April 2019 - comments-org-renewal-18mar19@icann.org

[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Domain pricing
by Reuben Irving April 25, 2019

April 25, 2019

I oppose the removal of the pricing cap on .org domains. I use this TLD with several organisations in order to identify them as non-commercial. Significant increases in domain registration costs would make their continued use unviable in many cases. The availability of universally recognisable and affordable domains is fundamental to a free and open, democratic internet. The original TLDs are in a different category to the newly released ones. The option for uncapped vanity or marketing domains exists, the option for universal utility domains should also continue to exist. Reuben

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Please stop possible increase in .org pricing
by Margy Crosby April 25, 2019

April 25, 2019

We are a young non-profit organization and barely make ends meet for our six concert Chamber music series in Seattle. We have four .org domain names to make sure that our audience and potential audience finds us. Any increase over the currently allowed 10% a year (already a stretch because our audience numbers and donations do not increase 10% a year) will severely hinder our ability to develop our audience which is the key to our increased donations. We all need to make and have enough money to stay in business. I am not averse to covering costs of running the service but I do not have excess money in my budget to cover a financial hit like this could be. To say nothing of feeling financially "gouged". We charge fairly for our tickets and believe that is the way non-profit organizations should run. Please be aware of the potential disastrous results if the price for .org domain names are no longer capped. So think long and hard about the purpose of the .org and how important this domain name type is before making any changes. Thank you. -- Margy Crosby, General Manager Byron Schenkman & Friends Office: 206-276-5490 www.byron andfriends.org <http://www.byronschenkman.com/> "wide-ranging and imaginatively conceived concert series" -- Melinda Bargreen, The Seattle Times To purchase a CD from BS&F Recordings, please click here <https://store.cdbaby.com/Search/IkJ5cm9uIFNjaGVua21hbiI%3d/0>.

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Please rethink your overall strategy - service vs market TLD's
by Pete Holzmann April 25, 2019

April 25, 2019

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Does this allow PIR to set a price per domain?
by Russell Jamison April 25, 2019

April 25, 2019

There needs to be some restriction in place to keep them from charging more for one domain vs another domain. Otherwise, you would essentially be allowing Public Interest Registry to blackmail individual sites into paying a lot of money for them to keep their domain name. This is bad because - Blackmail is unethical - Business owners would receive a lot of stress from knowing that if their site becomes popular they could end up having to pay a lot of money - A lot of .org business are charities or blogs who may receive a lot of traffic to their site, which could make them a more likely target for being made to pay more, yet they're not making much money from their website. So if you move forwards with allowing the price to be increased, please make sure you add in a restriction that ensures that whatever the price PIR sets, it is uniform across the board for all domain owners. PS, you might also want to consider requiring them to give notice x number of months before they make any price increases happen. That would allow the public to have a chance to move their website elsewhere if the price increase is too much for them. -- Russell Jamison ------------------------------

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] De-Regulation of legacy gTLDs
by Zachary Schimke April 25, 2019

April 25, 2019

As a domain name registrant, I am very upset that ICANN would even consider removing price protections from legacy gTLDs such as .org in what can only be described as catering to the for-profit registries. Legacy gTLDs are fundamentally different from the new vanity/for-profit gTLDs. They are a public trust, unlike these new gTLDs which were created by private interests. Registrants of legacy TLDs are entitled to price stability and predictability, and should not be subject to large price fluctuations. Take for example the .org TLD, it is one of the most widely used and recognized TLDs. Used most commonly by non-profit organizations who are the most vulnerable to the loss of price caps. If these caps are removed, registration and renewal of these domains may become uneconomical, forcing many important organizations to change their addresses and threatening the prominence of .org. Allowing the sole registry operator (PIR) to set their own prices without adequate oversight would, in essence, allow them to directly line their pockets. As others have done, I'll post some quotes from ICANN's own website: "ICANN is a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with participants from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable." ICANN is supposed to operate for the public benefit. While this change might be beneficial for a small few, it would certainly not be for a majority of these gTLD domain registrants. There are no protections for them. There is no "public benefit" justification to these changes. It is just a handout to business at the expense of registrants’ rights and protections. Do not allow this to happen. Protect legacy gTLDs from corporate greed and keep our protections in place. Respectfully, Zach Schimke

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Proposed Renewal of .org Registry Agreement
by Kathryn Keen April 25, 2019

April 25, 2019

I am a .org registrant. We are a registered, legally defined non-profit organisation. As such, we do voluntary community services at no cost to the community, & no profit to ourselves. We therefore run on a very tight budget. Removing price caps for .org domains will destroy many non-profit organisations. Legacy gTLDs are fundamentally different from for-profit new gTLDs and should be treated that way. Legacy TLDs are what the internet was built on. They are essentially a public trust. They are very different than new gTLDs which were created, bought and paid for by private parties. Registrants of these legacy extensions should be entitled to price predictability & stability. Advancements in technology should be driving the cost of operating a registry down, yet prices keep going up? Removing price caps is unfair to the millions of domain registrants. They will have no price protections. Every registrant will be at the complete mercy and whims of the registry. This could result in a transfer of funds from millions of non-profits to one non-profit, with no benefits to the domain registrants. ICANN is supposed to represent a "bottom up, consensus-driven multistakeholder model". ICANN should not unilaterally impose URS in legacy TLDs when that issue is precisely what is being examined by the volunteer ICANN Working Group who has been mandated to review this issue. ICANN should be looking out for the .org registrants, in particular the non-profits. There is no "public benefit" justification to these changes. It is just a handout to business at the expense of registrants’ rights and protections. Where are the protections for the millions of domain registrants that this could effect in a negative way? These changes would give way too much power to the registry. This is not acceptable for a "public benefit" organization that exists to represent many stakeholders. Sincerely, Kathryn Keen President of Australian Wildlife Carer's Network Incorporated

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] .org already too expensive
by Broker April 25, 2019

April 25, 2019

.org is already too expensive. They should not do a price increase. Far less value in ranking or recognition than .com, and yet they want to be even more expensive? Clueless. Tasha Kidd Email: broker(a)CorporationDomains.com Cell: 765-426-2202 Skype: tasha.kidd Twitter: @CorporationDom CorporationDomains.com <http://corporationdomains.com/> is an emerging site currently in stealth mode, but with over 20 years experience quietly helping corporations obtain premium domains to leverage to their brand, and well over 30 years in corporate consulting for broader strategies.

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] New .ORG Registry Agreement
by G Carlson for One Act April 25, 2019

April 25, 2019

The new agreement between ICANN and PIR should continue to include reasonable pricing controls. The new agreement should not omit such controls and leave one single organization with complete freedom from oversight to establish baseline pricing that could significantly impact domain fees for many small non-profit organizations such as ours.Thank you for the opportunity to comment.oneact.org ============================Glenn Carlson ./. DirectorOne Act Audio Theatre One Act on Facebook | | | | One Act: Welcome to ONE ACT Audio Theatre | | |

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Do not remove price caps on .org domains
by Arokis Center of Music Society April 25, 2019

April 25, 2019

I understand that ICANN is proposing the removal of price caps on what PIR will be able to charge for renewal of .org domains. The organization to which I belong is a registered non-profit charity. Our domain is an essential part of our identity and our ability to engage our members and raise money for our operations. We are granted non-profit charitable status because we bring a much needed benefit to the music and arts community. A significant increase in the price of our domain would diminish our ability to offer these benefits and threaten our survival. Please reconsider this proposal and maintain the current practice of setting price caps on domain renewals. Thank you, Jerry Silver AROKIS Centre of Music Society arokismusic.org

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Against new proposal
by Nijat April 25, 2019

April 25, 2019

Hello, I believe that there should be reasonable limits on what one can charge for a domain. As technology improves it becames cheaper to provide technical support, so a high price increases can not be justified. Best regards, Nijat.

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