RE: [registrars] Fw: [nc-whois] DRAFT: policy options

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

> Given the recent new TLD trends and the standard ccTLD 
> practice, there is an argument for com & net to move to a 
> thick model. This would improve control, monitoring and 
> reduce the collective costs. 

To quote some after meeting conversation from DC - "Thick is a piece of
crap. We need ultra-thin. Wafer-thin."

"Thick" has a tendency to trend towards the exact opposite of what most
people describe as being its key benefits - improved control, monitoring
and a reduction of the collective costs (to borrow from your post).
*But*, over the long-term, centralized structures don't fare well what
we cal in today's internet and there is a tremendous social and
technical opportunity cost to Thick that just hasn't been analyzed yet.
Early thinking indicates that a migration to Thick as the standard will
tend to reduce competitiveness and innovation over the long term because
of the monopoly attributes of each database.

The registries will tell you otherwise, but this is why it is so
critical that the Registrar Constituency be able to exercise control
over our own destiny, free from registry involvement. The long-term
interests of both groups simply do not appear to be the same. Registries
want to be Registrars in order to exercise further control of their reve
nue. Registrars don't need Registries (see the ultra-thin registry model
as nacent proof of this...) This makes for a very competitive
relationship not too far down the road and forces us to back all
propositions that make for a stronger ICANN and anything that promotes a
diversity of registry application/data models.

Regarding your other points, the definitions that outline who gets to do
what has always been one of my pet concerns. The sooner that we can talk
about policy using words that we widely agree upon their meanings, the
easier it will be to develop policy.

                       -rwr




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