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

[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Price Caps Should NOT Be Removed From .ORG gTLD Renewal
by Ben Franske April 24, 2019

April 24, 2019

I do not support the removal of the price cap provisions from the renewal of the .org gTLD agreement. These provisions which limited the price of registrations and allowable price increases for registrations, are important to allowing small organizations, especially non-profit charity organizations to exist on the Internet. Many of these organizations have long-held .org domain names and a substantial percentage of their meager funding is tied to donors being able to find them via those domains. The massive potential price increases (as opposed to the moderate ones that are already possible) would prohibit smaller organizations and personal projects from having a place on the Internet. Let me be clear, there is no inherent 'worth' to domain names and no registry 'deserves' to profit from the sale of domain names. These are in infinite supply and simply a ledger entry. They are not a product where the registry provides any innovation nor are they a product which costs any substantial amount of money to produce. The costs of domain registration must ONLY cover the costs of administering said registry which are very minor costs given the automation level possible. While I understand that legacy gTLD providers are upset that they are limited in what they can charge when newer TLD providers are not they do have a distinct advantage of being more recognizable and are thus more than making up for it in volume. The greed of gTLD providers should not be a reason to allow unreasonable price increases. If a legacy gTLD provider does not feel they can cover their costs in a price-capped arrangement we should instead seek out a new provider for the gTLD. I'm certain that there are many organizations who would be more than happy to take over the oversight of these legacy gTLDs while still agreeing to the price caps. Indeed I would support a reverse-auction of qualified bidders for all legacy gTLDs where the winner would be the organization which would guarantee the lowest price for registrations. THIS competition would best serve the users of the Internet, not the opposite which is to remove price caps. Let me quote from an excellent article on this subject which well explains why competition is a false idea in this marketplace -- <http://www.circleid.com/posts/20190423_spurious_justifications_for_eliminat…> : "If price caps are eliminated, competition will not keep prices in check. Competition is effective in restraining prices only if registrants can easily switch one domain name for another. An organization's domain name becomes its online brand for the life of the organization. Moving to another domain name requires undergoing the hugely expensive and disruptive ordeal of rebranding and is to be avoided at nearly any cost. Organizations wish to continue using their existing domain name, for which there is no adequate substitute. When there is a unique product that cannot be easily substituted for any other, there is no effective competition. In the absence of competition, registrants can be protected from extortionate pricing only through pricing constraints, such as price caps. ICANN as the trustee for the legacy name spaces has the responsibility of an owner" Sincerely, Dr. Benjamin Franske

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Commentary Regarding changes to price caps regarding the .org domain
by Daniel, Steven W [US] (MS) (Contr) April 24, 2019

April 24, 2019

Simply stated, this is just a bad idea. Most organizations that are .org are capital limited. This just opens the door for nefarious greed on the part of the suppliers and hardship on the consumers. If funds were being lost due to current pricing, I can see a case for raise the price caps. This, however, simply opens Pandora's Box for the internet community and is detrimental to the spirit, if not the actual usage of the internet. V/r, Steven Daniel

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Icahn proposed fee increase for .org domains
by Brian Kawczenski April 24, 2019

April 24, 2019

I completely disagree with the proposed fee limit removal. My church is a non profit on a limited budget. What domain name can I use that does not "shake down" the subscriber. I would like to see what the fee increase is used for... Since ICANN is responsible to no one. How are we assured that the fee is not going to be used for other purposes then naming rights. Brian Kawczenski

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Changing the .org price cap
by Bruce April 24, 2019

April 24, 2019

Regarding … *Pricing for Domain Name Registrations and Registry Services (Section 2.10 of the .org renewal agreement):* In alignment with the base registry agreement, the price cap provisions in the current .org agreement, which limited the price of registrations and allowable price increases for registrations, are removed from the .org renewal agreement. This change impacts most non-profits directly. A significant number of non-profits operation on a shoestring where every dollar counts. Allowing uncontrolled price increases of .org domain registration could potentially impact a non-profit's ability to have a website. Please do not remove the price cap provision. Regards, Bruce Skidmore Treasurer Beersheba Springs Medical Clinic

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Monopoly pricing for .org
by SMTB 1963 April 24, 2019

April 24, 2019

So the sole provider of a public resource should be able to charge whatever price it wants for said resource? What could possibly go wrong? Seems like I learned about this 35 years ago when I took Econ 101. Bad idea that is not in the public interest. Shame on you for proposing it. Stan Blanchard

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Removing .org Renewal Fee Cap Is A Bad Idea
by Kreigh Tomaszewski April 24, 2019

April 24, 2019

I am the president of the Indian Mounds Rock and Mineral Club, an educational non-profit organization supporting the Earth Sciences and the hobby of Rockhounding. Our annual budget is under $10,000. Our website is one of our main communication methods. Allowing fees to climb without restraint will put unnecessary stress on all non-profits. Registrars should be able to work within a 10% fee cap as they service the non-profit .org domain. Kreigh Tomaszewski President, Indian Mounds Rock and Mineral Club 653 Burton St. S.E. Grand Rapids, MI 49507 616-243-5851

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Pricing for Domain Name Registrations and Registry Services (Section 2.10 of the .org renewal agreement)
by Administrator April 24, 2019

April 24, 2019

Simply put: Price caps should remain in place and not removed from the agreement. While other commenters have listed a number of excellent arguments in favor of this position, I would like to add one more. Allowing price increases (at all, but certainly any beyond 10% per annum) encourages mismanagement and self-serving motives. As technology improves and deployment scales, in any similar application - costs and prices decrease. Only in a monopolistic enterprises do price increases prevail. Therefore it is imperative that restraints be placed on the monopoly to not only encourage put require good behavior. W.L. "Bud" Nail PRCUA IT Administrator 100 Street A Suite B Picayune MS 39466 Vx: 601-799-2403 Fx: 603-297-2372 TXT: 601-799-6998 admin(a)prc-ua.org

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] .org pricing cap shoudl not be removed
by remi＠machet.us April 24, 2019

April 24, 2019

Hello, I am contacting you to urge you not to make a change to the pricing agreement for .org domains. These domains are intended for non-profit organizations which are more sensitive to cost increases and here for the good of mankind, thus it make sense to control pricing and not offer the same capitalistic approach used for other domains pricing. Kind regards, Remi Machet 264 Andover Street Andover, MA 01810

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] .org gTLD pricing
by rpyne April 24, 2019

April 24, 2019

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!

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[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Do not remove fee increase cap.
by Wilson Michaels April 24, 2019

April 24, 2019

The .org registry is used by a lot of non-profit organizations supported by donations. Most of the donation is used for public good. Increasing the fee for their domain reduces the good that they can provide. The cost of maintaining a registry entry is very low. ,org domains are usually held for a log time by the non-profit and do not require much support from the registrar. The cap should be close to inflation rate. Unlimited is not reasonable. Wilson Michaels

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