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

[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Proposed .org registration rate increase
by Susan Cornforth April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

I would like to quote a fellow commenter: Unrestrained price increases on the millions of .org registrants who are not-for-profits or non-profits would be unfair to them. Unchecked price increases have the potential to result in hundreds of millions of dollars being transferred from these organizations to one non-profit, the Internet Society, with .org registrants receiving no benefit in return. ICANN should not allow one non-profit nearly unlimited access to the funds of other non-profits. In addition, this cost would be borne by non-profit organizations without regard to size, income, or budget, placing a much higher burden of cost on small organizations, who can afford it the least. Along with being highly unfair, the policy is likely to force these smaller, lower-budget organizations away from the Internet, denying them access to the single most important fundraising and networking tool in the modern world. This effect, while likely unintentional on the part of ICANN, would have catastrophic consequences for the non-profit industry, changing the entire shape and face of charitable organizations’ engagement with the public. Susan Cornforth US Operations Manager Self-Help International Waverly, IA, USA 319-352-4040

1 0

[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] extend the contract for PIR for .org domains
by Origami Guru / ＠theTechRebel April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

Please do not extend the contract for these guys to freely charge whatever they want for .org domain names. Allowing this form of capitalist monopoly on TLDs affects a lot of us small business owners, libraries, academic institutions, non-profits and personal blogs and websites and the web at large. This makes it difficult for us to keep costs of running our internet businesses down as the domain is literally an unavoidable fixed cost. Good domains are expensive as it is. DO not let what’s left for us to also be beyond what we can afford because this will bring down and affect a lot of us. Sent from Mail for Windows 10

1 0

[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] please do not remove the 10% increase on the .org domain names
by Andy Barnes April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

As a employee of a company who makes products for the charitable sector this would be awful and would directly impact the number of people in the charitable sector we would be able to assist in creating an internet prescence.

1 0

[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Proposed Renewal of .org Registry Agreement
by Jesús Alejandro Marín Calzada April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

I am a .org registrant. ICANN does not seem to recognize the difference between a legacy extension created with the support of the US government, that predates the existence of ICANN and that has millions of existing users and the brand new extensions that started off with a new set of rules, in particular no price controls, and no existing registrants. They have completely different characteristics, history, and ownership structure. It is not acceptable for ICANN to ignore these differences and to propose that they be treated the same. Removing price caps is not fair to .org domain owners. Many of them have websites that they have used for years. If price caps are removed, the cost to renew their domain names may become too expensive, and they could be forced to give up websites that are important to them. ICANN should be doing more to protect owners of .org domain names. Why is ICANN trying to remove price protections for .org domain owners, so many of which are non-profits, so that they can be overcharged for their domain names?

1 0

[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] org domain price increase
by Larry Nelson April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

.org domains should retain their present price cap structure. Removal of a cap will open the domains to the potential of price gouging increases. The .org registrar has a monopoly and present .org agencies will have no option but to pay if the registrar chooses to exercise monopoly power. Practically by definition, .org registrations are not-for-profits with limited financial resources. Do not alter .org policies. Larry Nelson Volunteer board member: helplineww.org, nwumf.org Program volunteer for: wwymca.org, bmlt.org, fwwm.org

1 0

[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Public Comment on Proposed Renewal of .org Registry Agreement
by Adam Raczkowski April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

Hi, As an owner of a .org domain, I am reaching out to provide my comments on the Proposed Renewal of .org Registry Agreement. I am most concerned with removing the price cap provisions. Without this provision, the price of a .org domain can increase from year to year without bound. The effect of this is that owners of .org domains, including many charities, might no longer be able to afford the price increase and lose domains they have owned for many years, or they may have to divert funds from their core charitable missions to cover this increased cost. I believe the current price cap of 10% is fair. A 10% annual increase is much larger than inflation (~2.5%). The operating costs for maintaining the .org registry should be minimal and very much in line with inflation. As a steward of one of the original TLDs, Public Interest Registry should strive to keep the price of .org domains to within their costs plus a reasonable profit margin. A price cap in the agreement would ensure .org domains are fair and open to all, the same kind of principles that have guided the internet since its beginnings. Thanks, Adam Raczkowski

1 0

[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] DO NOT REMOVE price caps on the new registry agreement
by Paul Takeuchi April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

I am a .org registrant. I am totally against eliminating the cap on the annual rate of increase for domain registration fees. Frankly, I was shocked that even 10% was allowed, but it certainly should never be more than that. For the internet to remain open and fully accessible, ICANN must make sure that predatory pricing is never allowed. With advancements in internet hardware and software, the registration of domain names should remain a cheap commodity.

1 0

[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Please keep price caps in place
by KBC April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

Removal of price caps on the suggested domains (including but not limited to .org domains) will create instability in a time when creativity is flourishing with internet access. A great portion of the internet will quickly become filled with abandoned domains instead of rich content. In human terms, it will cause hardship to many small businesses and therefore families. Kristen Caven

1 0

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

April 26, 2019

I am a .org registrant (not-for-profit). ICANN staff 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 policy making is supposed to be a ‘bottom up, multi-stakeholder model’. I believe that legacy gTLDs are fundamentally different from for-profit new gTLDs. Legacy TLDs are essentially a public trust, unlike new gTLDs which were created, bought and paid for by private interests. Registrants of legacy TLDs are entitled to price stability and predictability, and should not be subject to price increases with no maximums. Unlike new gTLDs, registrants of legacy TLDs registered their names and made their online presence on legacy TLDs on the basis that price caps would continue to exist. Unrestrained price increases on the millions of .org registrants who are not-for-profits or non-profits would be unfair to them. Unchecked price increases have the potential to result in hundreds of millions of dollars being transferred from these organizations to one non-profit, the Internet Society, with .org registrants receiving no benefit in return. ICANN should not allow one non-profit nearly unlimited access to the funds of other non-profits. ICANN appears to be entirely catering to registries by removing price caps. ICANN should stand up for the public interest and registrants!

1 0

[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Proposed Renewal of .org Registry Agreement
by Srikanth P.K April 26, 2019

April 26, 2019

I am a .org 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. Please don't kill the internet or make it only for the elite few

1 0