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<a href="http://www.circleid.com/posts/icann_the_new_gtld_program_and_our_responsibility_for_the_internet/" class="blue">ICANN, the New gTLD Program, and Our Responsibility for the Internet</a>
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<ul><li>Aug 02, 2011 7:45 AM PDT</li><li>Comments: <a href="http://www.circleid.com/posts/icann_the_new_gtld_program_and_our_responsibility_for_the_internet/#comments" class="blue">0</a></li><li>Views: 927</li></ul>
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By <a href="http://www.circleid.com/members/2923/" class="blue"><strong>Tina Dam</strong></a> </div>
<img src="http://www.circleid.com/images/member_photos/photo_2923.jpg" alt="Tina Dam" class="memPhoto" border="0" width="80"> <p>When
ICANN approved the New generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) Program in
Singapore in June 2011, it pushed the activities in this space to a new
level. I think we will all agree that everyone involved are very busy
working on new gTLD applications and getting organized per the Applicant
Guidebook requirements. This to be ready in time for the 12th of
January 2012 ICANN new TLD Program launch date.
</p>
<p>
However, good activities also brings along bad activities. And while not
always intended as doing something harmful to the Internet or it's
users, we have seen a tendency of our community to be attractive to
some, that work to find a way around the system. Sometimes this is
understandable taking the various business models, and the need of
consumers into consideration. But that is not always the case. This is
what makes it so hard for ICANN to build good, useful, strong, and at
the same time reasonable policies.
</p>
<p>
What concerns me is that if we do not get the first round of
introductions of new gTLDs right next year we might cause a lot of
damage to the Internet. The intent with all the new gTLDs is of course
consumer choice, and to allow for innovations beyond the traditional
domain name space. We cannot afford allowing bad intended (purposely or
not) entities to destroy this development.
</p>
<p>
I have never been a proponent of unlimited number of new gTLDs because I
simply do not believe that it will be overall beneficial for Internet
users. I accept that change is necessary to move forward and we do not
know how the Internet will look a few years down the road (after all at
its early development, who would have imagined it to be as impactful as
it is today?). I just don't see the unlimited numbers/non-restricted
approach being of value unless it is managed carefully. I have written
about these concerns before in a post called "<a href="http://mytld.com/blog/3013-making_idn_gtlds_attractive_safe_icann_internationalized_domain_name_tld_program.html" title="How to Make IDN gTLDs Attractive and Safe in ICANN's New Internationalized Domain Name TLD Program">How to Make IDN gTLDs Attractive and Safe in ICANN's New Internationalized Domain Name TLD Program</a>."
</p>
<p>
That brings me to the core of this article. I believe we all have a
responsibility to work together to make this radical change of the
Internet a positive experience for its users. This article is intended
to spark a debate on the subject.
</p>
<p>
If we do not do a good job with the first round, we risk experiencing
endless lawsuits, auctions, and unstable launches under new gTLDs. Some
of the new gTLDs are likely to fail which will provide an even worse
user experience. This will be a waste of a lot of resources and time for
all of us, and it will likely result in no second round or at the very
least a very delayed and very difficult second round. This should be in
nobody's interest. In the end, the only losers are Internet users; they
will experience the bad service; dropped TLDs and hence domain names;
high prices (because we need to cover legal and auction costs
somewhere), and so on. Imagine having a non-functional domain name
because of the hundred's or thousand's TLDs you had to choose from, the
one you picked could not manage its responsibility. Imagine incurring
double, triple, or higher domain name registration costs because two
applicants spent a significant amount of their financial resources in an
auction for the TLD and are left with no recourse but to raise prices
in order to recover those losses. This is not a way to instill
confidence in users of the Internet.
</p>
<p>
So what can we do to ensure that this round goes well? I almost wanted
to suggest that we put together a "Best Practice New gTLD Behavioral"
paper. But that might not be something we could agree on, or that the
ICANN community would be interested in participating in?
</p>
<p>
At MyTLD we took one initiative recently, which is the <a href="http://mytld.com/blog/3013-making_idn_gtlds_attractive_safe_icann_internationalized_domain_name_tld_program.html" title="free IDN training for IDN TLD applicants in need">free IDN training for IDN TLD applicants in need</a>.
This initiative is particularly focused on the expansion of developing
economies, which ICANN has an ongoing targeted effort at the moment as
indicated in the recently closed <a href="http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/second-milestone-report-10jun11-en.htm" title="ICANN public comments forum about assisting developing nations">ICANN public comments forum about assisting developing nations</a>.
</p>
<p>
Why we are providing free training, and suggested to ICANN to build this
into an ongoing program with free overall DNS training for applicants
in need, should be obvious. But if in doubt please see my <a href="http://blog.icann.org/2009/11/next-generation-internet-users" title="ICANN blog post on the New Generation of Internet users">ICANN blog post on the New Generation of Internet users</a>.
I believe we have a responsibility to do this, and thereby take one
step in making the Internet available and well-functional for the next
generations to come.
</p>
<p>
What else can we do? Please take a moment and think about it. We should
feel very fortunate about the Internet experience we have accumulated
over the last decade or so. Handing over knowledge and expertise to the
next generation is not solely delivering the Internet as we have it
today, but also doing so in a way that will create the foundation for
the future of the Internet. This is after all how knowledge and
innovation has increased and thrived for years.
</p>
<p>
So for all of us involved in new TLDs, let's do something good.
Contribute something that will have a positive impact for years to come.
</p>
<p><strong>By <a href="http://www.circleid.com/members/2923/" class="blue">Tina Dam</a>, Co-Founder MYTLD</strong></p>