Domain names are *not* private property. They are rented assets, if you wish, from an intermediary to a registry known as registrar. It is a concession, not a sale. You pay yearly to keep the concession, and the registry can even arbitrarily change the value of the annual rent, as it were -- as is now the case of .org/.ong/.ngo. Not public goods either, you are correct on this. Obviously there are particularities, like when a domain name maps into a trademark.

> 
> For this reason, core gTLDs, esp as carrying denominations that are essential to definition of some social entities, like .org, or .edu, .health, etc, should also be common or public goods.
> 
> MM: So, do I get to use itforchange.net? If it’s a public good you can’t exclude me from it. Shall I throw up my own web site on that domain? And accuse you of being an evil neoliberal for excluding me from i
> 
> These should ideally be managed as non -profit -- on no-profit no-loss basis. But, in these neo-liberal times when even non profits are advised to work on market principles, even if for efficiency sake we are to take the services of a for-profit to run this commons/ public service it should be so arranged that the profits, or service fees, are quite modest.
> 
> MM: .ORG has been making a $40-50 million profit every year. The sale per se doesn’t change that. What we should be concerned about is whether the new owners, lacking any connection to the internet or nonprofit communities, will try to “milk” the domain and fail to maintain its reputation.

c.a. --> CGI.br, CIRA, PIR and some other cc/gTLD registries etc, are examples of non-profit distributors of domain names. This does not change the nature of the TLDs under their purview -- rented assets, not private properties of the domain name holders in possesion of these. Not public goods at all. And definitely not private properties of their holders. Nor are the TLDs private properties of their registries -- who can lose the contract once it expires and is renegotiated with the TLD broker known as ICANN. Actually, it has been mentioned that one of the suspected "fears" (unfounded in my view) of ISOC in deciding to get rid of the domain name business is the uncertainty of renewing the contract with ICANN when it expires. Who knows?

> 
> Let’s stop spouting anti-market rhetoric, which does no one any good in this context, and keep our eyes on the prize: we need modifications in the registry agreement, as described here:
> 
> https://www.internetgovernance.org/2019/11/25/what-to-do-about-org/

c.a. --> Keep calm and carry on! :-)

> 
> Dr. Milton L Mueller
> School of Public Policy
> Georgia Institute of Technology
> [IGP_logo_gold block_email sig]

fraternal regards

--c.a.

-- 

Carlos A. Afonso
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