[ga] Bizconst on new gTLDs.

[Thomas Roessler <roessler@does-not-exist.org>]

http://forum.icann.org/gtld-plan-comments/general/pdf00000.pdf

The business constituency has posted, in response to the Lynn plan,
a position paper on the introduction of new gTLDs.  In that position
paper, the BC advocates a "logical names space" which should be
established according to a set of principles.  All new gTLDs would,
according to the paper, be sponsored/restricted.

The principles proposed are very high-level, and somewhat nebulous.
Particularly irritating is the combination of principle 1
(Differentiation, "A gTLD must be clearly differentiated from other
gTLDs.") and 4 (Competition, "A gTLD must create value-added
competition"), in combination with this note later in the text: "The
structure does not imply a rapid expansion. The choice of one name
will preclude future non-differentiated choices."

I may quite well be mis-reading this -- but wouldn't this proposal
boil down to establishing a structure in which overlap between the
"relevant publics" for different gTLDs would be minimized?  I.e.,
wouldn't this proposal effectively reduce competition between gTLDs
to the minimum achievable [given the constraint that some new gTLDs
must be added]?

On a side note, I find the proposal's focus on sponsored/restricted
gTLDs rather courageous, given that there is not a single
sponsored/restricted gTLD which has proven to be reasonably
successful.  On the other hand, the sheer number of registrations in
.info seems to indicate that the market indeed has demand for
unrestricted/unsponsored gTLDs...

-- 
Thomas Roessler                        http://log.does-not-exist.net/
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