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Background
- The purpose
of this article is to provide a brief description of the Internet Society
and its goals and objectives. It will function as a professional society
to facilitate, support, and promote the evolution and growth of the Internet
as a global research communications infrastructure.
- The suggestions
and recommendations of all parties interested in the Internet are solicited
to assist in making the Internet Society robust, productive, and structured
to meet the needs of its members.
The
Internet Society
- The Internet
is a collection of cooperating, interconnected, multi-protocol networks
which supports international collaboration among thousands of organizations.
- Because
of its current scope and rapid rate of growth, the Internet will benefit
from a more organized framework to support its objectives.
- To this
end, an Internet Society is being formed to foster the voluntary interconnection
of computer networks into a global research and development communications
and information infrastructure.
- The Internet
Society will not operate the Internet. Internet operation will continue
to be a collaborative activity which the Society will seek to facilitate.
- The Society
will provide assistance and support to groups and organizations involved
in the use, operation, and evolution of the Internet.
- It will
provide support for forums in which technical and operational questions
can be discussed and provide mechanisms through which interested parties
can be informed and educated about the Internet, its function, use, operation,
and the interests of its constituents.
Membership
- The Internet
Society will be a membership organization with voting individual members
and non-voting institutional members. There will be several classes of
institutional members.
- The society
will produce a newsletter on a regular basis and hold an annual meeting
to which all members and other interested parties will be invited.
- The topics
of the annual meeting will vary, but are expected to focus on current research
in networking, Internet functionality and growth, and other interests of
the Society constituency.
- All members
will receive the newsletter and an invitation to attend the annual meeting
of the Internet Society.
- Membership
dues will vary according to class of membership.
- The amounts
of these dues and the basis on which they are set will be determined by
the Board of Trustees of the Society and may be revised from time to time
as set forth in the By-Laws.
Charter
- The Society
will be a non-profit organization and will be operated for international
educational, charitable, and scientific purposes, among which are:
- To facilitate
and support the technical evolution of the Internet as a research and education
infrastructure and to stimulate involvement of the academic, scientific,
and engineering communities (among others) in the evolution of the Internet.
- To educate
the academic and scientific communities and the public concerning the technology,
use, and application of the Internet.
- To promote
scientific and educational applications of Internet technology for the
benefit of educational institutions at all grade levels, industry, and
the public at large.
- To provide
a forum for exploration of new Internet applications and to foster collaboration
among organizations in their operation and use of the Internet.
Support
for Internet Technical Evolution
- The Internet
Activities Board (IAB) has been concerned with the development and evolution
of architectures supporting the use of multiple protocols in a networked
environment.
- The Internet
Society will incorporate the IAB and its functions into the operation of
the Internet Society.
- The Internet
Society will work with other interested organizations to support and assist
eforts to evolve the multiprotocol Internet.
- The Society
will use the Internet Engineering and Research Task Forces to stimulate
networking research and facilitate the evolution of the TCP/IP protocol
suite and the integration of new protocol suites (e.g., OSI) into the Internet
architecture.
- The Internet
Society will work with parties and organizations interested in fostering
improvement in the utility of the Internet for its constituent users.
Meetings
and Conferences
- The Internet
Society will convene an annual meeting and will organize and facilitate
workshops and symposia, jointly with other organizations where appropriate,
on specific topics of interest to the Society membership.
- The annual
meeting will address issues of global and regional importance to the evolution
and growth of the Internet.
- In particular,
future INET conferences will be incorporated into the Society's annual
meetings.
Information
and Infrastructure Services
- The Internet
Society will publish an Internet Newsletter providing members with information
about the international activities of Internet constituents.
- In addition,
the Society will also provide assistance to and support for organizations
responsible for maintaining the databases crucial to Internet function
(e.g., the Domain Name System, X.500 Directory Services, etc.) and organizations
concerned with the security of the Internet (e.g., the Software Engineering
Institute Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) and its CERT-System).
- The Society
will assist in the development of educational, advisory, and informative
materials of use to Society members.
- Where
appropriate, the Society will organize or support activities which aid
in the coordination among the organizations operating components of the
Internet.
- The Society
will refer members to appropriate parties involved in operating the various
parts of the Internet where they may be helpful with specific questions.
- Where
possible, the Society would seek to provide access to its information on-line,
but would also offer hard copy and, perhaps eventually, CD-ROM-based information
resources.
Plans
- The initial
organizers of the Internet Society include the Corporation for National
Research Initiatives (CNRI), EDUCOM, and the Internet Activities Board.
During the six month period from June to December 1991, the initial organizers
will work with interested parties to prepare for beginning operation of
the Society by the end of 1991.
- Computer
networking has become a critical infrastructure for the research and development
community and has the potential to become the basis for world-wide collaboration
and cooperation in every field of human endeavor.
- The Internet
Society will seek to solidify, enhance and encourage further international
collaborative networking.
- Visionary
individuals joining the Society during its formation will receive special
recognition as Society pioneers and will have the opportunity to shape
the early agenda of Society activities. Opportunities for organizational
and institutional participation are also available. It is time.
- The technology
is available.
- A global
renaissance of scientific and technical cooperation is at hand. You are
cordially invited to take part in an enterprise without precedent and an
adventure without boundary.
- The Internet
Society sets sail in January of 1992 on a voyage of Internetwork discovery.
- Will you
be aboard?
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