The root nameserver configuration is one of the last of the informal
> things left over from the early days of the internet. I don't know
> how long that will last, but I don't think passing it over to ICANN is
> a good thing any more than allowing government control would be.
Having just returned from the ICANN meeting in Luxembourg, I can say that the root server operators understand exactly what's going on, and they have no interest in being controlled by anyone. They are also in a uniquely powerful position since switching to other roots would both be very expensive (the apparent 13 roots are actually over 100 servers spread around the world) and would require reconfiguring every other nameserver on the entire Internet, which ain't gonna happen.
R's,
John
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Luxembourg? Is that where they are on vacation now? I thought they just got back from a trip to Argentina. What a real laugh (no, actually very sad) that organization ICANN is. Is MCI footing the bill for all these international vacations Vint Cerf and Esther Dyson and others go on several times per year, or are they still getting money they extort from internet users who think ICANN is somehow going to help them protect their sites against spam and viruses? PAT]