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

[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Proposed Renewal of .org Registry Agreement
by Jonathan Hult April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

I am a domain name registrant. 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. Jonathan

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Stop this extortion!
by Rebecca Loring April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

It is unthinkable that you would eliminate price caps on .org (or any) TLDs! Most organizations that hold these domains are non-profits and couldn't afford to pay hundreds of times (or more) what they're currently paying. This would create a chaotic free-for-all, since this would happen to other domain extensions, resulting in websites owned only by the few who could afford the exorbitant charges from greedy domain sellers. Please do not allow this to happen. Thank you. --

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] This NOT acceptable!!!
by Dr Ashraf Elsafty April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

This NOT acceptable!!! a 10% increase is enough. Kind Regards, <http://www.ashrafelsafty.com/> Dr. Ashraf Elsafty

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Proposed ".org" Registry Agreement Changes
by Lynn Brinkley April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

To whom it may concern: I work at a nonprofit and very much disagree with the proposal to allow for removing price caps for .org registrants like my own organization. Removing price caps is essentially creating an unstable environment with little to no price stability. Domain names are a product that has experienced few noteworthy innovations, and therefore has not had an inherent increase in its value, other than automation that has actually driven down the overhead costs of administering and running a registry. Conversely, the costs of maintaining a website by the owner continue to rise from this already expensive variety of 21st century overhead, e.g. compliance with various laws about data privacy and accessibility, not just within one's local jurisdictions but enacted from abroad as well. Removing price caps will not foster healthy competition, because many organizations (especially nonprofits) would not be able to afford to switch domain providers. Rather, removing price caps is tantamount to price gouging on a good for which there is no substitute (since the domain name often has been or became the brand of the organization for the lifespan of that organization). Nonprofit organizations in particular could not afford the social costs of moving domains, since online donors would have greater difficulty finding that organization online. Indeed, limiting the prices of, and limiting the allowable price increases for, .org registrations is one of the main contributing factors in allowing small charity/non-profit organizations to have an online presence. By increasing the prices of holding a domain name, all that is done is increase nonprofit organizations' expenses for trying to conduct online fundraising, and at a time when the 2018 federal tax cuts laws have reduced the incentive for charitable individual giving-a double blow. In short, allowing un-capped price increases beyond the standard maximum of 10% per year would effectively force organizations holding .org domains to endure the money-grabbing whims of registries (whose greed could easily go unchecked) and likely place unfair burdens on small organizations, individual projects, and nonprofits without increasing the value of the product for which the registry is charging. 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 nonprofits. 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.

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Please consider the negative impact of removing price cap
by William Tao April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

Dear Sir or Madam, I am an interneter for years since 1999. At present, it is very sweet that we can purchase a top domain name with less than 20 bucks per year. Removing the price cap would impact the internet users in the under-developed area around the world. Each human being has his or her right to speak up on the internet, and setting up a dedicated website is proved to be a very useful and effective approach. But each website needs a domain name! Removing the price caps will negatively influence those people in the under-developed area. Please consider this. Best regards, Bill

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Pricing for .org domains unfairly discriminates against non-for-profits
by Auke Kok April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

To whom it may concern, The proposed changes to pricing for .org domains unfairly discriminates against Open Source projects that largely operate on a no-cost basis where individual developers personally cover the cost of domain name registrations. A large influx of commercial vendors are already taking over .org domains for resale value and therefore diluting the value of .org domains and not increasing it. There is nothing wrong with the current pricing model and market adjustment for .org is out of proportion and without merit. The only logical conclusion I can see is to fill the bank accounts of certain brokers by allowing predatory pricing to become in effect. This benefits none of the domain holders and creates effectively a tax for those who do not have the means to pay. I am astonished this proposal includes the wording and deeply saddened that it has been pushed forward this way. It reaffirms my suspicion that the organization has been run over by special interests and no longer is concerning all its users fairly.

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] My 2 cents on why not
by Alex Seif April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

This issue is obviously larger than my comprehension, however removing the price cap is a bit extreme!!?! If there’s a middle ground? Like instead of 10% it’s 15, 20 or something.. Makes more sense, but completely removing sounds a bit extreme and unexplained Best of luck. Sent from Mail for Windows 10

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Opposition to changes in .org pricing caps
by Don Wright April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

- The existing agreement already allows an annual increase much higher than the historic rate of inflation. ICANN has even decided to operate with a fixed-fee structure that is not indexed as specified in Section 6.1. There is no reasonable risk that costs of operation will explode. - The current registry operator has shown no signs it is in imminent danger of financial collapse due to the capped price. In fact, the current .org registry fee of $9.05 plus the $0.25 ICANN transaction tax exceeds the total retail price of registering and renewing some other TLDs. Either those registry operators are far more efficient than PIR and the operation of .org should be put out for lowest price bid, or the actual costs of operating the .org registry are less than the current price and thus PIR as a registered not-for-profit organization does not need an unlimited price increase provision. - The potential for abuse of the new unrestrained price increase provision puts many worthy non-profit organizations at risk of loss of the trusted identity they have spent years building. This is obviously against the public interest which ICANN and PIR purport to serve. Therefore, the provisions of Section 2.10 of the renewal agreement should be restored to match the existing agreement without change, in order to preserve stability in this special public-interest TLD. Don Wright IT Support and volunteer for several non-profit organizations

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Proposed Renewal of .org Registry Agreement
by Richard Skidmore April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Removal of .org price cap
by Peter Disborough April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

Hello I submit that to remove the price cap on .org domains would result in a price increase and that this would be a breach of faith by ICANN. Registrants have, in good faith, entered into a contract on the basis of the cost offered and have investet much time, effort and money in processes which rely on the continued use of the relevant .org domain. To impose a cost increase without background cost drivers is monopolistic behavoir and would be open to challenge on that basis. Peter

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