Re: [wg-c] .eu and the notion of regional TLDs

[Milton Mueller <mueller@syr.edu>]

Jay:
I doubt if anyone is dismissing the notion of a regional TLD. Many of us support
any number of new TLDs, including regional ones. The problem with .EU is the
method by which the proposal is being promoted. .EU is really just a new TLD
that certain Europeans want to compete with dot com, yet it is being advanced as
a kind of quasi-ccTLD. This is both dishonest and a case of queue-jumping. The
advocates of EU have refused to respect the DNSO's procedures, but instead are
attempting to use sheer political muscle to get a delegation. This sets a
dangerous precedent.

As Rutkowski has already pointed out, there is a large measure of hypocrisy in
the request. For two or three years the EC insisted that dot com and the other
gTLDs were international in scope and needed to be regulated on an international
basis, via ICANN. They got what they wanted. Now they're saying that com isn't
really global, it's North American, and when it comes to THEIR own regional TLD,
it doesn't have to do through ICANN's DNSO it can just be created via political
fiat. This request has disastrous consequences for DNSO and its procedures if
its successful. It says that DNSO is a sideshow. It says that the little folk
can play around with working groups and follow the rules all they like, but if
the big guys with guns decide they want something it will happen.

This working group has documented an overwhelming consensus for the addition of
a significant number of new TLDs. There will be room for a .eu and many others
once we settle the implementation issues. If that process is short-circuited via
a end-around .EU delegation we've all been wasting our time.

Jay Parker wrote:

> The .eu debate is complicated, that much is clear. However, there are areas
> of the globe, such as the Caribbean Basin, which could benefit tremendously
> from the kind of community a regional TLD could foster. Unlike the EU, which