David Harris
Biography for David Harris
Name: David Harris Age: 41 Occupation: Software developer Domicile: Dunedin
Background: I've been a software developer since 1983 and have had a dedicated Internet presence since 1990; my domain name and IP address block are (as far as I know) the oldest privately-registered examples of their type in this country, both registered long before there were either any ISPs or a national registry. I develop electronic mail systems, and my programs Pegasus Mail (a mail client) and Mercury (a mail server) have been in widespread international use since 1990. In the course of my career, I have been a guest speaker at several international conferences, including NetWorld in both Dallas and Boston, and the NetWare User's Group conference in Bunnik, the Netherlands.
Election statement: Like anyone who has actually been awake in the last two years, I find I am increasingly concerned about the erosion of privacy in the wake of the World Trade Centre attacks - Western Governments have taken advantage of the atrocity to launch numerous cynical attacks on personal privacy and liberty of expression. In New Zealand, the Crimes Amendment Bill #6 is an example of this, and it is shameful that so few people in the public are even aware of it. We should be promoting greater debate and awareness of the fragility of our online rights, before we find that we have none.
As an e-mail developer, I am also acutely affected by the spam plague that is consuming the world, and believe strongly that we should be lobbying for effective legislation to allow it to be kerbed: there is no technical solution to spam and there can be no progress in the war against spam as long as the practice remains legal.
Finally, I believe there is a serious transparency problem in the way the broader international management of the Internet is being handled - naturally, I'm referring primarily to the totalitarian catastrophe called ICANN, but there is also a general lack of broader representation in most areas of what you might call "Internet futures", things like IPv6, domain name registration, and intellectual property rights.
I am a straight shooter, and I tell things like they are. I will not be party to devious diplomacy or secret dealings, and my judgment is always guided by my conscience rather than by expediency or appeasement.
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Last updated Thursday, 17-Mar-2005 17:01:17 NZDT
