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Username: ravicabral
Date/Time: Fri, October 20, 2000 at 8:08 AM GMT
Browser: Microsoft Internet Explorer V5.01 using Windows NT
Score: 5
Subject: Top level Domain names -

Message:
 

 
               
     The basic question re - giving "sales rights" of top level domain names seems to be -
"Should the new TLDs be given to the companies in the existing monopoly or be given to different companies?"

The answer is -
"What will provide the best service for the internet community and the future development of the internet?"

The issues are -
Technical, Organisational and ethical competence of the companies.

How to decide which company to choose?

1. As long as the bidding company shows competence to carry out the task, it should be considered equally. Running a TLD with current technology is pretty straightforward stuff. Any organisation that can prove that it has adequate ETHICAL, organisational and technical structures and standards should be considered."

2. Once the candidates have been selected on the above criteria, COMPETITION SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED. This means that the TLDs should be spread between as many companies as possible. So, any company that already runs a TLD or IS AFFILIATED TO a company that runs TLDs already should be discounted.

3. From the remaining candidates, preference should be given to any companies that have piloted that particular TLD with adequate levels of service.

4. Finally, from the remaining shortlist, the company that has run a pilot TLD for the longest period should be awarded the "TLD rights." This is only fair.

Seems a pretty simple process. The only subjective isssue here is technical / organisational / ethical competence. These criteria should be made as objective as possible by devising a standard "test plan" for all the standard TLD management procedures (such as domain registration, transferral, removal, etc.). Since all the shortlisted candidates will have been carrying out pilot operations, ICANN can then easily carry out these tests themselves to establish the level of service being provided.

Once the basic functionality has been established, issues such as disaster recovery, corporate integrity etc. can be investigated.

By adopting the same scientific, non subjective approach to TLDs that the founders of the internet applied with such effect many years ago, arriving at the best and most "deserving" candidate should be relatively srtaightforward.

Rav Cabral
     

 


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