Re: <nettime> RECLAIM THE NET!

[Florian Cramer <paragram@gmx.net>]

Am Sun, 30.Jan.2000 um 02:41:05 -0500 schrieb Paul Garrin:

> Artist collective RepoHistory http://repohistory.org Lower East Side NY
> Alternative paper theSHADOW and Domain Name Pioneer NAME.SPACE are set to
> launch ReclaimThe.Net, a campaign to empower independent artists and media
> to regain and reclaim the freedom of speech and access that is threatened
> by the encroachment of corporate dominance over the net. 

Although the current mode of control over the DNS system is doubtlessly
questionable, I find that it only affects corporate or sort-of-corporate
projects. There is no reason to register top-level domains for your project
unless you want to build up a brandname. Otherwise, you could

(a) just stick with a subdirectory on your provider's host (see my
signature);

(b) stick with the IP number of your web server (like http://160.45.219.10),
giving your site some nice 'underground' flavor;

(c) create a non-corporate subdomain system. Then it would be sufficient to
pay only one single top-level domain, like 'namespace.org', and create a
practically infinite number of free subdomains for non-corporate net
projects: "nettime.namespace.org", "jodi.namespace.org",
"mongrel.namespace.org" etc. To avoid NSI altogether, you could register a
".cc", ".nu" or ".to" domain for namespace instead.

It is my opinion that any literate person should be able to write down
and bookmark any type of URL. So why care about catchy dot.com/dot.org URLs
if your project is non-corporate, and aimed at literate people?

In a previous debate on net art, Olia Lialiana argued that originals _do_
exist in net art, with net art domain names functioning as their signifiers.
I find her argument plausible and valid. It implies that a net project is
done with a professional purpose, and that building up a brandname (in the
art world or elsewhere) is part of its concept. So if your project needs a
corporate identity in the net, it should be acceptable for you to submit to
the rules of the corporate DNS system. Others simply don't have to play this
game.

Florian


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Florian Cramer, PGP public key ID 6440BA05
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