Re: [alac] Guide to Domain Names

["Siavash Shahshahani" <shahshah@xxxxxxxx>]

Hi Nick,
Some comments about what you wrote:
1.I personally believe that a single guide incorporating both gTLDs and
ccTLDs should come out to ensure unbiased information dissemination and
equal access. In fact a lot of simple users may not even know the
difference between a gTLD and a ccTLD, so an elementary guide should
explain that.
2. Much of 'how to' details in the present guide could be relegated to
another document which gTLD registries themselves may want to put out.
3. Taking a cue from you, if there's going to be a guide to gTLDs, why not
ask GNSO for consultation? At this time, GNSO is more inclusive of gTLD
issues/interests than ccNSO is of ccTLD community. Of course I see no
problem with ccNSO consultation, but the same should apply to GNSO.
Best,
Siavash

> Thanks for the comment Siavash (and everyone else for theirs).
>
> As those on the call will remember, we came up with a process which is
> meant to:
>
> 1) Incorporate all ideas that the ALAC has about the structure and
> content of the document;
> 2) Allow the writers to take those views into account to come up with
> a document which the ALAC can support and believes will be useful.
>
> What was agreed on the call was as follows:
>
> 1) Committee members would review the document and provide detailed
> comments and edits. The idea here is that the comments should be
> sufficiently detailed that if you were the writer, you would be able
> to use them to accurately reflect the comments made accurately in the
> text, so, please be as specific as you can. I know that a number of
> you have fundamental structural issues with the document. If you can
> provide examples of documents which have a structure that you think
> would be better, either send it, give us a URL, and do tell what about
> that document in your view recommends it.
>
> 2) These comments would come in, insofar as is possible by the
> conclusion of the Sao Paulo meeting, but in any case not later than
> the 31st December.
>
> 3) A redraft incorporating the comments received would then be prepared.
>
> I suggested that we could take some time at one of the meetings in Sao
> Paulo to review the comments made up to that time, and if people wish
> to orally make further comments, I can then take those, plus the
> written ones received until the end of the year, and compile them
> together and send all of it to Miriam with a copy to ALAC too, to make
> sure I didn't miss or misstate anything.
>
> Perhaps the following specifics could be helpful in addressing some of
> the most recently-stated issues:
>
> 1) decide that a subsequent guide will address ccTLDs, but that this
> one will only address gTLDs.
>
> 2) ensure the name is changed to "A Guide to Generic Top-Level Domain
> Names"
>
> 3) add a preamble noting that the guide focuses only on gTLDs and there
> are 250 country code tld's and these will be addressed in an upcoming "A
> Guide to Country Code Top-Level Domain Names"
>
> And then also, in SP show the draft guide to members of the ccNSO
> Council and invite
> them to work with the ALAC in creating such a guide focussed on .
>
> On 15/11/06, Siavash Shahshahani <shahshah@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> Hi Wendy,
>> I really think that a fair and general guide to domain system which can
>> receive ALAC/ICANN endorsement would be most welcome at least in my
>> community. People trust such an endorsement, which makes it more
>> imperative that it be unbiased and clarify common misunderstandings. Let
>> me give you an example. The IDN table of .ir Registry was sent to IANA
>> more than a year ago, but it has not appeared yet on the IANA list(for
>> reasons I don't want to speculate about now). This makes people question
>> the authoritativeness of our IDN offering, and we are constantly asked
>> why we're not getting IANA endorsement.
>> So in short, I think the idea of putting out a guide is a very good one.
>> I'd be happy to participate in a working group to make it happen.
>> Best,
>> siavash
>>
>> > Thanks Siavash,
>> >
>> > I'll reiterate to Miriam that this document cannot use ALAC's name
>> > without revisions that meet the Committee's consensus approval.  I
>> > agree that as a matter of fairness in competition, ICANN and ALAC
>> > cannot sponsor a guide that describes just some of the domain
>> > names.  It does a disservice to registrants and users of domain names
>> > to imply that some are better than others just because they are
>> > easier to describe.
>> >
>> > Do you think this is a project it's worthwhile for ALAC to pursue, if
>> > it can be made more inclusive?  (I don't know whose idea it was, or
>> > why it came to have ALAC's name in the first place.)
>> >
>> > --Wendy
>> >
>> > At 04:52 PM 11/14/2006 +0330, Siavash Shahshahani wrote:
>> >
>> >>I wish to record a basic objection to the 'Guide' appearing as an ALAC
>> >>product. In the introduction it is stated that that the guide is
>> >> primarily
>> >>focused on gTLDs and, in fact, it is not hard to notice that ccTLDs
>> are
>> >>totally ignored. For 'A Guide to Domain Names' presumably directed at
>> the
>> >>less-informed this is totally unacceptable. Note that:
>> >>1. Roughly one third of existing domains in world are cc domains.
>> >>2. There is already a good deal of misinformation at least among the
>> >>populace of developing countries thinking that their native ccTLD is
>> >>somehow less 'official', less respectable or intrinsically less secure
>> >>than a '.com'.
>> >>I think that if the registry sponsors listed on page 3 want to put out
>> a
>> >>guide for gTLDs, let them do it in their own name. I am well aware of
>> the
>> >>difficulty of dealing with the varieties of ccTLD practices, but still
>> a
>> >>short general guide not dealing with minute details can be produced
>> that
>> >>covers both types of domains.
>> >>-Siavash
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>-------------------------------------------------
>> >>IPM/IRNIC
>> >>P.O.Box 19395-5564, Shahid Bahonar Sq.
>> >>Tehran 19548, Iran
>> >>Phone: (+98 21) 22 82 80 80; 22 82 80 81, ext 113
>> >>Cell: (+98 912)104 2501
>> >>Fax: (+98 21) 22 29 57 00
>> >>Email: shahshah@xxxxxxxx, shahshah@xxxxxx
>> >>-----------------------------------------------
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>-------------------------------------------------
>> >>IPM/IRNIC
>> >>P.O.Box 19395-5564, Shahid Bahonar Sq.
>> >>Tehran 19548, Iran
>> >>Phone: (+98 21) 22 82 80 80; 22 82 80 81, ext 113
>> >>Cell: (+98 912)104 2501
>> >>Fax: (+98 21) 22 29 57 00
>> >>Email: shahshah@xxxxxxxx, shahshah@xxxxxx
>> >>-----------------------------------------------
>> >
>> > --
>> > Wendy Seltzer -- wendy@xxxxxxxxxxx
>> > Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School
>> > Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet & Society
>> > http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/seltzer.html
>> > Chilling Effects: http://www.chillingeffects.org
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------
>> IPM/IRNIC
>> P.O.Box 19395-5564, Shahid Bahonar Sq.
>> Tehran 19548, Iran
>> Phone: (+98 21) 22 82 80 80; 22 82 80 81, ext 113
>> Cell: (+98 912)104 2501
>> Fax: (+98 21) 22 29 57 00
>> Email: shahshah@xxxxxxxx, shahshah@xxxxxx
>> -----------------------------------------------
>>
>
>
> --
> --
> Regards,
>
> Nick Ashton-Hart
> PO Box 32160
> London N4 2XY
> United Kingdom
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>


-------------------------------------------------
IPM/IRNIC
P.O.Box 19395-5564, Shahid Bahonar Sq.
Tehran 19548, Iran
Phone: (+98 21) 22 82 80 80; 22 82 80 81, ext 113
Cell: (+98 912)104 2501
Fax: (+98 21) 22 29 57 00
Email: shahshah@xxxxxxxx, shahshah@xxxxxx
-----------------------------------------------