Re: [wg-c] Comments?

["Keith Gymer" <keith.gymer@btinternet.com>]

1 to 11 and 14 I could agree with, but 12 and 13 continue to beg questions
and 13, in particular, introduces a biased prejudgement that more new gTLDs
will be added after the evaluation period - whereas, if the evaluation
period showed that more problems were being created, I would certainly not
propose to continue piling on more gTLDs.

My acceptance of 6 to 9 is also very much dependent on i) ensuring that
adequate protection mechanisms are in place beforehand to prevent the
systematic abuses brand owners have experienced in the existing gTLDs and
ii) that new gTLDs are only added in an appropriately structured and
differentiated manner to separate commercial and non-commercial domains. If
this IS done (and I think it can be done using a Yellow Pages model,
although I don't underestimate the difficulties involved), I think it would
go a long way both to reducing the conflict between legitimate businesses in
different fields who use the same name in the real world and between
commercial entities and legitimate non-commercial users.

Right now, however, I see the alleged "consensus" as declared by Jonathan
and Javier as ignoring these essential dependencies - the proponents of more
gTLDs principally seem to be those who want more undifferentiated gTLDs
(like .web, .firm etc) because they think that is necessary to compete with
NSI irrespective of whether they simply replicate and multiply the problems
with the existing gTLDs and irrespective of whether or not that is in the
best interest of the wider community of all internet users, not just of
would-be registries and registrars.
Keith


----- Original Message -----
From: Craig Simon <cls@flywheel.com>
To: <wg-c@dnso.org>
Sent: 28 September 1999 17:01
Subject: [wg-c] Comments?


> Principles to Guide ICANN's Delegation of gTLD Management.
>
>
> 1.   The Internet naming system is a public resource and the TLD
>      space is an essential facility of the public Internet.
>
> 2.   Correspondingly, the management of the root zone and of gTLD
>      registries must be performed on behalf of the public
>      interest in a manner that ensures the world-wide
>      interoperability of unique Internet identifiers and their
>      traceability back to the Internet's publicly coordinated
>      root.
>
> 3.   Accordingly, the WG-C affirms that no private intellectual
>      or other property rights inhere to an assigned gTLD itself,
>      nor accrue to the delegated manager of the gTLD as the
>      result of such delegation.
>
> 4.   Furthermore, the WG-C affirms that the assignment and
>      delegation of a gTLD registry is subject to the ultimate
>      authority of ICANN.
>
> 5.   Considering that, under the current applications of Internet
>      technology, mnemonically and semantically useful domain
>      names have become an important and convenient tool of human
>      communication.
>
> 6.   Considering also that expansion of the gTLD space is
>      necessary to ensure there will be continue to be an abundant
>      choice of names available for people who wish to acquire
>      useful Internet identifiers.
>
> 7.   Considering further that expansion of the gTLD space is also
>      necessary to ensure that current Internet users and
>      newcomers alike will be afforded the continuing opportunity
>      to communicate by way of domain names which have mnemonic
>      and semantic utility.
>
> 8.   Considering also that domain names themselves are often used
>      as mechanisms for conveying normative expressions and
>      opinions.
>
> 9.   Affirming that ICANN should not be turned into an instrument
>      which imposes biased or arbitrary restrictions on political,
>      religious, and other normative speech or content.
>
> 10.  Noting that ongoing work relevant to the specification and
>      documentation of best practices for the administration of
>      gTLDs is being conducted by various parties within the
>      Internet engineering community.
>
> 11.  Expecting that this work will be completed and published
>      within an Internet Current Practice (ICP) series prior to
>      the delegation of any new gTLD registries.
>
> 12.  The WG-C therefore resolves that new gTLDs should be added
>      to the root. The process of addition should begin with
>      between 6 and 10 gTLDs.
>
> 13.  The WG-C further resolves that, as the first set of new
>      gTLDs is introduced, an impact study should be conducted
>      with a view to adding more in a reasonable and timely
>      manner.
>
> 14.  Concerned that these principles receive proper and
>      legitimate exposure prior to their possible implementation,
>      the WG-C further resolves that no directive assigning a
>      delegation should be issued by ICANN until these principles
>      have been considered by a duly constituted and fully seated
>      ICANN Board of Directors.
>