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Comment by simias | Hacker News Reader

Yeah this is a frankly insane take for me.

>For those who might be unfamiliar with the Internet Society, our mission is as follows:

Nobody cares, that's utterly irrelevant as long as operating .org doesn't go against the Society's mission statement (which it clearly doesn't). By the author's own admission "While it's true that running .org provided a relatively steady income stream, it effectively staked most of our revenue on a single business". So you are staked so heavily in a single business that instead of using the income and stability it provides to diversify you just get rid of it altogether? Utter nonsense. That's just greed and short-term gains.

I hope this is naivety and not pure gaslighting.

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I also find it insulting that he belittles "leasing domain names" as beneath the mission of the Internet Society. Management of .org is actually extremely important to all of those who are involved in non-profits. So are we to assume that selling off .org to private equity for a quick cash grab is in line with their "mission"?

It's also hilarious, considering that they're only in that business because they asked to be [1]:

> ICANN circulated a request for proposals in May 2002 for a new organization to manage the .org domain. The Internet Society (ISOC) teamed with Afilias to put forth one of eleven proposals ICANN received. ISOC won an endorsement within ICANN and was recommended to the selection committee

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Interest_Registry

LOL

"The Internet Society supports and promotes the development of the Internet as a global technical infrastructure, a resource to enrich people’s lives, and a force for good in society.

Our work aligns with our goals for the Internet to be open, globally-connected, secure, and trustworthy. We seek collaboration with all who share these goals.

Together, we focus on:

Building and supporting the communities that make the Internet work; Advancing the development and application of Internet infrastructure, technologies, and open standards; and Advocating for policy that is consistent with our view of the Internet"

https://www.internetsociety.org/mission/

"As an organization the WWF staked most of our revenue on a single business. That's why we've acquired a controlling interest in Raytheon..."

How did they get to being in a position to make that decision if they are naive about such things?

Because he's not naive. Humans are self justification machines and he's just exercising the semi-delusional post decision making process we all frequently exercise ourselves.

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