Domain News

According to Philip Virgo of ComputerWeekly, Wales is preparing to apply for their own sponsored top-level domain - .cym - in order to reverse the economic outflow from Wales in e-commerce.

The Welsh Assembly Goverment has expressed an issue with the majority of Welsh shoppers buying from non-Welsh sites and fewer non-Welsh buyers purchasing from Welsh businesses.

“In confirming the intent to apply for a TLD for Wales, Ieuan Wyn Jones fulfilled a desire that has been strongly expressed by Parliamentarians in both Cardiff and Westminster,” Virgo said on his blog. “An early day motion in the House of Commons was signed by 24 MPs of all parties. In the Welsh Assembly, the House Committee passed a vote of support by a large margin.”

The Welsh TLD would be used by organizations, companies, and individuals around the globe that express themselves in the Welsh language and/or look to encourage Welsh culture.

[via ComputerWeekly.com]

(c) 2008 DomainNameNews.com

Domain Convergence, October 6-8, 2008, Niagara Falls

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Original post by Chad Kettner

As reported earlier, Afilias had submitted a proposal to ICANN for the .INFO gTLD that would allow them to shut down domain names at will if they consider them abusive. ICANN has approved the proposal without soliciting comments, however comments to any registry proposal can be submitted at any time by sending an email to registryservice (at) icann.org and are published on the ICANN website.

Apparently Afilias has presented the changes to their agreement as a “new” service. However this function is provided by Registrars, ISPs and Hosting companies today. Several parties have submitted their concerns about this new policy, despite some small modifycations by the registrar operator.

[Thanks to George Kirikos]

(c) 2008 DomainNameNews.com

Domain Convergence, October 6-8, 2008, Niagara Falls

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Original post by Frank Michlick

In an email sent to domain name registrars this evening, ICANN announced a new resolution approved by the ICANN board, effectively ending domain name tasting. Since the GNSO had previously sent their recommendation to the board in April, the vote came as no surprise to those in the domain community.   The new policy will charge the .20 cent ICANN fee on every domain registered, whether or not it is deleted within the 5 day Add Grace Period or not.

(Read more about the new fees and the impact after the jump)

The Add Grace Period (AGP) was implemented to allow registrars a 5 day period whereby they could delete domain names that may have been registered using fraudulent credit cards, by error, etc. The system was gamed by domain tasting operations which would register thousands of domain names, test them for traffic during the 5 day window and delete domains which did not make enough money to cover the annual registration fees. ICANN fees are only charged at the end of the quarter for domain names registered, transfered or renewed so the .20 ICANN fee was avoided since the domain tasting operations would only have to pay the ICANN fee on domains that were older than 5 days.

Some in the domain name industry still are not satisfied with the policy change, but others in the domain industry believe that this will go along way to killing off domain tasting operations in mass scale.   Let’s use real numbers to show what effect this has on a tasting operation. From information we have been provided by industry insiders, tasting operations have typical success rates of around .5% . In a typical scenario before this policy a taster might register 100,000 domains and likely only keep 500 - deleting 99,500 within the first 5 days. Using the AGP loophole, the registrar would only be charged the registry and ICANN fees of $3210 ($6.42 x 500) + $100 (500 x .20) = $3310. With the new policy implemented, a registrar will be charged $3210 (500 x $6.42 ) on the kept domains and $20,000 (100,000 x .20) in ICANN fees. Using the .5% domain “keep rate”, the per name cost of a tasting operation has increased from $6.62 per name to $46.42.

It is indeed still possible that domain tasting will occur. The AGP still exists which provides the loophole to delete tasted domains. However, the added ICANN fees are on a per domain cost, so in order for domain tasting operations to be profitable they will have to be less “shot-gun” and more “sniper” precise.

The ICANN new fees are also based on a threshold of 10%. So if a registrar adds in 100,000 domains per month and is deleting more than 10% the fees will be charged. As long as the registrar is under this percentage fees will not be charged.

The resolution can be read in entirety after the jump :

(more…)

According to website Zone-H, a group of Turkish hackers hijacked ICANN and IANA domain names on Thursday morning. All of the domain names are registered at Register.com. The group took over control of the domain names, including icann.com, icann.net, iana.com and iana-servers.com. The DNS records were changed and redirected to the hackers site with the following message :

You think that you control the domains but you don’t! Everybody knows wrong. We control the domains including ICANN!

Don’t you believe us?

haha

(Lovable Turkish hackers group)

This is the second major group to have their domain names hijacked in the last 30 days.  Previously Comcast.net domain names were hijacked at Network Solutions. So much for “preserving and enhancing the operational stability, reliability, security, and global interoperability of the Internet” eh ?

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Original post by Adam Strong

In a recently released policy brief, ICANN addresses domain name monetization (PDF) as if it were a problem to be addressed. The policy brief begins by discussing and explaining domain monetization and Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising in layman terms. The paper further goes on to discuss domain tasting and points out that domain monetization, specifically PPC, is at the root of the problems of domain tasting. Later in the brief, ICANN suggests that domain monetization may also be preventing internet users from using domain names. Generally speaking, the policy brief places domain monetization at the center stage as a problem likely to be cited in future ICANN policy considerations.

The paper asks:

“How Does Domain Monetization Impact Registrants?”

Domain name monetization techniques impact Internet users in different ways. The PPC model has been criticized for increasing the prevalence of cyber-squatting and speculative behavior by encouraging parties to grab names that are similar to famous brands or people and are therefore more likely to generate significant traffic.

Monetization did not impact registrants in this way. Tasting did. What is worrisome to Domain Name News is that in this brief ICANN is addressing the issue of domain monetization rather than domain tasting. The policy brief clearly puts “Domain Monetization” as the topic at hand, as if it were a problem. The problem we believe the brief should be addressing prominently is domain tasting. While there likely would be no domain tasting without a form of domain monetization (in this case PPC), one should not blame domain monetization as a problem worthy of policy considerations. Afterall, every domain name is monetized in some way, even ICANN.org is being monetized. Additionally, PPC domain monetization comes from search engines, yet ICANN places no blame on search engines or their advertisers for any of these “problems” with domain monetization.

Clearly there are ‘bad apples’ which brought the topic to the level where a policy brief had to be written about domain monetization. Registrars allowing tasting and domain monetization companies allowing trademarks to be monetized are part of the problem. Businesses and players in the domain business could have policed this issue a long time ago. Some registrars and parking companies have already undergone extensive purging of trademark infringing domains from their portfolios and prevent the monetization of them. There are also registrars who specifically forbid domain tasting. A leading parking company rep told Domain Name News “The TM market lives on as many parking companies continue to allow domain owners to park/monetize these domain names on their platforms. If the commercial incentive to own these names is removed, then the market will effectively disappear.”

ICANN is making attempts to solve the domain tasting issue with a proposed policy mentioned in the brief. Firstly, the proposed .20 fee for domain names deleted during the AGP should impact tasting operations bottom line and prevent the abuse of AGP. Additionally there is a proposed policy which states if a registrar deletes more than 10% of the total amount of domain names registered in a given month, refunds will not be granted. This should take care of the tasting issue, but it still leaves us wondering what else ICANN has up their sleeves regarding domain monetization.

But wait, ICANN isn’t through with saying that domain monetization is bad for the internet though. After addressing the tasting issue in the brief, ICANN states that domain monetization is a problem that is causing some domain names currently being used for PPC to be used in a way which may be a problem for some internet users. According to the paper Domain Monetization . . .

has also raised questions about whether “good names” are being used solely to create paid links and PPC revenue, rather than enable new users to create an online identity or substantive content.

This is often an argument cited by critics of domain monetization or domain parking. These critics (who likely do not have a good domain name or have a desire for a good domain name) feel that domain monetization robs them of domain names they could ‘put to use in a better way’ or as ICANN puts it with “substantive content”. In this scenario everyone who isn’t using a domain that I want is squatting the domain name. We wonder who is going to be the decision maker on any future policy of what is and is not “substantive content” or an “online identity” or who deserves a domain name and who doesn’t. It is not Domain Name News’ belief that this falls in to the mandate of ICANN and we feel they are treading further in to uncharted territory.  Additionally, there are plenty of alternative extensions available, and more to come. It’s likely that these “good domains” they are referring to are the more coveted .com domain names, so maybe this “problem” is already being addressed by the release of more extensions.

We believe that the intentions of this paper should have been to address the problems of domain tasting. As it is clear by a statement near the end of the paper that ICANN is more focused on tasting :

The practices of using parking and PPC to monetize domain names have not to date generated the same concerns as tasting.

The reasons for referencing domain monetization in this brief as if it were a problem is not clear, but it doesn’t read as a mistake. We see no good in labeling domain monetization as if it were a problem and wonder what else ICANN believes regarding domain monetization. The good that can be seen in this brief is that ICANN is making steps to do something about the tasting problems. The bad is that they’ve lumped all registrants and anyone monetizing a domain name in to the same basket. Let’s just hope that sensible minds come together in this “bottom-up, consensus based, policy making community” and not throw the baby out with the bath water.

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Original post by Adam Strong

Image via Wikipedia

Under the light of the recent de-accreditations for registrars Bestregistrar.com and DotForce, where ICANN is looking for a new home for it’s 5,800 registrants, a proposal for an Interim Terminated Registrar Transition Procedure has now been published for comments.

The process seeks to eliminate the involvement of the registrar that is being de-accredited and identify ICANN’s power & responsibilities.

This draft/interim process is currently being used by ICANN staff in facilitating the transition of registrations from two recently de-accredited registrars. It was developed from learning by staff in previous registrar de-accreditations (including both voluntary and involuntary terminations) and with input provided by the community at the Registrar Termination workshop hosted in Delhi, India at the February 2008 ICANN meeting. (Transcript, presentation slides, and summary of participant comments) Through the workshop in Delhi, community members provided several well-considered ideas for addressing particular scenarios that could be encountered upon the de-accreditation of a registrar. Although many of suggestions have been incorporated into this draft/interim procedure, some of the suggestions are not currently implementable due to existing policy limitations or a need for further development of long-term solutions. It is anticipated that, after this procedure has been finalized and approved, it will be periodically reevaluated and adapted as warranted by ICANN’s experience with its use.

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Original post by Frank Michlick

Note: I’ve been on vacation, so this might be old news to some people.

A recent article at GulfNews.com talked about new TLDs and positioned domaining in a negative light. As in past mainstream media coverage, legitimate domain owners weren’t called cybersquatters this time around. Instead, domaining was singled out and defined in the article, and using quotes and info gathered from Paul Twomey, CEO of ICANN, the article implied that domaining was part of an overall problem with rolling out new TLDs. The quote from the article that upset domainers was :

While many would welcome the ability to have domain names in their native languages, there is a number of downsides, Twomey said, including cyber-squatting, typo-squatting and domaining.

DomainBits covered the story early on and spoke with ICANN reps who then provided a response from Twomey :

In no way did I say or suggest that domainers were a negative force in any way and certainly did not refer to them as “a downside.”

Enter Jothan Frakes. Frakes apparently knows the reporter at Gulf News and was able to provide him with more details and a better understanding of the domain space. Thanks to his “ambassador” work, a follow-up article came. Prepare for Battle Over Domain Names, included more information about domaining and what it entails and addressed the issue of how the good gets mixed with the bad.

Interestingly, the reporter still claims Twomey portrayed domaining negatively :

Twomey has since said he said nothing negative about domainers. Well, we’re going to have to agree to disagree there, although Paul’s words were not as critical nor as directed as some websites portrayed them.

We all know words can be twisted, things can be misunderstood and quotes taken out of context, yet one has to seriously wonder what really was said by Twomey in that conversation and what the CEO of ICANN really does think about domainers and domaining.

(c) 2008 DomainNameNews.com

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Original post by Adam Strong

Two individuals have filed a complaint in US Federal Court in California accusing ICANN, Registerfly.com and Enom.com of anti-trust activities  [pdf document].  (more…)

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Anti trust, enom, godaddy, ICANN, registerfly, RICO

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Original post by Adam Strong

“Lack of Accountability”, “Malign Oligarchy”, “Regulatory Capture” – these were some of the concerns raised during the ICANN review open meeting held February 28^th at the Department of Commerce (DOC) in Washington, DC. The concerns come as ICANN moves closer to full privatization.

ICANN currently operates under a Joint Project Agreement (JPA) that gives the US Government oversight and some authority over ICANN. The JPA’s three-year term expires in September 2009. The meeting was the part of the DOC’s mid-point review of the JPA to assess ICANN’s performance and readiness for full privatization.

A consistent theme throughout the morning was whether a fully privatized ICANN would be responsive to and accountable to its many stakeholders. Panelists as diverse as representatives from Network Solutions, Yahoo, Nominet, Consumers Union and a copyright association all expressed doubts as to whether the ICANN board is sufficiently accountable to the various groups that are affected by its decisions, and stated their fears that if the ICANN board ever became dominated by a particular interest group little could be done to correct the problem.

The comments came from two five-member panels composed of a mix of business, user, registry, registrar, and international representatives as well as some audience members. Most speakers agreed with the aim of full privatization of ICANN, and complimented ICANN on substantial recent progress especially in the area of transparency. The international representatives expressed their desire for the end of the US Government’s authority over ICANN. But deep concerns about ICANN’s accountability, structure, and its ability to enforce its contracts led the business and user group panelists to say that ICANN was not yet ready to operate without oversight from the US Government, despite assurances from ICANN leadership to the contrary. The consensus of the panelists was that ICANN has a lot of work to do during the remaining 18-months of the JPA if it wants to demonstrate it is ready for full privatization.

The meeting follows a request for comments on ICANN’s performance that generated over 170 submissions from a wide variety of interested parties (though around 70 were identical one page submissions from individuals). Phil Corwin submitted a very detailed critique of ICANN’s performance on behalf of the ICA. A number of other thoughtful responses were submitted, including one in particular by Danny Younger, on behalf of domain registrants.

My personal opinions on the meeting will appear in a separate editorial piece.

Editor’s Note: We’re very pleased to have Nat Cohen join us as a contributor. Nat was able to attend the recent meetings in Washington discussing the ICANN JPA.

Nat Cohen is the founder and President of Telepathy, Inc. and StateVentures, LLC. Telepathy holds an extensive domain portfolio with a focus on brandable, generic domains. StateVentures owns and develops a portfolio of geo-domains, including several state dot-com domains. Its current development focus includes the OceanCity.com resort guide and the RezEZ online hotel reservation system. Nat lives in Washington, DC with his wife and two daughters.

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DOC, domain law, domain policy, ICANN, JPA, Nat Cohen

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Original post by nat

For those of you who haven’t heard about it already, Sen. Ted Stevens is proposing the Anti-Phishing Consumer Protection Act of 2008 (APCPA), which is also being supported by CADNA. We were first alerted to this topic by Michael Berkens’ post on The Domains. A recent article by Larry Fischer points out these are the reasons why this act is a bad idea:

1. There are already laws against Phishing.
2. This act makes whois-privacy illegal.
3. The bill would also allow businesses to take over generic domains if they match their business name.

[via The Domains, Direct Navigation, CNET]

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Original post by Frank Michlick

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will be holding a public meeting to address ICANN’s performance under the current Joint Project Agreement (JPA) on February 28, 2008 at the Department of Commerce building in Washington, DC.

Twelve days ago ICANN stated that they want independence from US Government control, arguing that there is no longer a need for the JPA as the terms have been “fundamentally achieved”, according to Paul Twomey, President of ICANN.

With the meeting later this month, ICANN is hoping to move beyond government control with the belief that they can continue to improve independently.

While the US Government will still have input on matters if ICANN gets their way, they will no longer be able to dictate their agenda on ICANN, the overseer of the internet’s addressing system.

For more information about the meeting and details about how you can attend, please visit the NTIA website. The meeting will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Admittance is on a first-come, first-served registration basis.

(c) 2008 DomainNameNews.com

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ICANN, ICANN / Policy

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Original post by Chad Kettner

ICANN, the overseer of the internet’s addressing system, has made a plea to the US government to be freed from official control.

In a lengthy report that was sent to the US Department of Commerce, ICANN argued that the objectives that were put in place by the US government to earn independence have been met faster than expected and that it is time to focus on the future.

The report has set up a meeting to discuss the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) between ICANN and the US government and see how ICANN can move on without the current official oversight.

“The board proposes that the JPA is no longer necessary and can be concluded,” wrote Peter Dengate Thrush, the chairman of the ICANN board.

Paul Twomey, president of ICANN, added that “the JPA has been fundamentally achieved and what’s more important is for the Department of Commerce and ICANN to talk about what the next stage looks like.”

Twomey also emphasized that it was important for governments to still have a role in matters, but not be able to have any control over the registry’s development.

ICANN will meet with the US Departnment of Commerce in March, 2008. If you’d like your views to be known, then you have until February 14 to contact the US Government.

For more information, head over to BBC News.

[via CircleID]

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ICANN / Policy

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Original post by Chad Kettner

ICANN is seeking expressions of interest from auction design experts.

[From their announcement] ICANN has identified several areas where auctions might be an appropriate tool, such as the efficient disposition of data from terminated registrars and registries, the allocation of single-character second-level domain names, and perhaps, resolution of contention between competing commercial applicants for identical strings in the application process for new generic Top Level Domains. […]

This does not necessarily mean that ICANN has decided to formally proceed with auctions or that auctions will occur any time soon. At this point, ICANN is seeking expertise to further work in this area. However, ICANN is hoping to select a qualified entity or entities to assist with auctions in 2008.

[via ICANN Blog]

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ICANN / Policy

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Original post by Frank Michlick

Iron Mountain Inc announced in a press release today that it’s technology division has been chosen by ICANN as the data escrow back-up for the over 900 ICANN accredited registrars.

“The vast majority of ICANN’s accredited registrars offer high levels of service and integrity; however, as we have seen, there is the risk that poorly performing registrars can hurt registrants significantly,” said Dr. Paul Twomey, President and CEO of ICANN. “ICANN has selected Iron Mountain Digital as its escrow agent to help implement the Registrar Data Escrow program, a sensible and practical measure to protect registrants by storing and safeguarding a backup copy of domain name registration data in escrow.”

Data escrowing can be used in any number of situations such as a registrar losing accreditation, failing, going out of business, etc. Data escrowing is required by every registrar as part of the terms of accreditation. The former registrar RegisterFly.com implosion showed the importance of having back-up information. As the company management dealt with internal conflicts, many domain registrants were left in the dark about the future of their domains. ICANN has been working to implement safeguards and measures to prevent any possible future issues with registrar related problems.

data escrow, ICANN, ICANN / Policy, iron mountain, registrars, whois

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Original post by Adam Strong