[wg-c] (un) free market issues

[Dave Crocker <dcrocker@brandenburg.com>]

At 08:34 AM 11/6/1999 , A.M. Rutkowski wrote:
>>In the recent round of discussion, the REASON that doing a not-for-profit 
>>first was stated simply and directly.
>
>Sure, it is called restraining the market, and very appealing
>to socialists and those who would benefit by manipulating the
>market to their advantage.

I suspect any reasonable analysis of economic history will show that 
capitalists are just as ready to "restrain" the market as are socialists, 
as yesterday's court decision against Microsoft shows, along with the many 
special treatments in law that one business constituency or another has gotten.

The flaw with the simplistic assertion of restraint of trade, in this case, 
is that domain names do not permit a true and unfettered free market.  Even 
at initial purchase time, it could be viewed as less than fully free.

At renewal time it isn't even close.  Again, NSI has done us all a great 
service by very nicely demonstrating these problems.

>>Care to provide the reason(s) that a for-profit is "safer"?
>
>Significantly less liability for the corporation and the
>participants - which raises the question of whether ICANN's
>liability coverage extends to Working Group participants, and
>for what amount.

Ahh, the ever-popular specter of lawsuit, nicely cast to create fear in 
every participant.

Do you have some actual legal precedent to offer us about this particular 
danger?

In the IETF, this issue has been considered carefully and long.  Since 
working group members have no meaningful power, the legal opinion we've 
(repeatedly) been provided is that working group members have no exposure.

>>To prime the pump, please note that current experiences show that a 
>>for-profit is quite good at holding customers and ICANN hostage to its 
>>market power.
>
>That's the way marketplaces work and respond against those that
>would effect restraints.  It's infinitely preferable to regulating
>the marketplace.

It's the way anyone with market POWER works, Tony.  They hold their 
customers (and even regulators, in this case) hostage.

d/

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