Board of Directors - ICANN

["Max Menius" <mmeniusjr@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have been following the evolution of the controversial registry biz/info/org 
agreements. These agreements pit thousands of businesses and individuals 
against a handful of registries who are comfortable with contracts that would 
have allowed the exploitation of domain registrants under the pretense of 
infrastructure development costs and other manufactured or exaggerated claims.

I commented in the ICANN forum on October 26 that the proposed per annum 10% 
price increase cap was an improvement over the initial allowance of tiered 
pricing or differential pricing. I still regard a (0% - 10%) per year price 
increase as something which I can accept as a domain name stakeholder and 
developer. However, and again, ICANN must use language that specifically 
guarantees and ensures, in perpetuity and with no exceptions, that tiered 
pricing never be allowed. Any loopholes, special contingencies, or exceptions 
must be clearly deleted from the final contracts such that the intended spirit 
of the contract is honored. 

Lastly, a huge contingent of well-intentioned members of the business community 
spoke clearly and decisively these past months (and with incontrovertible logic 
I might add). The overwhelming consensus was that the initial contracts were 
failures as written and grossly skewed in favor of registries. So lopsided were 
the initial contracts that ICANN's integrity and impartiality have been called 
into question. There remains lingering doubt about ICANN, their loyalties, and 
the quality of their judgement in administrating the DNS and its many issues. 
Given the very unique and promising opportunity ICANN presently face, it would 
be advisable to allow more time and consideration of the many issues raised in 
the initial failed contracts. The contract implications are complex, as ICANN 
indicated themselves, and there appears to be no compelling reason to rush to 
finalization.

Michael Palage, Afilias, NeuStar, and PIR can wait. Their interests do not 
supercede the collective interests of thousands of businesses who are reliant 
on ICANN to navigate through to clear, defensible contract terms that balance 
registry interests with that of the larger internet community. Let the economic 
experts provide their input. Allow more time to examine competitive contract 
bidding and contract renewal options. I remain hopeful that ICANN leaders will 
take great care with the long-term implications of their decisions. Thank you.

Max Menius
Menius Enterprises, Inc.