Cautious Optimism for Advancement

["Ken Fockler" <ken.fockler@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

It is commendable that ICANN has a process for reviewing proposed new registry 
services. And that these reviews are done by review teams that then pass on 
their recommendations to the ICANN Board.

As we have seen from the comments on this subject and like much of the 
development and evolution of the Internet, there are no right answers and no 
wrong answers, just judgments and decisions made on those judgements.

Dealing with the wildcard concept, or what is acceptable to do with a DNS 
enquiry that doesn't ordinarily resolve is just such a situation where 
judgement is required.

Unfortunately some earlier implementations didn't appear to offer any real 
added value or benefit to the average user. 

However it seems that in the case of a tightly and well defined top level 
space, a thoughtful implementation for a user who is clearly inquiring within 
that defined space, could provide added value and be beneficial without 
impairing the integrity of that space or the DNS in general.

Many of us have been involved over many years in formal and informal 
discussions on the DNS and its possible evolution. Some of those discussions 
talked about defined space, or as I believe in the case of the first WIPO 
study, it was referred to as "differentiated" space. I participated on the WIPO 
panel in that first study and although our focus was on dispute resolution we 
did spend some time musing on possible future DNS usage that would be more 
meaningful. Thus that report had as a part of its conclusion an expectation and 
indeed hope that the DNS space would cautiously evolve and more meaningful but 
authentic results would be available to users.

Now seems an opportunity for some small movement, with caution and perhaps even 
conditions to address possible issues, for a defined space to offer some added 
value, if desired, for users.

I would encourage the Review Team to look at this proposal in that light.

To some the Internet seems to have happened quickly and I note some people 
believe if a new function hasn't fully developed within a year then that entity 
or function should cease to exist. I would point out that the Internet has 
taken decades to evolve to the point it's at today. It took a collegial and 
cautious approach as we progressed through FTP, ARCHIE, HTTP and various 
browsers. I expect that given an environment that allows imagination and 
creativity, we will continue to see evolution and functions that we can't even 
imagine at this time.

Ken Fockler