Re: [alac] Guide to Domain Names

["Nick Ashton-Hart" <nashton@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks for the comment Siavash (and everyone else for theirs).

As those on the call will remember, we came up with a process which is meant to:

1) Incorporate all ideas that the ALAC has about the structure and
content of the document;
2) Allow the writers to take those views into account to come up with
a document which the ALAC can support and believes will be useful.

What was agreed on the call was as follows:

1) Committee members would review the document and provide detailed
comments and edits. The idea here is that the comments should be
sufficiently detailed that if you were the writer, you would be able
to use them to accurately reflect the comments made accurately in the
text, so, please be as specific as you can. I know that a number of
you have fundamental structural issues with the document. If you can
provide examples of documents which have a structure that you think
would be better, either send it, give us a URL, and do tell what about
that document in your view recommends it.

2) These comments would come in, insofar as is possible by the
conclusion of the Sao Paulo meeting, but in any case not later than
the 31st December.

3) A redraft incorporating the comments received would then be prepared.

I suggested that we could take some time at one of the meetings in Sao
Paulo to review the comments made up to that time, and if people wish
to orally make further comments, I can then take those, plus the
written ones received until the end of the year, and compile them
together and send all of it to Miriam with a copy to ALAC too, to make
sure I didn't miss or misstate anything.

Perhaps the following specifics could be helpful in addressing some of
the most recently-stated issues:

1) decide that a subsequent guide will address ccTLDs, but that this
one will only address gTLDs.

2) ensure the name is changed to "A Guide to Generic Top-Level Domain
Names"

3) add a preamble noting that the guide focuses only on gTLDs and there
are 250 country code tld's and these will be addressed in an upcoming "A
Guide to Country Code Top-Level Domain Names"

And then also, in SP show the draft guide to members of the ccNSO
Council and invite
them to work with the ALAC in creating such a guide focussed on .

On 15/11/06, Siavash Shahshahani <shahshah@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hi Wendy,
> I really think that a fair and general guide to domain system which can
> receive ALAC/ICANN endorsement would be most welcome at least in my
> community. People trust such an endorsement, which makes it more
> imperative that it be unbiased and clarify common misunderstandings. Let
> me give you an example. The IDN table of .ir Registry was sent to IANA
> more than a year ago, but it has not appeared yet on the IANA list(for
> reasons I don't want to speculate about now). This makes people question
> the authoritativeness of our IDN offering, and we are constantly asked
> why we're not getting IANA endorsement.
> So in short, I think the idea of putting out a guide is a very good one.
> I'd be happy to participate in a working group to make it happen.
> Best,
> siavash
>
> > Thanks Siavash,
> >
> > I'll reiterate to Miriam that this document cannot use ALAC's name
> > without revisions that meet the Committee's consensus approval.  I
> > agree that as a matter of fairness in competition, ICANN and ALAC
> > cannot sponsor a guide that describes just some of the domain
> > names.  It does a disservice to registrants and users of domain names
> > to imply that some are better than others just because they are
> > easier to describe.
> >
> > Do you think this is a project it's worthwhile for ALAC to pursue, if
> > it can be made more inclusive?  (I don't know whose idea it was, or
> > why it came to have ALAC's name in the first place.)
> >
> > --Wendy
> >
> > At 04:52 PM 11/14/2006 +0330, Siavash Shahshahani wrote:
> >
> >>I wish to record a basic objection to the 'Guide' appearing as an ALAC
> >>product. In the introduction it is stated that that the guide is
> >> primarily
> >>focused on gTLDs and, in fact, it is not hard to notice that ccTLDs are
> >>totally ignored. For 'A Guide to Domain Names' presumably directed at the
> >>less-informed this is totally unacceptable. Note that:
> >>1. Roughly one third of existing domains in world are cc domains.
> >>2. There is already a good deal of misinformation at least among the
> >>populace of developing countries thinking that their native ccTLD is
> >>somehow less 'official', less respectable or intrinsically less secure
> >>than a '.com'.
> >>I think that if the registry sponsors listed on page 3 want to put out a
> >>guide for gTLDs, let them do it in their own name. I am well aware of the
> >>difficulty of dealing with the varieties of ccTLD practices, but still a
> >>short general guide not dealing with minute details can be produced that
> >>covers both types of domains.
> >>-Siavash
> >>
> >>
> >>-------------------------------------------------
> >>IPM/IRNIC
> >>P.O.Box 19395-5564, Shahid Bahonar Sq.
> >>Tehran 19548, Iran
> >>Phone: (+98 21) 22 82 80 80; 22 82 80 81, ext 113
> >>Cell: (+98 912)104 2501
> >>Fax: (+98 21) 22 29 57 00
> >>Email: shahshah@xxxxxxxx, shahshah@xxxxxx
> >>-----------------------------------------------
> >>
> >>
> >>-------------------------------------------------
> >>IPM/IRNIC
> >>P.O.Box 19395-5564, Shahid Bahonar Sq.
> >>Tehran 19548, Iran
> >>Phone: (+98 21) 22 82 80 80; 22 82 80 81, ext 113
> >>Cell: (+98 912)104 2501
> >>Fax: (+98 21) 22 29 57 00
> >>Email: shahshah@xxxxxxxx, shahshah@xxxxxx
> >>-----------------------------------------------
> >
> > --
> > Wendy Seltzer -- wendy@xxxxxxxxxxx
> > Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School
> > Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet & Society
> > http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/seltzer.html
> > Chilling Effects: http://www.chillingeffects.org
> >
> >
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------
> IPM/IRNIC
> P.O.Box 19395-5564, Shahid Bahonar Sq.
> Tehran 19548, Iran
> Phone: (+98 21) 22 82 80 80; 22 82 80 81, ext 113
> Cell: (+98 912)104 2501
> Fax: (+98 21) 22 29 57 00
> Email: shahshah@xxxxxxxx, shahshah@xxxxxx
> -----------------------------------------------


--
--
Regards,

Nick Ashton-Hart
PO Box 32160
London N4 2XY
United Kingdom
UK Tel: +44 (20) 8800-1011
USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460
Fax: +44 (20) 7681-3135
mobile: +44 (7774) 932798
Win IM: ashtonhart@xxxxxxxxxxx / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart@xxxxxxx /
Skype: nashtonhart
Online Bio:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart