The following text is copyright 1998 by Network World, permission is hearby given for reproduction, as long as attribution is given and this notice is included.

The 'Net is not dead

By Scott Bradner
Network World, 10/26/98

Jon Postel died the other day. These are very hard words to write.
The reality behind them is even harder. Jon was a friend, teacher,
co-trustee, sage and guide. We mourn his passing and celebrate his
having been. He left us far before his time, having accomplished far
more than most people can know.

Jon was one of the fundamental reasons why the Internet works. He
did not invent all the technology, but as the editor and arbiter of the
Internet Engineering Task Force's (IETF) RFC publication series, he
made sure that the descriptions of the technology were clear and
precise. He did not invent the process of creating Internet standards,
but he was a guide to those of us trying to understand and then
document the process. These contributions, which would have
formed a full legacy by themselves, are not the reason that it is hard
to imagine the Internet of today developing without Jon.

Jon created the Internet technical management structure. He invented
and then became the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA),
or the Internet's technical bookkeeper. The IANA kept the lists and
created the processes that ensure IP addresses are unique, domain
names can be resolved and Internet applications can communicate.
This is mundane work, but it is just the sort of thing that can cause a
system to collapse if not done correctly.

Jon was the IANA for many years, but as it became clear the Internet
was growing too fast for any one person to support on his own, Jon
started to build an organization to perform these functions. The IANA
for some years has been an organization, not an individual.

Over the past few years, Jon had been working out what he called an
exit strategy. He felt the organization, which is now the IANA,
needed to wean itself from U.S. government support and authority to
become a stand-alone, public interest, nongovernmental organization.
He felt the same way about the IP address, protocol number and
domain name allocation processes.

Jon came up with a proposal to accomplish this separation based on
the same system used by the IETF to process standards. That process
consists of producing a series of draft proposals, with each
succeeding draft modified in response to comments received. Jon's
new proposal is known as the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers (ICANN) and was submitted to the U.S.
government shortly before Jon died. During this submission process,
Jon was subjected to some of the most vitriolic personal attacks I've
seen on any individual, and there were many times when it would
have been rational for Jon to just walk away. But his strong sense of
responsibility would not let him do that. This was not ego; Jon had
built the Internet support functions and it would have been
irresponsible not to ensure their continuation.

The ICANN plan is not Jon's legacy. However, we must work to
complete the plan's realization, not to honor him, but because it is the
right organization for our future.

Jon's legacy is an Internet whose support systems just work.
Nevertheless, I shall miss him greatly.

Disclaimer: I knew Jon, Harvard did not; these are my
remembrances.