[12452] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Who 'owns' the Internet?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Paul Robinson)
Wed May 18 09:45:03 1994
Date: Tue, 17 May 1994 22:45:07 -0400 (EDT)
From: Paul Robinson <PAUL@tdr.com>
Reply-To: Paul Robinson <PAUL@tdr.com>
To: emailman@vtvm1.cc.vt.edu
>From: Paul Robinson <PAUL@TDR.COM>
Organization: Tansin A. Darcos & Company, Silver Spring, MD USA
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A user on the EMailman list <EMAILMAN@VTVM1.CC.VT.EDU> posed the question
about hooking up to the internet and asked the question, "Who owns the
Internet?"
The answer which is least informative and closest to the truth is
"nobody" and "somebody", both and neither.
The actual answer is that a large number of independent organizations
agreed to use the same method of transfering data (the TCP/IP protocol)
and to connect their networks together using this method. A group of
networks connected together - any group of networks - is called an
"internet". The group of networks which communicates using TCP/IP
internationally on a cooperative basis is called the "Internet" (with a
capital I).
Each organization owns its own network. Some organizations use common
carrier facilities to connect to the Internet. But the Internet itself is
an example of probably the closest thing to an anarchy that has ever
existed. No individual group, organization or government or international
organization "owns" the Internet. There are no rules and no mandatory
requirements. It is only because it is in each party's interest to
cooperate with the standards that it works. Since failing to cooperate
with the standards makes one's network less valuable, these standards
have generally been "self enforcing".
An international communications system that operates without any mandatory
rules or government coercion, that enables people to get things done
using it, nobody owns it and yet it works because it appeals to people's own
self-interest to see that it does.
What a unique concept!
---
Paul Robinson - Paul@TDR.COM
Voted "Largest Polluter of the (IETF) list" by Randy Bush <randy@psg.com>
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The following Fortune Cookie was selected for this message:
"We're going to blast through the Internet like the Four Horsemen of
the Apocalypse!" - Sonny Harari, Tekwar "Tekjustice"
