noncommercial perspective

Hello --

Please accept these brief comments of concern about the working draft.

I have been involved in noncommercial Internet work for many years 
now. I am the President of the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise 
Network. I publish Nonprofit Online News. I have worked with hundreds 
of nonprofit organizations and scored of foundations on the future of 
nonprofit communication technology.

I cannot state my concerns strongly enough: To adopt the RAND model 
will be to undermine the very foundations of the noncommercial 
Internet. I argue further that to undermine those foundations is to 
undermine the social value of the Internet itself.

A "level playing field" as established by RAND based patent 
enforcement is impossible. If the playing field is in space, only 
those who can afford spacecraft can play. The massive amounts of 
innovation and social good that have come out of free and open 
standards is almost impossible to measure. But clearly, it would not 
be impossible to destroy.

Don't do it.

-- Michael Gilbert

P.S. Please keep me informed of progress on this matter.





Michael C. Gilbert                                  mcg@gilbert.org
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Received on Sunday, 30 September 2001 20:13:39 UTC