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Ok, perhaps the InterNIC's Chuck Gomes was lying?

  • From: Steven J. Sobol
  • Date: Tue Sep 08 21:17:46 1998 
This surprises me. And pisses me off.

Dean Robb pointed to some SEC filings, a prospectus from NSI which he
gave an incorrect URL for -- the correct url is

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1030341/0000950133-97-003381.txt

which shows that Network Solutions, Inc. (the InterNIC people, for those of
you reading on Freemail who are not familiar with the name) plans to build a
database of customer information that "makes proper use of the customer data
that the Company collects."

Doesn't specifically list selling e-mail addresses, but...

Now, Mr. Gomes assures me that the InterNIC has no plans to spam. Maybe
this is true. However I will state right here and now that *none* of
my e-mail addresses had better be sold to anyone. NSI does not own them.
Furthermore, they are used for BUSINESS PURPOSES and I can't just start
blithely filtering e-mail.

Mr. Gomes has also told me that SAIC is just a shareholder, but this is
part of the prospectus:

CLASS A COMMON STOCK

Of the 3,300,000 shares of Class A Common Stock offered hereby, 2,800,000
are being sold by Network Solutions, Inc. ("NSI" or the "Company") and
500,000 shares are being sold by the Company's parent, Science Applications
International Corporation, a Delaware corporation ("SAIC" or the "Selling
Stockholder").

(note that SAIC is listed as the PARENT COMPANY of NSI).

Now, the second URL.

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1030341/0000950133-98-001406.txt

As mentioned by Dean, a bunch of people on NSI's board are also on
SAIC's board.

I'm giving Chuck the benefit of the doubt, for now, since he has been
helpful and (apparently) straightforward, but the prospectus is less than
a year old (it's dated 9/26/97), so the information should be current.

The proxy statement is dated 4/14/98.

It'd be great if Chuck would be willing to subscribe to NANOG and
talk to us here.

(This is being CC'd to him)

-- 

"You know, I've decided lizards aren't too smart."
   --Me, to "Junior", one of my iguanas