Re: [p2pi] Fwd: For those who think "User Fairness/Cost Fairness" isunacceptable...

Replies inline below.  Sorry I am still catching up on all this email
from the weekend.

Jason

________________________________

	From: p2pi-bounces@ietf.org [mailto:p2pi-bounces@ietf.org] On
Behalf Of Robb Topolski

	All:  I become increasingly frustrated by being the negative guy
-- I'm an optimist.  I do believe that Comcast made strides toward more
transparency.  But simply advertising that they interfere with some
users does not excuse it (see RFC 1087).  When so plainly asked to take
a position, the IETF as an engineering body answer Comcast and reject
non-Standards conforming behaviors.  

	I was a bit thrown off by your RFC 1087 reference, "Ethics and
the Internet" from 1989.  Perhaps that RFC is somewhat geared towards a
non-commercial past, when as it says, the Internet is a "national
facility" used mostly by researchers.  Can you advise your specific
technical areas of concern, as it relates to this RFC (see below)?

	Network Working Group                          Internet
Activities Board
	Request for Comments: 1087
January 1989

	                        Ethics and the Internet

	Status of this Memo

	   This memo is a statement of policy by the Internet Activities
Board
	   (IAB) concerning the proper use of the resources of the
Internet.
	   Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

	Introduction

	   At great human and economic cost, resources drawn from the
U.S.
	   Government, industry and the academic community have been
assembled
	   into a collection of interconnected networks called the
Internet.
	   Begun as a vehicle for experimental network research in the
mid-
	   1970's, the Internet has become an important national
infrastructure
	   supporting an increasingly widespread, multi-disciplinary
community
	   of researchers ranging, inter alia, from computer scientists
and
	   electrical engineers to mathematicians, physicists, medical
	   researchers, chemists, astronomers and space scientists.

	   As is true of other common infrastructures (e.g., roads,
water
	   reservoirs and delivery systems, and the power generation and
	   distribution network), there is widespread dependence on the
Internet
	   by its users for the support of day-to-day research
activities.

	   The reliable operation of the Internet and the responsible
use of its
	   resources is of common interest and concern for its users,
operators
	   and sponsors.  Recent events involving the hosts on the
Internet and
	   in similar network infrastructures underscore the need to
reiterate
	   the professional responsibility every Internet user bears to
	   colleagues and to the sponsors of the system.  Many of the
Internet
	   resources are provided by the U.S. Government.  Abuse of the
system
	   thus becomes a Federal matter above and beyond simple
professional
	   ethics.

	IAB Statement of Policy

	   The Internet is a national facility whose utility is largely
a
	   consequence of its wide availability and accessibility.
	   Irresponsible use of this critical resource poses an enormous
threat
	   to its continued availability to the technical community.

	   The U.S. Government sponsors of this system have a fiduciary
	   responsibility to the public to allocate government resources
wisely

	Internet Activities Board
[Page 1]
	<http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1087#page-2> 
	RFC 1087 <http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1087>
Ethics and the Internet             January 1989

	   and effectively.  Justification for the support of this
system
	   suffers when highly disruptive abuses occur.  Access to and
use of
	   the Internet is a privilege and should be treated as such by
all
	   users of this system.

	   The IAB strongly endorses the view of the Division Advisory
Panel of
	   the National Science Foundation Division of Network,
Communications
	   Research and Infrastructure which, in paraphrase,
characterized as
	   unethical and unacceptable any activity which purposely:

	      (a) seeks to gain unauthorized access to the resources of
the
	          Internet,

	      (b) disrupts the intended use of the Internet,

	      (c) wastes resources (people, capacity, computer) through
such
	          actions,

	      (d) destroys the integrity of computer-based information,

	   and/or

	      (e) compromises the privacy of users.

	   The Internet exists in the general research milieu.  Portions
of it
	   continue to be used to support research and experimentation
on
	   networking.  Because experimentation on the Internet has the
	   potential to affect all of its components and users,
researchers have
	   the responsibility to exercise great caution in the conduct
of their
	   work.  Negligence in the conduct of Internet-wide experiments
is both
	   irresponsible and unacceptable.

	   The IAB plans to take whatever actions it can, in concert
with
	   Federal agencies and other interested parties, to identify
and to set
	   up technical and procedural mechanisms to make the Internet
more
	   resistant to disruption.  Such security, however, may be
extremely
	   expensive and may be counterproductive if it inhibits the
free flow
	   of information which makes the Internet so valuable.  In the
final
	   analysis, the health and well-being of the Internet is the
	   responsibility of its users who must, uniformly, guard
against abuses
	   which disrupt the system and threaten its long-term
viability.

	Internet Activities Board
[Page 2]

	-- 
	Robb Topolski (robb@funchords.com)
	Hillsboro, Oregon USA
	http://www.funchords.com/ 