Re: from Ira Magaziner Re: IETF relationship to new IANA

[Thomas Narten <[e-mail]>]

Perry,

> I hate to say this, Scott, but a lifetime of seeing politicians in
> action leads me to have no faith in either the statement that there
> was no desire to bring the IETF to heel or that this will not be in
> the cards in the future.

Whether or not Ira can be trusted (say, for instance, because one
believes he is evil because all politicians are evil) is beside the
point. The fact remains he is an very important player in what is
going on right now. One can either attempt to engage constructively,
or take action that might well be perceived as openly hostile (and
make things *much* worse). There are no guarantees with either
approach, but rest assured that once the latter approach is taken, the
first option is no longer an option. Looking at the big picture, which
option would appear to have better odds of resulting in a positive
outcome?

> The man has created an enormous amount of chaos for our community,
> sowing uncertainty and fear into a self governance process that was
> largely working just fine. If this was by design, he's a deadly threat
> both to the functioning of the internet and to our autonomy. If this
> was by accident, he's dangerous simply because he doesn't understand
> what he is doing and has great power to cause destruction without even
> realizing it. Either way, I do not see any reason for faith or trust
> in the man.

Fine.  You don't trust the man. However, it does not follow that
attempts at constructive engagement should be abandoned.

Thomas