again, notwithstanding the fact that we have been asking for it since at least a couple of weeks ago, there is no network connectivity in the meeting - so i cannot update the blog from here. i had no intention of disclosing anything secret or confidential, but i had liked to give you a real time glimpse of how things were proceeding. actually, there are some civil society people out of the doors (e.g. izumi), but the only way we have to communicate with them is by sms.

now, i won't start the typical sermon on how silly it is to try to govern the internet without even being able to get connected to it. but apparently the un cannot even provide extension cords, so that there is at least one power outlet per wgig member, because of not better specified "security reasons". should i comment on this?

anyway, i will save my notes and posts on my laptop, and update them in batch as soon as i can get a connection. and we have been promised that, by february, the un might succeed in setting up a wi-fi network in our meeting room.

in the meantime, i was plainly surprised by how many people - even from IGOs or governmental delegations - came to me today and congratulated for this blog. i am glad that so many people find it useful, but now i am also a bit scared: after all, the reason why so many people, especially computer geeks, have blogs, is also that it is much easier to talk to a screen than to actual people - and you can always forget that actual human beings - and not a few - will read and react to what you write.