Public comments TLD designation ".cat"
Title: Public comments TLD designation ".cat" 13MAY2004
ICANN should grant the TLD status to the designation .cat because this designation satisfies on its merits the standards and conditions established by ICANN. Firstly, such designation will help users find their way around the internet. Secondly, .cat will provide a designation to orderly manage address space allocation. Thirdly, the recognition of the TLD designation .cat is consistent with and in furtherance of ICANN's goal of promoting competition. Finally, this recognition will contribute to the representation of the Catalonian internet community and its broad internet presence. The designation .cat deserves on its merits the TLD status recognition: .cat will help internet users find their way around the internet. The grant of the TLD status to the designation .cat will contribute to the preservation of the operational stability of the internet and it will help users find their way around the internet. These objectives are comprised precisely amongst the ICANN's goals. As already noted in this Forum, only a dozen languages have more pages than the Catalonian version, and the Catalonian version is reported as surpassing languages such as Chinese. As also noted in this Forum, the Open Directory project ranks Catalonian ahead of languages such as Russian, simplified Chinese, and several other languages. In addition, Catalonian pages surpass in number by at least one order of magnitude the number of pages in what is characterized as minority languages. It is difficult to imagine how a continued failure to recognize the TLD status for the designation .cat might contribute to preserve the operational stability of the internet and might help users find their way around the internet. In light of the extensive incidence on internet of the subject entities that would precisely be encompassed by the .cat TLD designation, the recognition of the TLD status for such designation is urgent and necessary, so that the .cat designation helps users find their way around internet and find the large number of internet pages that should be encompassed by the .cat designation. The designation .cat deserves on its merits the TLD status recognition: .cat will provide a designation to orderly manage the volume of address space allocation for the subject entities that .cat would encompass. As referenced above, and as reported by numerous communications to this Forum, the shear number of Catalonian internet items is such that practical and suitable addressing and TLD name system management are required. Address space allocation and TLD name system management are precisely some of ICANN's responsibilities. The Catalonian internet community has to have its .cat TLD if management of the TLD name system is to be robust, encompassing and effective, if the Catalonian internet community is to be recognized, and if internet users are to be provided with a clear and well established way of locating and identifying such internet community. The designation .cat deserves on its merits the TLD status recognition: Strangling the Catalonian internet community by depriving it of its TLD designation .cat would be contrary to ICANN's goal of promoting competition. Where competition does not act, there is complete monopoly. The self-serving protectionist spirit that accompanies the obliteration of other communities by depriving them of their symbols, designations, names, and other identifying characteristics has more or less covertly been manifested in some communications to this Forum. If these communications that ask ICANN to ignore the Catalonian internet community by failing to grant the TLD status to .cat are triggered by fear, then they are simply puerile, baseless and inconsistent with ICANN's policies, goals and responsibilities. If these communications are triggered by an evil intent to obliterate a characteristic, such as .cat, for the Catalonian internet community, then they are destructive and thus reprehensible. Furthermore, such communications are anyhow contrary to competition, but competition is an act, a condition and an operational status comprised precisely in ICANN's objectives that ICANN intends to promote. The Catalonian internet community has established by its presence in, incidence on, and use of internet at least the following traits of character and constructive collective will: Seeking and endeavoring to gain its place and status in the internet community; developing and maintaining collective strife for the goals of having place and status in the internet community and for using the internet for its own and for the societal benefits; developing and maintaining collective strife for superiority in the supply of services offered by the Catalonian internet community and in the quantity and sophistication of the demand for such services; emulously contesting with other internet communities for improving internet services and communications and for capturing patrons and audience in this quest. Failing to grant the TLD status for the designation .cat would simply ignore the traits of character and collective will of the Catalonian internet community, and thus would fail to foster competition. The designation .cat deserves on its merits the TLD status recognition: This recognition will contribute to the representation of the Catalonian internet community. The broad presence of the Catalonian community in internet requires the proper tools for its representation in the internet community. ICANN's goal of achieving broad representation of global internet communities would be defeated if the broad presence of the Catalonian internet community were to be deprived of its representative characteristic of having .cat as its TLD. For at least the reasons set forth hereinabove, ICANN should grant the TLD status to the designation .cat.
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