[ga] We did it, but we can't make public why? (RE: Who'se done it? .orgIDNs killed)

[Marc Schneiders <marc@fuchsia.bijt.net>]

On Sat, 21 Jun 2003, at 07:28 [=GMT-0400], Bruce Beckwith wrote:

> I appreciate your frustration with the problems you're currently
> experiencing with your .org IDN domain, and because PIR policy prohibits
> discussing specific domain issues with anyone other than the registrant and
> registrar, I will not post the exact cause of the issues you're experiencing
> on these lists.  I will send you our findings via a separate email.

That I would appreciate. Maybe I am too impatient. On the other hand,
an explanation cannot take weeks to find and inform me about. It has so
far. I hope it comes now pronto.

> What I would like to remind you and the community about, however, is that
> when PIR assumed responsibility for the .org TLD, we made it clear to our
> registrar partners (for communication to their customers) that we would not
> support

Well, depends on one's perspective. I quote from
http://www.pir.org/faqs.html:

"Multi-script or "Internationalized Domain names" (IDNs) are a small
portion of the overall .ORG domain. These names were introduced by
VeriSign some time ago, but due to technical limitations have never
functioned on the Internet."

Not true, they functioned in a limited way (and those in com and net still
do). PIR supported this until at least March 12, 2003 (see below).

Further from PIR's FAQ:

"The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)  has been working to create a
standard for IDNs. We are actively monitoring this effort to be ready when
the standard is released. Until then, there will be no change in the
status of the IDNs."

There was a change some time on or after March 12, 2003, months after PIR
took over. On March 12 it worked (I have weblogs which show this), a few
weeks back (when I checked for some reason I've forgotten now) it didn't
any more.  Since I did not have hits for my .org IDN every day or even
week, I cannot tell exactly when this happened. I think:

1. We should have been told about the change: 50,000 domains killed;
2. It shouldn't have happened, since PIR promised 'no change'.

I am sure there are no people who built their business or cause on an IDN
org (we would have heard from them if this was the case). Still it does
not look good. Does it indicate a lack of coordination between Verisign
and PIR? So much for 'stability'. What PIR did (or let happen) is a
substantial number of domains (50,000) going into disfunctional state.
Without telling about it.

> nor charge for existing IDN registrations,

True, but what about those who paid last year and whose registration has
not run its full year? Do they get what they paid for? No. Will they get a
refund?

> since they did not meet
> any industry-accepted standards.

This depends on one's perspective. The number of registrations in the
Verisign testbed (over 500,000 of which some 50,000 in org)  show to my
mind a substantial acceptation. PIR does not have to like Verisign's IDNs,
but when it took over it grandfathered them. Until it decided secretly to
kill the names.

> In short, IDN domain registrations are
> currently locked at the registry level, so that changes to the domain name
> record are not allowed.

I think you are trying to change the subject. My point is, that PIR
changed things. I am not complaining I cannot change anything (even though
it would be bad if I had to change nameservers and I am not allowed to do
that).

> As noted by ICANN yesterday, PIR is one of the registries that will work
> within the IDN Guidelines produced.  As we determine how best to introduce
> IDN registrations that address the needs of the community, as well as how
> best to transition the existing legacy .org IDNs, we will be pleased to
> communicate our plans.

It is great to look to the future. How about solving the problem
introduced in March _now_? What trust can we have in a new experiment
when the former one is terminated without anybody being informed?

Looking forward to further explanations. Maybe some others who hold .org
IDNs (approx. 50,000 !) are also interested in them. As far as I am
concerned you can post to this list even though it may be considered
'private'.

-- 
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