Re: [wg-c] Who should vote for new gTLDs

[Milton Mueller <mueller@syr.edu>]

I reject entirely the "voting" paradigm as stated by Javier below.

Consumers of DNS services should "vote" for new gTLDs *in the marketplace.*
The DNSO and ICANN are here simply to coordinate the root zone and protect the
stability of the Internet. Their task is to define a procedure for adding new TLDs
as demand for them occurs, and to set minimum criteria for operating a registry.

The job of DNSO, therefore, is not to decide which gTLDs are "right" or "good,"
nor is it to decide how many is "enough." Its job is to coordinate the name space.
Businesses and other groups will come to ICANN with proposals, and DNSO or ICANN
will assess and dispose of those proposals according to certain fixed criteria.

Can you imagine what the market for books would look like if a global association
of publishers "voted" on which books would be published?

Javier SOLA wrote:

> Please express your opinions on who should vote for new gTLDs.
>
> My opinion is that it should be all members of the DNSO (which includes the
> general assembly).
>
> The members of the DNSO are the people who are directly concerned with the
> future of the domain name system and they are known (we avoiding having
> somebody set a computer to cast 5,000 votes for an specific string). We
> assure that all interested parties have the right to vote and we avoid
> capture.
>
> Having it open to anybody would just leave open for capture and would not
> provide an equilibrium between the different constituencies.
>
> A third posibility would be to have the Names Council decide, which means
> having the constituencies decide and agree among them what these TLDs will be.
>
> Opinions ?



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