AFNIC comments on technical checks

[Stephane Bortzmeyer <bortzmeyer@xxxxxx>]

Regarding http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-18aug06.htm,
here are our comments:

 From AFNIC's point of view as a ccTLD operator, it is a very good
start to have a list of technical tests but it is crucial for that
list to be:

* an official and public list, 

* described in a precised and unambiguous way (for every test, it must
be clearly indicated wether it is a fatal error or just a warning if
the test fails),

* conducted automatically and interpreted neutrally and objectively.

The last criterion could be matched for example by offering to TLD
technical administrators the possibility to perform IANA tests
(e.g. Web form, CLI tool, ...) before submitting their DNS delegation
request to IANA. This could help them (and optimize IANA resources by
the same way) to detect potential issues before the formal request.

To avoid any discrepancy in interpretation, the tests must be
implemented in an automatic tool and the output of the tool must be
made available to the TLD manager as well, so that he or she can
clearly know if a delay in a change is technical or not. [AFNIC, based
on its daily experience, is volunteer to help with such a tool.]

After that, AFNIC is ready to discuss details in the testing, but, for
the moment, technical enthusiasm, as shown in many comments by
experts, may be premature.