May 2009

Dear Client,

I want to take this time with you to talk about one of the reasons we keep doing this. Lots of Internet companies have come and gone, and we’re still here. While it still has to pay the bills, most smaller companies get tired and pack it in. We haven’t, and here is one reason why.

When we first started out in 1995, one of our customers that year was a young man who called up wanting to get on the Internet. I asked him what kind of computer he had (Windows 3.1, Mac, etc.). He didn’t have one. Okay... I asked him if he knew he needed one, and he said yes. So I asked if he’d used one before. No. Hm… We talked some more and I realized he really needed to get online, so I advised him of the type of computer to get and over the next few months spent some phone time educating him on how to use it, as well as the Internet.

He grew in his proficiency and the phone calls got less and less frequent. He called a while later and asked about domain name servers and how DNS worked. So I told him. Much time passed and we got another call which explained his interest.

In the early days of the Internet (and even now), countries and protectorates each have their own top-level domain (TLD). Just as there is a .com, .org and .net, there is a .us for United States, .mx for Mexico, etc. Back then nobody cared much. The U.S. government body who managed these TLDs had marching orders to privatize all aspects as much as possible, which included turning over operational management and ownership of these TLDs. The rule then was that if you were officially associated with a TLD (e.g., could prove citizenship for that country or group) and could demonstrate technical competence, they would give it to you.

This young man was American Samoan and met the proficiency requirements, so they awarded it to him.

Years later when TLDs became valuable property, the Commerce department wanted to pretend they hadn’t done this—they had another ‘buyer’ now. They tried to take it away and he had to go to Washington, DC before an administrative judge. Fortunately he had all the original paperwork. The judge looked at his paperwork, signed by the very person denying he ever spoke with him…and the judge then told Commerce to go away quietly before they got hurt.

What’s especially worthy about this young man is that he not only stood up against the federal bureaucracy and won, but also that before I knew him, he had risked his life to save a young woman from being attacked, and paid dearly for his involvement. He became a paraplegic and the young woman whose life he saved, became his friend, and later…his wife.

And in honor of Paul Harvey, now you know the rest of the story…

Best wishes!

Sincerely,

Ben Conner