To the Dot Kids Inc. team and anyone reading this:After thoroughly studying your
proposal I'm very pleased to say that I believe it captures the essence of what people
are looking for in any kind of new TLD. To begin with, even though perhaps
the other companies proposing a .kids TLD have a very strong base of techincal support,
your supporting companies(Saraf Software and Comdisco) I think are widely recognized
as very big names in the computer industry.
"B&N Consulting, whose founder is
a co-author of the current NSI Registry Registrar Protocol...Currently, Comdisco
has global presence and provides disaster recovery to about 75% of the fortune 500
companies."
Aside from this technical superiority to the other proposals I'm deeply
touched by the social awareness of this proposal. It goes without saying that
it's impossible to find a perfect way to protect youth and adolescents from "harmful"
material without violating everyones inherent rights to freedom(to be a bit dramatic).
However, the proposed RegyStar system, your affiliation with ICRA, and your willingness
to spend a significant time speaking with ICANN about any rating system demonstrate
your ability to "think outside the box" and try to find a solution that goes above
and beyond a simple Policy Board. By having .kids sites unrated by default
and allowing for an optional rating system on all sites you've effectively handed
the important decisions over to the parents and families and even to children and
these are the people who SHOULD be making the decisions.
Your proposal is revolutionary
in the vision it has for the internet. The decisions that ICANN make in these
upcoming months will shape the entire future of the internet and as such, the future
of information exchange in a global context. If nothing else, Dot Kids Inc.
seems to have provided a stepping stone for something that might go above and beyond
simply creating an internet with more TLD's. Also, if the RegyStar system as
you've described it is actually conceived in an appropriate time, it would be a very
valuable technological development. I think it's important for other companies
who are proposing other TLD's should try and mimic this innovative approach to the
internet that your company has taken.
In criticism, perhaps the most outstanding
fault in your proposal is a certain ambiguity. However, if ICANN were to choose
your proposal(which I believe it should) then the process of refinement could begin
and the willingness you've shown to cooperate with ICANN and other international
organizations can be used as a role model for other companies. All in all I
give this proposal an A++.