[alac] ALAC Statement on new gTLDs
The At-Large Advisory Committee welcomes the opportunity to submit comments on the two issues on the table regarding new gTLDs: 1. Criteria for introduction of a limited number of sponsored gTLDs as part of the Board's "proof of concept" initial round of TLD additions 2. Whether to structure the evolution of the generic top level namespace in if so, how to do so. Introduction: At-large Internet users are both domain name registrants and users of the domain name system. As users, they are well served by TLDs that are not confusingly similar, enabling them to differentiate the names they encounter and minimize typographic or semantic mistakes; they are also served by a namespace that is inclusive and provides access to a wide variety of speakers and information sources. As registrants, the "at large" are perhaps the most likely to be underserved by community-defined, chartered gTLDs. Not all individuals are necessarily a part of any of these communities, yet they will want places to publicize their small businesses, engage in political debate, discuss their interests, and host weblogs, to name a few. Categorization and eligibility requirements will often act as barriers to entry to such registrants. As a whole, at-large registrants are most likely to be served by a range of TLD options available to all potential registrants, including a variety of true generics for those that do not fit in neat categories. These interests are compatible; confusion can be minimized without narrowly structuring registrations. They are also compatible with ICANN's limited mandate. ICANN should not be setting itself up as judge of the utility or fitness of business plans, but only as a technical judge of what is likely to create confusion or interfere with the functioning of the domain name system.
References: ICANN Paper http://www.icann.org/riodejaneiro/stld-rfp-topic.htm Report on Compliance by Sponsored gTLDs with the Registration Requirements of Their Charters http://www.icann.org/committees/ntepptf/stld-compliance-report-25feb03.htm Both the paper and report on existing sponsored TLDs err in focusing primarily on exclusion: Do the sponsored gTLDs represent a limited community and adhere to their charters by permitting registrants only from within that community? The question more important to the public's communicative goals, however, is the flip side: Are there people or organizations who are left without logical places to register domain names, or who are denied registration in a sponsored TLD whose charter they fit? It is easy to make the error rate arbitrarily low by asking questions that examine only one kind of error -- gTLDs could block all cybersquatters simply by refusing any registrations, but that would hardly serve the point of adding new gTLDs. Instead, the Board should look, in both the sponsored additions and in the general question of "structure," to ensuring that all who want to establish online presences can obtain domain names. Financial qualifications and entry fees can be barriers to entry of new and smaller gTLD participants, as well as to non-profits. While fees may be necessary to discourage spurious applications and to recover assessment costs, minimal criteria can help to minimize costs and fees. ICANN should examine the possible introduction of a second, lower fee scale for non-profit applicants.
References: Draft 3.1.2 of the ICANN GNSO Council gTLDS committee report ("Draft") http://www.dnso.org/dnso/notes/gTLDS-committee-conclusions-v3-1.2.htm At this stage, there appears to be general consensus on the GNSO gTLDs Committee to advise against "structure" in the first instance. As the Draft states, "It was agreed that a future expansion of the gTLD name space should take place in such a way that was demand-driven and bottom-up and in a way that increased competition while avoiding net user confusion and deception. To the extent that this report has a set of recommendations, it would seem there is support for the idea that the structure of the future gTLD namespace should be structured determined in a number of ways primarily by the choices of suppliers and end users in the market." The ALAC supports this recommendation. Market participants, including both businesses and non-commercial organizations, users and suppliers, are better positioned to indicate where new TLDs are needed through demand and willingness to supply. The ALAC supports the proposition that proposal of a name by a competent registry/delegant/sponsor provides as much "differentiation" as is necessary. (Draft para. 14) Every TLD has a natural monopoly in the SLDs registered under it, but ICANN policy should not extend that monopoly any further. Put slightly differently, a name should be acceptable within any gTLD structure if users want it and it does no harm to the domain name system. In order for market determination to be successful, ICANN must enable a genuine competitive market to develop. At present, there appears to be some tension between market competition and desire to protect registrants from the consequences of registry failure (Draft paras. 10-12). The intermediate road ICANN has taken, a heavily regulated market (rather than free market or openly acknowledged planning), tends to produce false assumptions and conclusions about what "the market" will support (and thus to justify further planning). The ALAC supports the Draft's recommendations that zone file escrow and transfer arrangements be investigated as ways to mitigate registry failure. The ALAC also recommends further examination of separation of the policy and technical roles of new-TLD-registries, as suggested in Ross Rader's proposal for distinct Delegants (policy) and Operators (technical), see http://r.tucows.com/archives/2003/03/13/new_gtlds_part_ii.html Consistent with openness to a variety of names and business models, ALAC supports expansion that allows both sponsored and unsponsored names. (Draft para 15) Along with Milton Mueller and Lee McKnight, "We do not oppose and may often favor the creation of new TLDs that are sponsored and restricted. But many users have no interest in or need for authenticated and restricted domains. That is why there are thousands of times more registrations in open domains than in restricted domains." Mueller & Mc Knight, "The post-.COM Internet," http://dcc.syr.edu/miscarticles/NewTLDs-MM-LM.pdf IDNs: Any evaluation of IDNgTLDs (internationalized domain name generic TLDs) should ensure participation in the linguistic review for confusion by the language community that would primarily use and be affected by the IDN policy. The ALAC plans to discuss IDNs in more detail in a separate document.
|