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Username: frequent traveller
Date/Time: Fri, October 20, 2000 at 4:39 PM GMT
Browser: Netscape Communicator V4.72 using Windows 95
Score: 5
Subject: USTAR's Non-Answer

Message: 		 

 
       
Dear USTAR: 
Thanks for your comment, but your reply still begs the question.  According to your reply, travel agents associations should refrain from applying to sponsor .travel, IATA should refrain from applying to sponsor .travel, so who is this "truly independent third party" that is qualified to sponsor this TLD, and why didn't they come forward and apply by ICANN's October 2nd deadline?

You say you "fully anticipate that at some future time another application will be solicited or received."  In other words, as far as you're concerned the public will just have to do without the benefits of .travel until and unless ICANN repeats this proceeding at some unspecified future time, right?  Sorry, but the Internet & e-commerce move at a much faster speed than that! 

Besides, these TLDs are only being awarded for 4 years at a time.  So if IATA screws-up like you predict, they will lose sponsorship of the TLD & all the investment they have made in it, when their award comes up for renewal. 

You ask who I think will get delta.travel.  Well, as I said in my earlier message, I read section E of the IATA proposal, and according to that, it will be the first of those companies to file an application and shows it is not infringing someone else's trademark & is a legitimate & reputable travel business.  I don't personally care who gets it, but if Delta Travel Agency is the first to file, IATA would have to give it to them or it would be in breach of its proposal to ICANN, as I read section E.  Have I missed something in section E where the right is reserved to give preference to airlines over travel agents?  If you could point that out to me, I will humbly apologize.  I don't know about you, but I trust ICANN to act against any TLD sponsor that fails to keep commitments made in these applications, so I think your question is already answered in section E of IATA's application & it's not the answer you infer. 

Sorry, but the undeniable fact is ICANN either goes with IATA's proposal, or we the consumers don't get .travel at all.  At least not until ICANN has another of these proceedings, and there's no telling when that will be.  Maybe we will just agree to disagree on this, but the way ICANN has structured this, all the sponsors will have every incentive to keep their commitments & manage the TLDs responsibly, so they will get renewed when the initial awards are up in 4 years time.  Only IATA will lose if they get awarded this TLD & screw it up.   
 

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