[registrars] Fw: Deletes Clean-sheet

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

Elliot requested that I pass this along as he is not a subscriber.

-rwr

----- Original Message -----
From: "Elliot Noss" <enoss@tucows.com>
To: <cgomes@verisign.com>
Cc: <ga@dnso.org>; <icann-delete@total.confusion.net>;
<peter_girard@yahoo.com>; "Ron Wiener" <Ron@Snapnames.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2002 3:53 PM


> I wanted to take a bit of a "clean-sheet" approach to this discussion as
the
> points I wish to communicate cut across a number of different threads on a
> number of different lists.
>
> There are really four topics I wish to raise as follows:
>
> - Who has the "right" to deal with expired/expiring names?
> - The mixing in this discussion of two seperate issues, registry load and
> the allocation of expired/expiring names;
> - The inefficiency that results from any flat-price solution;
> - A way forward.
>
> Who has the "right" to expired/expiring names?
> -----------------------------------------------
> This is an issue that creates an interesting sub-text to this entire
> discussion, yet has not been fully examined. There are three potential
> claimants for this right and three possible states for these names.
> Claimants include registrants, registry and registrars. States include
> unexpired, expired in the grace period and expired o/s the grace period.
> There are two things that are clear. First, that no one party is clearly
> entitled to stake a claim. Registrars are limited by the terms of 3.7.5 of
> the RAA which require that names be put back in the pool if not renewed.
The
> registry is limited by its role as monopoly technical supplier and by the
> Registry agreement which entitles it to a fee for the services it is
> contracted to perform and confers upon it no property rights beyond that.
> Registrants are limited by a number of practical issues including their
> limited rights in a name and their diffuse nature.
>
> What is clear to me is that this IS NOT a function of a registrars terms
of
> service, nor is it an inherent right contained in the registry agreement.
>
> At the same time we must keep our eye on the fact that the role of
> registrars and registry is, most purely, to efficiently administer the
> allocation and provisioning of domain names. This means that the best
> approach is the one that puts names into the hands of those who would put
> them to the most use. Names in the hands of those who most desire them
will
> lead to a fuller utilization of the Internet, more value for users and
more
> revenue for registrars and registries.
>
> This point should not be seen as at odds with an egalitarian (as opposed
to
> equitable) view of domain names and first-come-first-served ("FCFS"), but
I
> realize this is a point that would be the subject of much debate. What is
> interesting today is that we are at a unique time and place in the history
> of the DNS which makes this less contentious. We have one extremely mature
> namespace in .com/.net/.org. It is almost certain to be the largest
> namespace throughout the lifecycle of the current DNS. It also has a
> secondary market that is more evolved than any other will ever be. We also
> have the recent introduction of new gTLDs that provide a fresh supply of
> names. This means any solution effected can be tailored to the current
> circumstance.
>
> We must also remember that there are two groups of registrants that we
must
> consider, current registrants and potential registrants. They have
distinct
> interests. Current registrants have rights around their existing names,
both
> in terms of security from losing a name through inadvertance and in excess
> economic value. Potential registrants benefit from being able to
efficiently
> obtain names that are currently owned. With the introduction of new gTLDs
> potential registrants have, and will continue to have more and better
> alternatives. The maximum value in the secondary market exists right now,
> today.
>
> At the end of the day the competing claims of registries and registrars
are
> likely subordinate to those of registrants. Accordingly, any solution
should
> start with this underpinning.
>
> Registry load and the allocation of expired/expiring names
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> It has been noted by a number of people in this debate, and has been my
> position for many months, that the issues of registry load and the the
> allocation of expired/expiring names are being mixed together
unnecessarily.
>
> I wish to add my voice to the chorus saying that these issues are related
> only remotely, almost accidentally. There have been a number of very good
> suggestions as to simple steps the registry could take to lessen the load.
> There are a couple additional points worth noting here. First, the current
> solution is no longer broken. While I am not a fan of the status quo, the
> registry has weathered the storm and there seems to currently be no
> appreciable impact on our day-to-day business (which was not the case a
> short time ago). An additional measure or two (a modified check command,
> additional, transparent compliance, all names dropping in real time and a
> published drop list are the easiest and most effective IMHO) would make
this
> a non-issue.
>
> It is worth noting my personal dealings with the registry on the question
of
> load have been positive and I was impressed with their genuine desire to
> solve the issues at hand.
>
> This last point leads me to feel comfortable that these issues are not
being
> presented as being directly connected and can be dealt with seperately. I
> would, of course, love to hear Chuck confirm this.
>
>
> The Inefficiency of flat pricing
> ---------------------------------
> The current market for domain names is characterized by flat-priced supply
> and variable-priced demand. I do not take a politial position on this, I
> merely note it as observation. This market inefficiency (again observation
> not position) has lead to the existance of a robust secondary market. It
has
> also lead to a significant amount of the current CNO namespace sitting
> unused.
>
> I have strong reservations about any solution geared at the expiring
market
> that magnifies that inefficiency. By definition it leaves money on the
table
> and leaves demand unfulfilled at the same time. The worst of both worlds.
> Ideally we could find a solution that was able to create a robust,
efficient
> secondary market which would benefit registrars and the registry, but if
> done properly would most benefit registrants.
>
> A suggested way forward
> ------------------------
> Unfortunately, for me, the existing WLS proposal is not acceptable. The
> inefficiencies are large and the economics are miles away from either fair
> or realistic. With significantly re-worked economics it could be an
> acceptable interim step, but I am not sure we need an interim step,
> especially given the decoupling of the registry load issue.
>
> It seems to me there is a way forward that addresses all of the above
> issues. I would suggest two important modifications to the existing Peter
> Girard proposal. An unlimited bidding period and the bulk of the fees
going
> to existing registrants rather than registrars.
>
> All names should be available to "bid" on at any time. A "bid" by a
> prospective registrant would require an administrative fee collected by a
> registrar, shared with registry and would be available for acceptance by
the
> existing registrant at any time. A sucessful transaction would lead to a
fee
> to both registry and registrars. An example:
>
> - Potential registrant places a bid of $150 on abcd.com and for doing so
> pays a non-refundable administrative fee to registrar x of $10 and in turn
> registrar pays registry $5;
> - Original registrant is made aware of his ability to "transfer" the name
> and any unexpired term to a potential registrant for $120;
> - If original registrant decides to accept he contacts the existing
> registrar of record and informs him of his desire;
> - If the registrars are different the $30 transaction fee is split 1/3
each,
> if the same than the split is equal between registrar and registry;
> - The fee would be a % of bid, capped at a relatively low number ($30?).
>
> To be clear, this is described in very brief terms and would need
> significant rounding out as well as a champion so please work the
principals
> not the specifics.
>
> This solution would provide significant benefits to everyone involved in
> both an equitable and palatable fashion. It would also keep both
registrars
> and registries in their role of market makers not market participants and
> would create a level of efficiency that would lead to increased revenues,
> increased registrant satisfaction and, perhaps most importantly, maximized
> use of the namespace.
>
> The original administrative fee would/should act so as to deter nearly all
> wasteful behaviour. Technically, it need be no more complicated than an
> interface between the SRS and EBay's open APIs (full credit here to Joyce
> Lin in Montevideo, if only we would have listened to you then!). It could
be
> completely done by the registry, by the registry with technical partners,
> Peter could do it, or it could be put out to a completely new tender
> process. I know we would love to build it (but to be clear we are not
> throwing our hat in the ring whatsoever). I know perhaps fifty people
> reading this message would love to build it. That kind of excites me,
> thinking of all of the extremely capable people who could nail this
> technically. Innovation would abound if we let it.
>
> The single largest beneficiary would be the registry. Ok by me. The
largest
> cumulative benefit would accrue to registrants. Again, that works for me.
I
> think this would be an absolutely elegant outcome for everyone.
>
> Regards
>
> Elliot Noss
> Tucows inc.
> 416-538-5494
>