Introduction
The postal system and ICANN Paul Twomy, former CEO of ICANN, used the following analogy between the postal system and ICANN’s function: If you think of the Internet as a post office or a postal system, domain name and IP addressing are essentially ensuring that the addresses on the front of an envelope work . They are not about what you put inside the envelope, who sends the envelope, who’s allowed to read the envelope, how long it takes for the envelope to get there, what is the price of the envelope . None of those issues are important for ICANN’s functions . The function is focusing on just ensuring that the address works .
Used by:.Th . is.analogy.is.used.by.those.who.oppose.the.regulation.of. Internet.content.(mainly.in.the.United.States)..If.the.Internet.were.analogous. to.the.telephone,.the.content.of.Internet.communication.could.not.be. controlled,.as.is.the.case.with.the.telephone..It.is.also.used.by.those.who.argue. that.the.Internet.should.be.governed.like.other.communication.systems.(e.g.. telephony,.post),.by.national.authorities.with.a.coordinating.role.of.international. organisations,.such.as.ITU..According.to.this.analogy,.the.Internet.DNS.should. be.organised.and.managed.like.the.telephony.numbering.system.13 Internet – mail/post Similarities:.Th . ere.is.an.analogy.in.function,.namely.the.delivery.of.messages.. Th . e.name.itself,.e-mail,.highlights.this.similarity. Differences:.Th . is.analogy.covers.only.one.Internet.service:.e-mail..Moreover,. the.postal.service.has.a.much.more.elaborate.intermediary.structure.between. the.sender.and.recipient.than.the.e-mail.system,.where.the.active.intermediary. function.is.performed.by.ISPs.or.an.e-mail.service.provider.like.Yahoo!.or. Hotmail. Used by:.Th . e.Universal.Postal.Convention.draws.this.analogy.between.mail. and.e-mail:.‘Electronic.mail.is.a.postal.service.which.uses.telecommunications. for.transmitting.’.Th . is.analogy.can.have.consequences.concerning.the.delivery. of.offi ..cial.documents..For.instance,.receiving.a.court.decision.via.e-mail.would. be.considered.an.offi ..cial.delivery. Th . e.families.of.US.soldiers.who.died.in.Iraq.have.also.attempted.to.make.use. of.the.analogy.between.mail.(letters).and.e-mail.in.order.to.gain.access.to. their.loved.ones’.private.e-mail.and.blogs,.arguing.that.they.should.be.allowed. to.inherit.e-mail.and.blogs.as.they.would.letters.and.diaries. 23