Re: [wg-review] domain names and easy access to public info

[Sandy Harris <sandy@storm.ca>]

Olivier MJ Crepin-Leblond wrote:
 
> >From: bukko <bukko@od2.com>
> >Sent: 16 January 2001 10:38
> >Subject: RE: [wg-review] domain names and easy access to public info
> 
> > An ICANN funded watchdog could be set up to monitor the activities of and
> > complaints about the operators,

Careful. We don't want ICANN to become either a gov't or a censor. Any such
monitoring should deal only with

	technical issues
		does the DNS run?
		does it contain bad data?
		... ?
and	basic business practice
		do they pay the bills?
		do they defraud customers?
		... ?

ICANN has no business in enforcing anything beyond those.

> > who could in the worst case have their
> > licenses immediately suspended and awarded to someone else, or possible
> just
> > not renewed at the year-end.
> 
> 1. What happens to existing clients of the rogue operator ? When their
> registry loses their license do they lose their domain as well ?

Separate the root from the registries. All the root should contain is
pointers to servers for .com, .org, .uk, ... .

	Run the root under ICANN contract as a public service.
	Let each country's gov't decide how to run its ccTLD.
	Let the US gov't continue to run .gov and .mil as it wills.
	Add a few dozen new global TLDs to ensure competition.
	For each TLD in .com, .org, .net and new ones, give some organisation
	 rights to control registration and the TLD DNS.

At that point, the root is perhaps 20 computers scattered about the planet.
They require little admininstrative attention; none of the data ever changes
except when a new TLD is added or the servers for the TLD roots change.

Once that is done, of course you put procedures in place to deal with
changes.

If the operator of .xyz is utterly rogue, warn all the users with second
level domains there that the operator is in danger of suspension. If their
collective howls don't straighten the operator out quickly, warn them
again. Notify them of the date of suspension and who the new registrar
will be. Optionally, require the new registrar to give them some special
deal as part of the price for acquiring the TLD.

Once the notice expires, pull the plug.

> 2. ICANN is not strong enough yet to face lawsuits from operators whose
> license they will suspend. Suspending licenses for TLDs is a very serious
> thing.

It is no more serious legally than killing a domain under the URDP. In
both cases you stop a service that a business (or individual in the case
of domain names) may rely on, thereby exposing yourself to libility. The
legal issues are the same.
--
This message was passed to you via the wg-review@dnso.org list.
Send mail to majordomo@dnso.org to unsubscribe
("unsubscribe wg-review" in the body of the message).
Archives at http://www.dnso.org/archives.html