DNSO General Assembly
Shanghai Meeting, 29 October 2002

Domain Name Deletions

Last updated: 2002-10-17

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Background: Domain Name Deletion Issues

Issues surrounding the deletion of domain names have been discussed in the DNSO for some time, in particular in conjunction with Verisign registry's WLS proposal.

An issue report prepared by Bruce Tonkin, Alexander Svensson, Ross Rader, Ram Mohan, Jordyn Buchanan and Hong Liu identifies four main areas of concern:

• Uniform delete practice after domain name expiry. The current language in the Registrar Accreditation Agreement does not pose a deadline for the deletion of a domain name after it is not renewed. Further complexity is added by the auto-renew grace period introduced by some registry agreements. A possible policy action is to consider a uniform delete process amongst gtld registries and registrars.
• Deletion following a complaint on WHOIS accuracy. According to the current language in the Registrar Accreditation Agreement, registrant's willful provision of inaccurate information and failure to correct this information (if challenged) constitutes a material breach of the accreditation contract. There is some concern whether the current 15-day period during which a registrant can correct inaccurate WHOIS information is adequate.
• Registry delete process. A possible policy action is to determine a uniform process for a registry to delete and reallocate names that ensures that the market is equally informed of the names about to be available, and schedule for when the names are available.
• Reversal of renewal transactions. Errors during the renewal of domain names can only be corrected by deleting and re-registering the domain name.

Names Council Deletes TF

During it's October 3 telephone conference, the Names Council has decided to set up a deletes task force. The TF's terms of reference are due on October 19, and will be adopted during the Names Council's meeting in Shanghai.

Additionally, ICANN is - as part of the running policy-development process - soliciting comments, which must be received by November 5.

Deletes Workshop during the GA

During the General Assembly, Bruce Tonkin is going to give a presentation of the issues identified, and there will be an opportunity for public comment and discussion.

Submit an online comment.