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ALAC Draft Resolution on Domain Tasting
by Izumi AIZU March 14, 2007

March 14, 2007

Dear ALAC/RALO/ALS people, At the last ALAC conference call, I volunteered to write some draft resolution for ALAC on Domain Tasting (and Domain monetization). With my limited knowledge, I rather hesitate, but put forward the following as a very crude draft. I owe much part to John Levin's comment (on internal list months ago), who unfortunately left ALAC recently. I hope John still watch this open list and make further contribution, together with all others. I repeat this is very very crude, and I am aware that some porposals may not be readily accepted by you guys, especially in the area of domain monetization. I still feel that the speculation is not for the interest of ordinary users, perhaps OK with Domainers as new and innovative industry. For that, I really like you to come up with clear and convincing ideas and solutions. This draft is just a step stone for that. Thanks, izumi *Draft Resolution on Domain Tasting ICANN AtLarge Advisory Committee (ALAC) V. 0.8 Mar 12 2007* * * On behalf of the ordinary Internet users, AtLarge Advisory Committee (ALAC) would like to propose the following actions to be taken by the ICANN Community on Domain Tasting and Domain Monetization. *To gNSO Council:* Start a Policy Development Process on Domain Tasting. We believe that Domain Tasting is an abuse of existing Five-day Add Grace Period which results confusion for the ordinary Internet users and give unfair treatment to peculiar speculators. We propose to abandon the five day "Add Grace period". *To Registrars Constituency:* Finalize and implement Registrars Code of Conduct that prohibits unfair speculation and exploitation on Domain name registration including the use of five day Add Grace period. *To Registry Constituency:* We request the registries to consider how to avoid user confusion and unfair practices by abolishing the five day add grace period. Adding small fee, such as 25 cents per Domain to those registrants who kept their names using add grace period may be one solution, but we are not fully convinced. *To ICANN Board: *We request ICANN Board to seriously consider how to prohibit unfair speculation, enhance consumer trust to Domain Name registration system, by a) Initiating a third party study on the impact of Domain Tasting and Domain Monetization/speculation to the ordinary Internet users. b) Initiating review of Registry – Registrar Contract that will promote the fair trade and restrict unfair speculation. *Background and Rationale:* Domain tasting uses the five day add grace period to register domains without paying for them. We think they are unfair acts: somewhere between larceny and extortion, because the registration cost is zero and the purpose of these registrations is just to make money taking advantage of automated bulk registration to exploit the domain names which are the public goods in essence. As many people have noted, it's exploiting a loophole that shouldn't be there in the first place. There was a great deal of debate both in the ICANN community and on the ICANN board about the deletion grace period, but none at all about add grace which was apparently tossed into the package by an ICANN staffer without asking anyone. So says Karl Auerbach, who was on the board at the time, and I haven't seen anything to the contrary from any other board member. As Bob Parsons wrote in his blog: *Millions of good .COM domain names – on any given day over 3.5 million and climbing — are unfairly made unavailable to small businesses and others who would actually register and use them in ways for which the names were intended. Many times businesses accidentally let their domain names expire. When they go to renew them, they find they have been snapped up – and taken away with a huge expensive hassle to follow – by an add/drop registrar. * (http://www.bobparsons.com/adddropscheme.html) The usual explanation of domain tasting says that the registrars register millions of domains, watch the traffic, and then after 4.9 days they delete the ones that don't seem likely to make back the US$6.00. Often they just delete them all and then reregister what they can a few minutes later until they find the ones which produce enough traffic that yields well above $6 cost. The add grace period is just a mistake. The problem it purports to solve is not and never was an important one. If you let an important domain expire, you risk losing the entire investment made in that domain over many years. But if one registers a domain by mistake, the most one risks is the ten or twenty dollars you paid to register it. *On Domain Monetization* We note that there is a meaningful difference between domain tasting and domain monetization. Monetization is a straightforward arbitrage between the cost of domain registrations and the revenue from as much pay-per-click traffic as the domain owner can get from people who visit web sites in the domain. It's a fundamentally sleazy business, since the web sites have no useful content and the way they get the traffic is basically by tricking people, either via typos or recently expired domains. We do not think it is appropriate in this case to make ICANN as a regulator to watch and prohibit the Domain monetization practice. Instead, we like to ask those commercial activities such as Google or Overture to stop paying for clicks on pages with no content, thereby dealing with a problem that is not limited to typo and expired domains. We've seen click arbitrage, people buying Google ads to drive traffic to pages that are simply other Google ads. This kind of self-generating traffic for pay-per-click advertising is confusing and unnecessary for ordinary Internet users and , in the long run, not healthy for the development of Internet as a whole. END

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Re: [APAC-Discuss] Nomination for APRALO
by Nick Ashton-Hart March 11, 2007

March 11, 2007

Done :) On 10/03/07, David Chen <david(a)twnic.net.tw> wrote: > > Hi Nick, > > Could you please move Dr. Ruay-Shiung Chang to run for a nominated > candidate of 2 years term of the representative of ALAC . We are sorry that > the perious mail was not clear. Thanks very much! > > Best Regards, > David Chen > ISOC-TW > > YMYehCSIE wrote: > > Dear All: > > > As the representative of ISOC-TW, as mentioned in Bali, we are looking to > contribute our service for APRALO. > > Here we would like to nominate our member Dr. Ruay-Shiung Chang to run for > the representative of ALAC. > > > > Attached you will find the resume of Dr. Ruay-Shiung Chang > > > > Sincerely yours, > > > > Yaoming Yeh > > ISOC-TW > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > APAC-Discuss mailing list > APAC-Discuss@atlarge-lists.icann.orghttp://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/apac-discuss_atlarge-lists.icann.org > > > -- -- 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(a)hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart(a)mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart

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Geographic Regions Review
by Nick Ashton-Hart March 11, 2007

March 11, 2007

Dear Community: The following presentation from the Sao Paulo meeting may be useful, especially for those who are new to ICANN. It discusses why the current review of Geographic Regions in ICANN is important and what the regions are used for. I hope you find it helpful. -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart Director, At-Large ICANN PO Box 32160 London N4 2XY United Kingdom Main Tel: +44 (20) 8800-1011] USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +44 (20) 7681-3135 mobile: +44 (7774) 932798 email: nick.ashton-hart(a)icann.org Win IM: ashtonhart(a)hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart(a)mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart

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Re: [APAC-Discuss] [At-Large] ICANN IDN Laboratory test results online
by Siavash Shahshahani March 11, 2007

March 11, 2007

> Hong Xue ha scritto: >> >> Dear At-Large Community >> >> The positive IDN Laboratory test results that have just been posted on >> www.icann.org <http://www.icann.org/> - see directly at: >> >> http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-4-07mar07.htm >> >> It concludes that "during these tests, we were unable to detect any >> deviation at all in any part of the system from the normal behaviour of >> DNS systems. The addition of IDN strings seems to have had no measurable >> effect at all on the qualitative performance of the test systems. " >> >> These positive results will enable ICANN to move forward with the test >> of phase II. Phase II is currently under development but will be >> communicated as soon as possible. > > This is really a good development... I really hope that we can have full > deployment of IDNs as soon as possible. It is very important for many > parts of the world! > -- > vb. Vittorio Bertola - vb [a] bertola.eu <-------- > --------> finally with a new website at http://bertola.eu/ <-------- > > _______________________________________________ > ALAC mailing list > ALAC(a)atlarge-lists.icann.org > http://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/alac_atlarge-lists.icann.org > > www.alac.icann.org > www.icannalac.org > Could somebody describe a possible 'failure scenario' for the tests? Siavash

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An Introduction to Prof. Chang for APRALO election
by David Chen March 10, 2007

March 10, 2007

Dear all, Greeting! On behalf of ISOC Taiwan, Chair of Board, Prof. C.L. Liu, I would like to introduce a candidate from ISOC Taiwan in APRALO election, Prof. Ruay-Shiung Chang, who has deeply involved in ISOC activities with his knowledge, and best efforts. Prof. Chang is a senior member of IEEE, a member of ACM and a member of Japan's IEICE. From May 2004, he also serves on the Advisory Council for the www.pir.org, which manages the .ORG top-level domain name and maintains the database of all .ORG Internet addresses. In the Advisory council, Prof. Chang is in the Policy Committee, which proposes suggestions and solutions for various policy issues regarding the management of .org domain names in particular and the Internet in general. Prof. Chang also preaches the use, the freedom, and the democratization of the Internet in Taiwan. He has published numerous articles in Taiwanese newspapers about the Internet. According to http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm, Asia now has the largest number of Internet users at 398 millions. But with a population of about 3712 millions, the penetration rate is only 10.7%, far below 69.7% in North America, 53.5 in Oceania, and 38.9% in Europe. Therefore, Dr. Chang believes that one of the main missions for the APRALO is to negotiate more resources for the outreach of Internet in the Asia-Pacific region. If elected, Dr. Chang promises he will do his best to facilitate the better communication and further cooperation between APRALO, ALAC and ICANN. Dr. Chang can be reached at rschang(a)mail.ndhu.edu.tw for further questions and suggestions. Please find the attached for Prof. Chang's Resume, I thank you again for your continuous supports. Best Regards, David Chen ISOC-TW

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Nomination for APRALO
by YMYehCSIE March 9, 2007

March 9, 2007

Dear All: As the representative of ISOC-TW, as mentioned in Bali, we are looking to contribute our service for APRALO. Here we would like to nominate our member Dr. Ruay-Shiung Chang to run for the representative of ALAC. Attached you will find the resume of Dr. Ruay-Shiung Chang Sincerely yours, Yaoming Yeh ISOC-TW

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For election
by Izumi AIZU March 9, 2007

March 9, 2007

Dear all, It was so nice to have very productive meeting last week in Bali. I thank you all for your great contribution and collaboration. Now, after thinking several times and also consulted with my colleagues, I would like to submit my intention to become candidates for the following position: ALAC representative from AP region. My idea is that in order to preserve some contintuity, given that Hong is not going to run and Siavash will be endig his term at the next ICANN AGM in November, I would like to serve for the position. My intention is to be selected as the shorter, one-year term (max), and aim to make as smooth transition as possible. There are several subject matters ALAC must respond to rather quickly, on the table now: Domain tasting, Registerfly, whois, IDN, new gTLD Ombudsman Report, gNSO Review/LSE Recommendation and coming ALAC External Review I am particularly interested in the area of Domain tasing, Ombudsman, gNSO review and ALAC review. Global ALAC itself is also facing the rapid transition, as new RALOs are coming up from LAC to EU to Africa, making some stability is important. Besides above policy issues, many other issues and topics will arise as ICANN enters into new fiscal year from July: ALAC/ICANN budget, IGF, GAC-ICANN relation, Stratgic Planning/Operation Plan, Board Review, etc. I am more than happy if other colleagues have strong interest for ALAC and pursue these policy issues, but frankly speaking some of them are rather complex and may require some period to get accuanted where my knowldge and experience on ALAC for such long years may help ;-). I thank you very much for your warm support and understandings and looking forward to the conference call to facilitate our mutual consensus. izumi

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[At-Large] ICANN IDN Laboratory test results online
by Hong Xue March 8, 2007

March 8, 2007

Dear At-Large Community The positive IDN Laboratory test results that have just been posted on www.icann.org - see directly at: http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-4-07mar07.htm It concludes that "during these tests, we were unable to detect any deviation at all in any part of the system from the normal behaviour of DNS systems. The addition of IDN strings seems to have had no measurable effect at all on the qualitative performance of the test systems." These positive results will enable ICANN to move forward with the test of phase II. Phase II is currently under development but will be communicated as soon as possible. Hong ALAC IDN Liaison

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ICANN-related News Items
by ICANN At Large Staff March 8, 2007

March 8, 2007

I thought many of you would be interested in one or more of these news snippets: 1. ICANN locks down at-risk Registerfly domains ICANN planned to sue Registerfly.com on 6 March according to Computer Business Review Online, “saying the company is putting its customers' estimated 2 million domain names at risk.” The article notes “in an unprecedented move, ICANN has persuaded the four major generic top- level domain registries to lock down all Registerfly's customers' domains for a month, so they cannot expire and then be hijacked by speculators or domain traffic monetization firms.” With a letter to Registerfly last Friday from ICANN noting “Registerfly is refusing to hand over data about its customers' domains, as required by its registrar accreditation agreement, and that it will enforce the contract in court by filing suit on Tuesday.” The article also notes that as ICANN has not been able to get its hands on the registration data, they have got VeriSign, NeuStar and Afilias “to lock all pending-expiration Registerfly domains into a ‘Server-Delete- Prohibited’ status.” http://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=80D83445-B5D5-47BC- B74D-D70EA124D72B 2. When Domain Names Bite Back This story on The Motley Fool gives a background on the RegisterFly “debacle” from an investor’s point of view, looking back as far as the dot-com crash where VeriSign's Network Solutions and Register.com were Wall Street darlings”. The article claims “Before the debacle at Registerfly, the industry was coming back into favour” with investors with GoDaddy looking at going public this year. The article concludes “The Registerfly story may still have a happy ending, but the clock on existing annual registrations keeps ticking. Whether the site cleans up its act, is sold off to a rival registrar, or finds ICANN in a more hands-on role, the industry's reputation is at stake. And consumer faith is on the line. In the name of domains, let's hope this nascent industry gets it right.” http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/03/07/when-domain-names- bite-back.aspx 3. Porn Industry Against New XXX Domain The Free Speech Coalition released a news release petitioning for help in opposing the .xxx TLD proposal. The Free Speech Coalition is the adult entertainment industry’s professional organisation. Genelle Belmas, professor of communications law, who argued in her dissertation in favour of a xxx TLD says, “The side that does not like pornography argues that if you give it its own domain you're legitimizing the porn. And the pornographers don't like it because they say it 'ghettoizes' the porn." The Executive Director of the FSC is quoted as saying what the adult industry refers to as "ghettoizing," is "making adult entertainment an easy target for anti- industry extremists and government intrusion." Other concerns are the cost of registering domain names ($60/year/domain) and that the TLD could be made “mandatory and subject to trans-Internet filtering that could effectively eliminate much of the adult content currently available on the Web." http://media.www.dailytitan.com/media/storage/paper861/news/ 2007/03/06/News/Porn-Industry.Against.New.Xxx.Domain-2759677.shtml

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Expressions of interest for leadership positions
by Nick Ashton-Hart March 8, 2007

March 8, 2007

Along with the agenda at the wiki, I've also put in a link to a Google spreadsheet version of the helpful document produced by David Farrar outlining the expressions of interest for the various postions. It can be viewed at: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc? key=pDH-2Ym3VBKfZRCLTNIV4Hw -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart Director, At-Large ICANN PO Box 32160 London N4 2XY United Kingdom Main Tel: +44 (20) 8800-1011] USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +44 (20) 7681-3135 mobile: +44 (7774) 932798 email: nick.ashton-hart(a)icann.org Win IM: ashtonhart(a)hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart(a)mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart

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