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From: karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Karl Denninger)
Newsgroups: news.admin,news.misc,comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Internet/NSFNet proposal to be run by IBM -- call to action!
Message-ID: <1990Oct28.220432.521@ddsw1.MCS.COM>
Date: 28 Oct 90 22:04:32 GMT
Reply-To: karl@mcs.MCS.COM (Karl Denninger)
Organization: Macro Computer Solutions, Inc. - Wheeling, IL
Lines: 71

This is a call to action by all interested parties.

There is wind of a proposal stirring in Washington that would place the 
NSFNet backbone, and eventually the entire government-run part of the 
Internet, into the hands of IBM.

IBM has supposedly pledged to run this on a non-profit basis for some 
number of years.   Of course, the number that's being bandied about is
small, like "2".....

Anyone want to bet how long the Internet remains accessible to non-IBM
people?  Or whether the Internet ends up another Prodidy, with active
censorship?  Whether you'll have to buy an IBM system to hook into it, 
since they might decide that TCP/IP is no longer any good and now it's 
time to go to SNA or worse?

Folks, if you love the Internet, and want to see it expand and grow, we need
to insure that a few things happen:

1) 	The "acceptable use" policy on the NSFNet needs to be scrapped.
	Sure, this will bring problems.  But it will also mean that
	commercial companies can tie in, pay their fair share, and make sure
	that the network capacity has the funding to continue to grow.

2)	The backbone needs to be run as a regulated commodity.  Perhaps even
	run by the Government, strange as that may seem.  The goal of
	universal connectivity is not that far off right now, but there are
	companies and special interests who would like to see that never
	happen.  We MUST insure that it does.

3)	We must maintain and increase our lead as the information-processing
	leader in the world.  It's the only area of superiority that we have
	left in world markets.  A universally-accessible Internet is one way
	to achieve this goal.  Face it, the "bright minds" aren't all in
	colleges or doing business with schools or the government.  Many are
	in private industry or independant, and they should have access to
	this resource as well.

4)	Finally, a freely accessible information exchange medium may be the
	second-best guarantee of freedom in this country (the first being
	the ability of the people to depose a despotic government).  By
	keeping the passing of information from coast to coast available, 
	fast and cheap, we keep the people informed.

How to proceed:
	1)	A tax on access devices for the network may be the best
		way to fund it.  I'm not sure about this, but it seems as
		though a "user fee" is one of the better ways to pay for the
		connectivity that we all enjoy and want to see furthered.

	2)	General subsidy isn't a bad idea either, but it's not ideal.
		Selling it to the general public will be difficult,
		especially with the things that hit the press now and again
		about X-rated GIF sites and the like.

	3)	Keep control in the hands of the many, or in the hands of a
		non-profit corporation funded EXCLUSIVELY to run this beast.
		Giving it to IBM or another pseudo-government company is as
		good as letting the fox loose in the henhouse -- the
		potential for abuse and profiteering is just too great to
		ignore.

Get involved NOW folks.  I didn't know about this until last night, and it
knocked my socks off.  People I've talked to think this is a universally bad
thing, but they don't know how to stop it.  I suggest that a million loud
voices would have a significant impact.

--
Karl Denninger (karl@ddsw1.MCS.COM, <well-connected>!ddsw1!karl)
Public Access Data Line: [+1 708 808-7300], Voice: [+1 708 808-7200]
Macro Computer Solutions, Inc.   "Quality Solutions at a Fair Price"