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Username: JaseK
Date/Time: Sun, November 12, 2000 at 9:29 PM GMT
Browser: Microsoft Internet Explorer V5.5 using Windows 98
Score: 5
Subject: How dare ICANN insinuate that IOD could '... fatally damage its [the new TLDs] reputation"

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How dare ICANN insinuate that IOD could '... fatally damage its [the new TLDs] reputation."    

ICANN seem to be blissfully unaware that the slack handling, gross conflicts of interest in their board (Ken Stubbs - Afilias Director, to name but one), and bias that they have shown towards Afilias, have already done far more damage to the reputation of the new TLD than any start-up problems that a new registrar could introduce.

ICANN said in their staff report: "A failure of a new TLD to service the global community of registrars and registrants could fatally damage its reputation and the likelihood of its successful adoption by the public, and therefore its ability to be a vigorous competitor with .com. It could also seriously damage public confidence in new TLDs that could be introduced in the future."

Let me re-word this sentence for ICANN...

"The failure of ICANN to promote competition by giving IOD the .web TLD could fatally damage its reputation and the likelihood of its successful adoption by the public, and therefore its ability to be a vigorous competitor with .com. It could also seriously damage public confidence in new TLDs that could be introduced in the future."

That sounds more like it doesn't it?

ICANN have already turned this into a farse of spectacular proportions, and are now trying to pull the wool over our eyes by telling us that their objective of 'protecting competition' now actually means competition against .com, not competition against the current registrars of 98% of the worlds current TLDs. Surely they don't think we haven't noticed?

They are gearing up to hand over the new TLDs to the group of companies who administer most of the world's current TLD real estate, and turn it into one of the largest monopolies in history.

In England, the Monopolies and Mergers Commission would probably be investigating ICANN right now, to see what conflicts of interest exist, and to see what 'incentives' had been offered for them to pick Afilias.

Come on ICANN - give .web to IOD, and .info to Afilias.  So what if they have a few start-up problems; surely thay can't achieve as many faux pas as you seem to be doing.  At the very least, honour the 20,000 who have been in from day 1 when IOD originally had the idea for .web, and were all set to launch in 1996 when they had the rug pulled out from under them. 

Where were Afilias then? Sniffing round some other carrion I expect...


 

Link: Read this MSNBC News Article...


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