Q1: Do you intend to protect existing registrants from revocation of their domain
names based solely upon the premise that the registrant is not registered as a 501(c)(3)
organization or is without some other not-for-profit organization designation?
A1: Yes. An organization's designation, for-profit, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3),
or otherwise, will not be considered in domain name disputes and no names will be
"revoked" based on the organization's designation. The registrant is not required
to submit a designation. This is in keeping with current ICANN registration rules.
Q2:
Do you intend to amend or add to the UDRP to reflect a new policy that a name can
be transferred to another registrant based solely upon the fact that the existing
registrant cannot prove to the arbitration panel that the domain name in question
is being used for non-commercial activities by a not-for-profit organization?
A2: No. The .Org Foundation intends to follow ICANN standards and policies regarding
this matter. Any future changes to the ICANN policies will be adopted and adhered
by the Foundation.
Q3: Will you continue to support a .ORG registry that is open
for registration by the general public, as recommended in item 2b of the Final Report
(version 5.4) on .ORG divestiture (1), drafted by the DNSO Dot Org Names Council
Task Force?
A3: Yes. At this point it would be difficult to constrain .org
to any charter except an open one. The .Org Foundation will however, pursue marketing
and services that focus on differentiation of the .org TLD as a noncommercial designation.
Q4: Even though all of the proposals indicate each applicant's determination to
differentiate the marketing techniques for the .ORG gTLD, if selected, would you
(as the new registry operator) continue to embrace the openness of .ORG as a "generic"
gTLD (without registrant restrictions) as originally reflected in RFC 1591(2)?
A4: The .org TLD will remain open and without registrant restrictions. We
propose to enhance the current perception of .org TLD as being the domain to register
names for noncommercial organizations. Since .org was originally intended for noncommercial
organizations, we believe there still remains more than a wisp of this branding leftover
in the minds of the public. We intend to clarify the "for noncommercial organizations"
perception via two EPP extensions.
The first is a self-identification mechanism
where any .org registrant may choose to identify its type of organization: individual,
non-profit, for-profit, etc. This information will be shown in the whois output and
can be used by the registry and others to match grant-giving organizations with potential
grant-receiving organizations. It is similar to the Nexus information required by
.us, but in this case, providing the information is optional and will not be used
to settle disputes among registrants. We are not proposing changes in the UDRP. This
information will also be used to select which .org registrants may receive funds
for the purpose of benefiting the .org Internet community. The ICANN endowment will
not be used for this purpose. A campaign has begun to secure $5million in matching
funds and resources for this purpose.
The other differentiating EPP extension is
a voting mechanism. We propose that each .org registrant be given the opportunity
to be polled on issues relating to the .org community. For example, voting on Foundation
Board members. We propose that over time 100% of the Foundation's Board control be
in the hands of the .org community. The EPP polling mechanism will give the board
the ability to poll the .org community for input on various issues. The registrant
will participate in the poll via their registrar; much in the way registrants change
their name server or whois information today. The registrar verifies the registrant's
authority to vote a domain. Results of the voting would be published in the registry's
whois output for the domain. The board can use the results of polling, including
the type of registrar entity voting, to help set policy.
Our marketing efforts
will not attempt to increase demand for registering names in the .org registry by
the commercial sector. The Foundation will develop the messages and the identity
that will promote and clarify the .org TLD as the global noncommercial TLD. We will
partner with other .org entities willing to promote the .org TLD message and the
services provided by The .Org Foundation in support of the .org community. And we
will also develop channel partnerships with .orgs currently supporting nonprofits
with technology issues to disseminate the message of the .org TLD as the TLD for
the global noncommercial community.