[discuss] shifts in IANA/accountability discussion: your thoughts?

[Barry Shein]

I'm often amazed what gets put on the table, entire redesigns of the
internet. I am not opposed to the idea but at least present some
tentative technical RFCs and running code!

That said are we about dance down that semantic hole: Just because
something is free to the end user doesn't mean it doesn't cost
anything, it just means it's being paid for by some other means,
marketing, advertising, taxes, narcotrafficking, etc.

There's little argument that much on the internet is cost-free to the
user, such as a google search.

Ugh, I think this can be a rat hole, let's assume we all know there
are abstract costs (e.g., being advertised at, your time), there're
access costs (how did you get to google), the device, etc.

But in much of the world the internet is nearly free if you can get
use of a wi-fi capable device and you're willing to sit in a wi-fi hot
spot which in some places cover entire city squares etc.

And you're willing to limit yourself to free services. Which is a lot
of services, not a terrible limitation.

That's one of the amazing things about the internet, abstract issues
of privacy etc aside, you can get at services which entire rich govts
could only dream of 25 years ago, they literally could not buy what
you can get from a google search for money, or only primitive
versions.

Today you can get it for no incremental cost. The entire planet,
literally billions of people, have put vast amounts of information
online and give a lot of it away for free. Everything from jokes,
opinions, chit-chat, to valuable research, training, reference
materials, databases, even porn! And even unprecedented access to each
other.

I'm starting to sound like Louis CK...wow, I'm even starting to look a
little like him...so I will stop right here.


-- 
        -Barry Shein

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