Who will run the internets?

MoP · Oct 2005

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4327928.stm

Interesting article about the future of the web. I don't really understand the US's position, it seems kinda pointless and selfish - their only argument is "we've always done it, we should keep doing it!"... huh?

Why should only the US government hold sway over ICANN? Why not other nations too?

arshlevon · Oct 2005

DUH!!! We have all the weapons and all the internets and all the chevys so we win at life and you lose and everyone else lose.. we rule the school.. i dont see why its so hard to see the american way.. if its white then its right..

Michael Knubben · Oct 2005

Also a point of interest: every gps satelitte is in american (military) hands. If they would suddenly decide they didn't want us using it, that would just be tough luck.

pogonip · Oct 2005

Well it was invented here and developed here and funded using university money ..etc etc why should'nt America run it ? We are also the biggest user base and have more resources for regulations . Not that I care who runs it though for all I care North Korea can run it as long as I can access my Porns and Polycounts ....

Kevin Albers · Oct 2005

It seems silly to me to have a single country run the internet, and a bit dangerous.

Ninjas · Oct 2005

I think the best argument for the US running the Internet is that we have been doing a pretty good job, and if you let a collection of other countries run it then you have to let China with their huge user base get a vote. I don't know about you guys, but I would rather not let that happen.

If any other counrty had developed the internet save Holland, I bet it would be more restrictive today. Now if Holland wants to take over, I'm all for it. Those guys have their shit together.

hawken · Oct 2005

they should move the internet to the moon

ElysiumGX · Oct 2005

keep the internet away from the Chinese.

gauss · Oct 2005

we make most of the porn, which by extension takes up most of the internet... so why wouldn't we run the internet?

KDR_11k · Oct 2005

Pea: That's why the ESA wants to deploy Gallileo and in response the US wants to deploy a sattelite jammer. I say we should start developing surface to space missiles in case someone deploys dangerous sattelites that we need to permanently remove...

Pogonip: The problem is that the ICANN has too much power and although it was supposed to be dissolved long ago it still exists.

MoP · Oct 2005

[ QUOTE ]
surface to space missiles

[/ QUOTE ]
They're called rockets

AstroZombie · Oct 2005

Well Al Gore invented the internets, so I think they belong to us by default

hawken · Oct 2005

[ QUOTE ]
keep the internet away from the Chinese.

[/ QUOTE ]

scared?

SouL · Oct 2005

Wasn't it the US military that created the initial base platform for the internet? I think it was put together to allow the different departments of our military to increase communication efficiency.
Al Gore stepped in and proposed that it be turned into something the public can use.

AstroZombie · Oct 2005

And the porn industry helped it to thrive and grow into what it is today.

MoP · Oct 2005

Those arguments are crap. People invent things all the time, stuff the military developed ages ago is now in public use.

Alexander Graham Bell made the first working telephone in Boston, MA. Does the US Government therefore control all the telephone switchboards in the world? No, that would be ludicrous!

KDR_11k · Oct 2005

Mop: I meant ones capable of targeting and hitting a target in space. Since the target might change its orbit when the missile launch is detected a simple rocket carrying a warhead won't suffice, you'll need some form of homing system (I'm not sure if manual guidance would suffice for that). Also, they have to be ready for launch when you need them, not "oh, we'll build one, wait a few months"...

Rhinokey · Oct 2005

[ QUOTE ]
Well Al Gore invented the internets, so I think they belong to us by default

[/ QUOTE ]

but the fool forgot to copyright it!

Rhinokey · Oct 2005

[ QUOTE ]
Alexander Graham Bell made the first working telephone in Boston, MA. Does the US Government therefore control all the telephone switchboards in the world? No, that would be ludicrous!

[/ QUOTE ]

but the fool forgot to copyrite it!

Moz · Oct 2005

The world wide web was not invented by the military or by americans. What we know and love is the web, the internet is differnet

arshlevon · Oct 2005

they make everything cool at MIT..

swampbug · Oct 2005

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
surface to space missiles

[/ QUOTE ]
They're called rockets

[/ QUOTE ]

thanks guys that gave me a good laugh!.

The3DGuy · Oct 2005

We have always run it, if someone wants to take it away from the US just because 'it belongs to the world' is silly. Are we doing a bad job? also Bell was one man, this is an entire country. If other countries want the internet so bad then they should fund one and make another one. also if they do decide to take it from us they should at least pay the US for what the internet is worth, and we all know billions have probably gone into it. You want your tax dollars to buy something that you use anyway. its not gonna matter where the intenet is located or who owns it. Its not restrictive. its a free world with no boundries (except child porn, and sometimes beastiality) but if something isn't broke why fix it. rant rant rant. rant rant

ElysiumGX · Oct 2005

all this time I believed Harvard discovered the internet hoping it would cure cancer.

Rick Stirling · Oct 2005

Cos you made the Suicide Girls upset. That makes us upset, we like Goth sluts.

pogonip · Oct 2005

Suicide Girls

Scott Ruggels · Oct 2005

I would prefer it to remain in American hands for the simple reason that Cuba, China, and Iran should never have a say in the administration of it. Ever.

Scott

Sett · Oct 2005

I nominate the Goth sluts as ruler of the internets.

They already rule my heart.

PaK · Oct 2005

those cubans....oh so dangerous.

arshlevon · Oct 2005

hahahaha.. i was thinking the same thing.. they might want to put that damn salsa music on the internet.. screw that crap!!! maybe some of those old cars.. eww who wants that.. hold on wait....plantains!!! Oh the Humanity!!!

jackson · Oct 2005

i don't really see how the can be managed, i mean it isn't one centarlized computer the WWW is spread World WIde... But im limited in my knowledge at this

KDR_11k · Oct 2005

If other countries want the internet so bad then they should fund one and make another one.

They already funded a part of it, all the US does is to provide the root DNS and allocation of TLDs. ICANN has control over both. If a country wanted they could set up their own subnet but it would be incompatible with the rest of the world. These days all telephone nets are connected but each country handles its own part. The internet is the same except ICANN is the only one who decides which company gets to run which TLD. Would you like it if some guy in China could tell you which phone number you're allowed to have?

Weiser_Cain · Oct 2005

Which is exactly why we shouldn't let them have anymore control over the net than they already have over their citizens access.
It's our system, we'd be stupid to give it away to the world to screw up even worse than it is now.

KDR_11k · Oct 2005

1. ICANN does a bad job.
2. The internet is the whole thing that's spanning the globe, not the part in the US or something. As each country contributes to the infrastructure, each country should have a say in the administrative matters.
3. If China says "We want to be able to ban pages we don't like", the rest of the web says "Fuck you".

Who will run the internets?

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