RE: [registrars] IDN's moving forward

["Ross Wm. Rader" <ross@tucows.com>]

>
> What survey??

For reference I've archived copies of the original survey and ensuing
correspondence @ http://www.byte.org/vgrs-idn/versign-idn-survey-052301.pdf

> Did a significant number of registrars participate and give it
> the green light?

Unknown. The "official" story would indicate this, but there is no
transparency to the proceedings which conceivably puts VRSN in the position
to self-determine and self-interpret the results of the survey. From the
responses that I've received thus far, there is no clear consensus on these
points which, in my mind, indicates that this merits further discussion and
*not* immediate action.

> Is this deviating from teh work of the IETF?

Completely. This "test-bed" has been a contentious issue between the IETF
and VRSN since day one. John Klensin personally spoke out about the issues
that this test-bed raises at the November ICANN meeting.

> Is this something the NC reps should take up with ICANN??

Quite possibly. See below...

> What course of action would you suggest?
>

I'm not sure yet. As I mentioned in my original message, this might simply
be a case where Tucows adopted a minority position and in fact VRSN's
statements does indeed reflect the wishes of the test-bed registrars. It
does not however reflect the wishes or consensus position of the DNSO
Registrars constituency or registrants in general because they were never
formally consulted in any meaningful way. Most appropriate first steps I
believe, would be to discover whether or not the survey results are
representative of the wishes of the registrar community.

-rwr