Hello all, While those inside the ICANN bubble (myself among them, on occasion) rant and rave about the the rollout and the very nature of the ICANN new gTLD program, most are ignoring the possibility that much of the expansion will simply be .... irrelevant. Consider one more recent example, the move by the city of New York to use QR codes on public notices: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/technology/2012/09/open-data-day-new-york-c... While this is far from a universal act, the city's government has shown that one can reach municipal information easily without knowing _any_ domain name(*). This sends a signal to businesses and others that New Yorkers will be QR-code-savvy, which reduces the need to have easily remembered domain names. More specifically, the .nyc TLD is being undermined before it even launches. Domain names are simply *a* method people use to get to Internet resources. QR codes, URL shorteners, organizational pages on social media sites and especially the various kinds of search engines have enabled Internet users to get around the various problems within the current state of domain names. As public trust in the DNS further declines with an explosion of park pages and defensive registrations, such alternatives will only increase in popularity. It's important to keep this in perspective. As we go through the inevitable fights over Red Cross names, "private" TLDs, registrant accountability, the lack of ccTLD standards, etc, etc, it's useful to remember that Internet users have a unique perspective on the arguments inside the bubble. Anything ICANN does that is spectacularly stupid will be worked around. And if ICANN fails to address the decline in public trust (that the ALAC has been pointing out on a regular basis, on many issues), the public will simply look faster at other paths to what they want from the Internet. (As we hear more comments about the entry of companies such as Amazon and Google into TLD space -- generally decrying their unconventional plans -- I wonder how many consider that these companies are likely more trusted than anyone in the current domain industry. It's no wonder that most of the complaints about the newcomers are coming from those inside the bubble.) - Evan (*) Yes, yes, I know that QR codes require URLs that generally require the DNS as well. However, every QR code on earth - no need an easily remembered domain -- could be serviced within existing TLDs using second and even third level domains.