Tiered pricing only benefits registries and DEEPLY hurts the web community - Please do not allow this practice!

["Andrew Miller" <drewphy@xxxxxxxxx>]

I handily agree with the comments of George Kirikos, posted on this forum on
November 23, 2008.

Reference: http://forum.icann.org/lists/gtld-guide/msg00026.html

Tiered pricing could, and would if implemented, drive many domain name users
and owners.  Registries already wield such incredible power (so much so that
I wonder if these comments against this proposed practice will really be of
any consideration in this discussion).  Tiered pricing could allow a
registry the ability to milk a domain/website owner for an incredibly high
renewal or registration price, and as such, give unneeded financial control
of the internet to domain name registries.  The current "7% a year"
registration renewal increase contract with Verisign is already bad enough,
and to my view has only allowed them to charge more for a product of which
they own an ICANN granted monopoly.  Their costs are actually very low (if
not decreasing per domain registered/renewed) and yet their profit increases
radically higher every year at the hands of those who own and have invested
in their domain names.  Giving them, or any other registry the ability to
tier prices only works against consumers and penalizes web expression in
every direction.

Please absolutely disallow any practice of tiered pricing or unlimited
ceilings.  It is unfair and yields too much power in the hands of those who
may not have the greater intentions of the internet at heart.

Thank you,

Andrew G. Miller
Domain owner and Web Developer.