Re: [wg-c] New gTLDs and ISPs (was: URGENT . . . )

[Milton Mueller <mueller@syr.edu>]

Sportack, Mark A, CSCIO wrote:

> Thanks for initiating me in the time-honored tradition of WG-C

Welcome to the Internet.

> TLDNS.com cannot be regarded as credible evidence of
> the pent-up demand for new TLDs.

TLDNS was not really an issue. If you want a more complete documentation of the
pent-up demand for new TLDs, reference Position Paper B. Or ask the proprietors
of .MD and .NU why they oppose new gTLDs.

> My second comment was to support the findings of IBM, by stating that AT&T
> has conducted anthropological studies that demonstrate an increased level of
> user confusion as the number of TLDs increases. The point of diminishing
> returns is 3. Milton, if you would like a personal explanation of how this
> is different from your bad analogy, please feel free to contact me directly.
> I'd be happy to educate you.

And I'd be happy to return the favor. But let's do it in public, so that
everyone is edified. Though I am sorry that you felt offended by my discussion
of your study, the statement as it stands is still worthy of the ridicule that
was heaped upon it. Here are some reasons:
    * The number of TLDs now stands at 250. Are you proposing that we eliminate
240 of them? Did you inform the European Commission of this research when they
requested a new TLD for .EU?
    * An increased level of consumer confusion about what? Are they unable to
tell you what the new TLDs designate? Are they unable to find sites? Or are you
simply reasserting the time-honored cognitive fact that humans can only  hold
about 7 distinct items in their minds at once?
    * What TLDs were used as examples in this study?
    * How is this finding differentiated from the situation that confronts any
ordinary consumer at the Barnes and Noble periodicals rack? At the breakfast
cereal shelves in a supermarket?
    * Have you conducted your test also on the number of SLDs?

In short, you're going to have to be a lot more specific about what you're
talking about and how the results document real harm to the Internet or its
users. I do research for a living. I'll hold you to the same standards I have to
meet.

--MM