The Internet is a spin-off of the cold war military/industrial/educational Computer networks built in the US in the 70's.The idea of giving the complex network numbers (IP addresses) names to make them easy to remember was introduced early on as the size and number of networks increased. The system of dividing the networks into''domains” was devised to create a method of administering and identifying hosts on a network and their affiliations or purpose. In order for any name to work as an IP (Internet protocol) lookup, it must be unique. This unique name is attached to a unique number (IP address) which actually makes the connection (the name itself does not make the connection). In order to assure the uniqueness of names, the NIC (Network Information Center) was formed as the central repository of names and network addresses. During the time of US government ownership of the Internet, the NIC, managed by the NSF (National Science Foundation) became known as InterNIC (Internet Network Information Center).The names, known as "domain names” were issued at no Charge, given that the networks were financed by US tax revenues. In 1995, as part of the government’s privatization initiative, the task of registering and managing the database of names was granted to Network Solutions, Inc., a privately held (inside the beltway) Company. Beginning in late 95 network solutions began charging $100 for registration and the first two years Service with a $50 annual renewal fee starting on the third year and continuing. ...The demand for names has increased dramatically since the advent of the graphical World Wide Web and the commercialization and popularization of the Internet. In 1994 the average monthly number of new name registrations was around 4000. By the end of 1995 that number grew to 25.000 new requests monthly and recently hit a high of nearly 50.000 new requests in one month.This monopoly has rewarded network solutions enormously and stranded Internet users with an expensive, arcane and outmoded method of completing Internet connections. During the"Next5Minutes”Conference on Tactical Media held in Amsterdam in January 1996, Paul Garrin announced an initiative to provide an alternative, free, or at best inexpensive and flexible, means for naming Internet hosts and allowing others to connect using those names. A consortium was formed with system administrators from networks spanning from Scandinavia to Eastern Europe, to the USA, creating a multinational Service with a wide geographic presence (the number and geography ofthe nameservers is important to cut down on excessive traffic over long distances and to insure redundancy in the event of a failure on any of the networks). With the cooperation of these networks, a working rootserver network was initiated, in which Server names not included in the database of Network Solutions answered requests with accurate information leading to successful connections to hosts using their newly created names. It enabled us to serve the name.space database plus the InterNIC database to anyone who configured their home Computers settings, with the addresses of the name.space. servers, with no adverse effects on their general Internet use.This opened up the possibility to challenge the existing, bureaucratic system, and provide a desirable change to the cost and sensibility of Internet names.This process is similartothe way that phone calls had to be placed to the MCI network in the days when AT&T was the US monopoly for long distance telephone Service: the caller needed to dial a number which was an access code, then enter an account number to complete a long distance call as opposed to direct dialing. Since the anti-trust case which forced the breakup of AT&T, the need to dial the access code to be switched to the MCI long distance network was eliminated along with AT&T's long distance Service monopoly. The emergence of local providers and agreements to route traffic via their networks completed the change.The emergence of name.space into the Service of creating providing and managing Internet names is a long awaited change to the arcane traditional methods of naming Internet hosts.

Links: http://name.space.xs2.net

Paul Garrin (USA) works as a media artist and has been collaborating with Nam June Paik for a long time. His documentation of the 'Tompkins Souare Riot"1988 in New York City is known as the spark w hich ignited the "camcorder Revolution”. He has been Artist-in-Residence at the Berlin Videofest in 1990 an d has been awarded several highly recognized prizes.

Andreas Troeger (D) is a video artist and has worked together with Paul Garrin and Nam June Paik. He was also responsible for the design and programming of Name.Space.