[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: ICANN _does_ deal with the DNS Roots
> and the top level domains, but part of that dealing includes the fact
> that _all registrars_ must go through ICANN and are forced to require
> of all web sites that they sign a contract turning final control of
> their web sites over to ICANN. You, as a web site owner must agree
> that ICANN's word is final and that disputes are to be settled by
> an arbitrator ICANN chooses.
Wow.
I'm afraid you're overstating things a bit.
ICANN's arbitration authority is over the domain name. Period. It has nothing to do with the content hosted at any site. They have no control over any website (other than their own), simply the name by which it's referenced.
I would suggest that as soon as it is administratively convenient to90% (or more) of the sort of email you are referring to originates from virus infected home computers or compromised servers. You can blow all the hot air and pass all the legislation you want, but there's not a lot that it will accomplish regarding stopping it.
> do so, they begin amending their contracts which all of us have to
> sign firmly denouncing and repudiating spam/scam/phishing and all that > stuff.
And the phishing sites that the mails connect you to, and that collect the information, are typically unauthorized processes running on similarly infected or compromised systems. Or sites running on hosting company servers that typically only last a day or so before their nature is discovered and they're shut down.
You might as well ask ICANN to outlaw computer viruses. It's essentially the same thing, and would be about as effective.
John Meissen snipped-for-privacy@aracnet.com
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I would not ask, nor expect them to 'outlaw' viruses or spam. I would ask them to specify plainly with no hesitation where they stand on that stuff, and at least attempt to punish those sites where spam/scam/phishing seem to be the total reason for their existence. Just as they now do not hesitate to kill those domain names which may or do violate laws on trademarks (for example ICANN will close your site in a minute if you assume a name which is intended to capitalize (or make money) from a 'recognized' business (just try for example to start a site called 'redcrosscharity.com' or 'disneeworld.org' or such. (Note my obvious typing errors; that is how a scammer intending to confuse people into giving money might do it. Believe me you, if those somehow slipped past the registar and Red Cross or Disney complained to ICANN about it, those names would be gone, instanter.
My favorite real life example was the black lady who started a social issues web site to discuss the accomplishments of black Americans. Her mistake was in taking the domain name African-Americans on Line or AAOL.org. She meant well by it, but when aol.com found out about it she was dead meat. (The real) aol.com could not get her to change _her_ name so they went to ICANN, got her placed in arbitration and let ICANN do her in instead. She woke up one day and found her domain name missing from root. She appealed to her ISP, which passed the buck to the registrar, which in turn bucked it up the line to ICANN; they told her flat out that (anything)AOL or AOL(anything) was reserved, could not be used, etc, and that ended the discussion. I am only suggesting that ICANN should take that firm stance with 'certain' sites and after due dilegence and investigation 'excommunicate' those guys in the same way. And if the ISP, who is the closest to the action won't purge itself of that nuisance, then dump him also. Let it work its way down from ICANN through the registrar level to the ISP, and so on. If ICANN started making a lot of noise on the problems of the net these days -- really raising hell Mother Jones style -- it _would_ make a difference. All be gone today, tomorrow, or next week or next year?; probably not. But if ISPs (the closest ones to the action as we know) understood with no doubt in their mind that their own status was in jeopardy if they permitted that customer to remain on board, things would be begin to change radically.
It would be a lot like now, where individual netters decide to cut off entire blocks of IP numbers pissing off a large number of users in order to pressure someone down the line to sacrifice some nuisance on their system, but unlike now, where the pissed off users (coming from either direction) simply route around the troubled spot, it would carry a lot more weight if ICANN went down the line and started blitzing one ISP after another until they all woke up, and did so with the legal authority of those contracts they are so fond of making us all sign. And if the ISP closest to the action stalled or would not cooperate, then maybe we need to decide what to do about you as the _registrar_ and find someone who can obey rules instead.
But ICANN is _not about_ to amend their contracts, now or in the future, to either pronounce spam/scam to be a scourge or take any action against it. That would be contrary to what Vint Cerf and Esther Dyson envision the net to be. PAT]