GoDaddy.com Comments on Proposed .XXX Registry Agreement

[Reed Lee <reedlee@xxxxxxxxxx>]

This responds to GoDaddy's comments concerning the scope of
ICANN's current concerns over ICM's .xxx sponsored tld proposal.

One of the concerns raised by the GAC is whether the "community"
of adult webmasters -- or even of the "responsible" adult web-
masters -- is an appropriate one for sponsorship under the ICANN
standards put in place _prior_ to the current sTLD round.

That is, after all, the issue over which the independent reviewers
_rejected_ ICM's .xxx stld proposal.  And it plainly remains an open
issue insofar as ICANN is concerned.

By letter dated May 4, 2006, ICANN's President and CEO assured
the GAC and the rest of the Internet community that:



. . . the board voted to authorize staff to
enter into contractual negotiations without 
prejudicing the Board's right to evaluate the
resulting contract and to decide whether it
meets all of the criteria before the Board . . ..
The final conclusion on the Board's decision to
accept or reject the .XXX application has not
been made . . ..
. . . 
. . . with .XXX, while the additional materials 
provided sufficient clarification to proceed with
contractual discussions, the Board still expressed
concerns about whether the applicant met all of
the criteria, but took the view that such concerns
could possibly be addressed by contractual obliga-
tions to be stated in a registry agreement.



Given the GAC's concern's and ICANN's assurances, it is simply not
the case that the question of whether this community is appropriate
for sponsorship is off the table as having been decided in ICM's
favor.  The vast outpouring of opposition by members of the very
"community " at issue speak eloquently to that question.  ICANN's
stld standards never contemplated a sponsoring organization
_imposed_ upon a community against its overwhelming will.

I don't know who else GoDaddy could mean by "any other
special interests."  The members of the adult Internet community
do have, in a sense, a special interest in the .xxx proposal.
(That is perfectly appropriate given how sponsored tlds are 
supposed to work).  They are now being heard load and clear,
and they overwhelmingly oppose it.  ICANN should listen well.