Re: [gnso-dt-wg] RE: Draft list of questions - NomCom
Dear All - Marilyn has a good point but for the record will provide some answers to the questionaire with the view that we should defer all decision-making (choice selection) until we have more data as Marilyn suggested. So as a placeholder I will answer the questions and also add some points regarding how all this is to apply to merging IDNs. Please see my in -line answers in the txt below as I could not immeditely download the doc from where I am at. Thanks sophia ------------------------------------ * Request for Information on Domain Tasting *[draft 1.1] xx July 2007 In view of the increase in domain tasting (definitions below), the GNSO Council recently considered an *Issues Report on Domain Tasting*<http://gnso.icann.org/issues/domain-tasting/gnso-domain-tasting-report-14jun07.pdf> and resolved to form an ad hoc group for further fact-finding regarding the effects of this practice. The ad hoc group has assembled the following questions to assist in gathering facts and opinions, while inviting both qualitative and quantitative input. The group would especially appreciate statistical and other empirical evidence to support your responses, or references to potential sources of same. To be considered by the group, *information should be submitted no later than xx August 2007 to <emailaddress>.* ------------------------------------------- 1. Please categorize yourself (check all that apply): Civil society (non-profit or similar) NOMCOM Government Intellectual Property Rights Owner Registrar Registry Registrant Rights owner representative Registrant representative Other 1. Of above categories, if anyone, then who benefits from domain tasting? (Please explain how each benefits.) Registrant (makes money if 'tasted' item generates visits) 2. Of above categories, if anyone, then who is harmed by domain tasting? (Please explain how each is harmed.) IP owners (misnavigated customers), Registry (time and money wasted on excessive returns), Registrar (same as registry). Several potential means to address the practice of domain tasting have been suggested by ICANN Staff and others. These suggestions include: A) eliminating the Add/Grace Period so that domain registration fees are non-refundable between registry and registrar; B) making the ICANN per-registration fee (insert current details) non-refundable between ICANN and registry; C) imposing registry 'excess deletion fees' charged to registrars for every registration dropped during AGP if registrar deletes more than a certain percentage of domains during a predefined period (include terms of PIR proposal as example). 1. [In addition to these 3 suggestions, do you have any other suggestions? Are these suggestions compatible with current business rules and provisioning systems? New possible solution - D) (without recommending one over another) - Make a special new type of domain purchase called "1-month domain tasting/renting" – say $2 (?) to registry. For extra work done – after 1-month tasting must go to full annual purchase or return to pool with no further special rights to re-purchase. To my knowledge I think all 4 – A,B,C,D are compatible. 1. For each additional suggestion, please explain how any categories of potentially affected stakeholders would benefit or be harmed if your suggestion is implemented? For (D) Registrant gets to taste, Registrar/Registry gets reimbursed for time and expense, IP Owner continues to be harmed but less so as it now reduces overall domain tasting activity 1. Do you believe that Domain Tasting impacts the Security and Stability of the Internet? (Yes or No)? (if yes, in what way does Domain Tasting adversely impact the security and stability of the internet? YES. It distorts to put it mildley, end-user expectations of navigating/search of the web owing to typo-cybersquatters. Also with high levels of churn (75% etc), at high volumes (5% of all extant names) Many domains being currently domain-tasted will give different navigational response this week from the next. It is real bad for user-expectation navigational consistency at these high levels. Now its there and now its gone scenareo. 1. As to each suggestion,] what impact do you think this would have upon each category of potentially affected parties? (Positive or Negative for each) (C) Probably will result in people coming up with creative ways to bypass the "sliding scale/threshold" way of "punishing" (B) Does not compensate the party that does the extra work dealing with the enormous "returns" – registries/registrars, but rather another party whose workload is mostly unaffected. 1. [As to each suggestion,] do you believe it would impose any additional harm upon any categories of potentially affected parties (Yes or No -- if Yes, then who and how)? 2. [As to each suggestion,] do you believe it would create any additional benefits for any categories of potentially affected parties (Yes or No -- if Yes, then who and how)? 3. [As to each suggestion,] do you believe it should be implemented (please explain why or why not)? 4. In addition to these 3 suggestions, do you have any other suggestions for addressing any harms that you perceive from domain tasting? 5. If you make any additional suggestions, then please explain how any categories of potentially affected stakeholders would benefit or be harmed if your suggestion is implemented? 6. If registries or registrars offered domain registrations at no cost to the registrant, would this effectively permit domain tasting? (Yes or No ) *YES** * 7. Should registries and registrars be prohibited from offering domain registrations at no cost to the registrant? (Yes or No) Best to answer this question once we see more data. My guess for now is YES 8. Should ICANN impose a minimum registration fee on domain registrations? (Yes or No; if Yes, then what should the minimum fee be?) Again wait for data, but if we did impose a fee it should go to the parties that do the extra work – registries/registrars. 9. Would you like to suggest provide any specific statistical or factual information, or identify any expert persons, that can be corroborated by a 3rd party that should be considered or consulted on any issues raised by this RFI? (Please identify and explain how they would aid the community discussion on this topic.) *AS for IDNs* : I would strongly recommend that at the outset domain tatsting should not be allowed in new full IDN TLD deployments ... there is no need to further a practice that many (inclduing myself) see is a bad thing that for historical reasons allowed in the ascii domain space should be willy-nilly continued in other langiages....just because it was done in ascii. If individual langauge/countries after a year or so launching want to consider it for their own langauges/countries, then it should be carefully considered and if decided, to start domain tasting - then begin the pratcice. But not at outset, we have problems enough as it is with IDNs....yet another reason why new IDN gTLDs should be not automatically included into new ascii gTLD document. Attachment:
Request for Information on Domain Tasting -ECK.doc |