Re: PAB nIANA facts

Masataka Ohta (mohta@necom830.hpcl.titech.ac.jp)
Tue, 9 Jun 98 16:29:25 JST


Kent;

> > It was a mistake of IANA (and, according to the fiction of the GP and
> > WP, USG) that there was not much effort paid to internationalize IANA.
>
> I view it as an accident of history, not a mistake.

Purely technically, a mistake is a mistake.

However, considering the US contribution to the Internet, your
representation of the events is politically acceptable in official
documents, as long as the gTLD-MoU effort to correct the mistake
moves forward.

> > The past failure to internationalize IANA can't be a rational to keep
> > it uninternationalized US-local entity.
>
> I agree with you completely on this point. Where we apparently
> disagree is in our assessment of the reality. It is my belief that
> the WP and other aspects of our current reality do not prevent IANA
> from becoming a truly international entity. I don't think that an
> initial incorporation in the US will have such an effect, either.

That's not the point.

The point is that with ISOC already incorporated no one need IANA
incorporated.

With gTLD-MoU process almost completed, which does not need IANA
corporation, any attempt to create a new IANA merely delayes the
entire process.

> BTW, your statement that the gTLD-MoU was the attempt of the IANA to
> internationalize is, IMO, only partially correct. The gTLD-MoU
> actually left control of the root zone as a problem to be solved
> later, and deferred it to IANA. We now can see that was a mistake.
> The IAHC, in retrospect, left an important stone unturned. This is
> because they didn't think it was in their charter, among other
> reasons...

I don't think it a mistake, nor an accident of history. :-)

As IANA today is not a US-local corporation and under the full
control of ISOC, not USG, it's fine for IAHC leave root zone
authority to IANA.

It, of course, is wrong to give root zone authority to US-local
IANA, which is why we need a UN-based International IANA to
which ISOC should give away root authority.

The next thing to do is to make ISOC/IETF internationalized
standardization body like ITU or ISO.

Masataka Ohta