I am a domain name registrant, including names within .org
Pricing for Domain Name Registrations and Registry Services (Section 2.10 of the .org renewal agreement):
While the stated aim of removing price caps appears to be to treat the Registry Operator "equitably with registry operators of new gTLDs" the reality is that the two are not the same. The Registry Operator of .org (and, for that matter .com etc) have the advantage of having an extremely large existing, captive audience, along with a well-known and memorable TLD. Legacy TLDs are fundamentally different to the new gTLDs. With gTLDs the approach of both ICANN and the Registry's has changed dramatically, but registrants of legacy TLDs expect (and I would argue are entitled to) stability in both price and approach. Although it seems an incredibly limited attempt has been made in regard to existing registrants, a quick reading of the terms suggests that existing registrants can still expect to see potentially large increases come renewal time. In many cases, those existing registrants are a captive audience, who've been using (and marketing) the same name for many, many years (in some cases, decades). ICAAN must recognise (and I'm sure PIR do) that those registrants are going to struggle to migrate to another TLD in response to price hikes. Recently registered Legacy TLDs were presumably registered on the basis of this ongoing stability. It's worth noting, too, that .org has a high number of non-profit entities within it's registered base, in part because it was originally reserved for them, so the user-base which is going to hit by unrestrained (by ICANNs contract) price increases includes quite a number of charities, amongst others. It's also noteworthy that the relaxation in pricing when the new gTLDs launched didn't actually end particularly well for users of those gTLDs. Many were tempted in with low introductory prices and then come renewal time saw significant increases in price. ICAAN's position in the internet means that it should be concerned with protecting registrants from harm and pricing abuse. I'm not sure that that's always the case, and this proposal does look very much like putting the commercial desires of a Registry first, at the severe detriment of the users of that TLD. The alternative is that, over time, .org will likely become as unpalatable and registrant hostile as some of the gTLDs already are. It's also likely that some of the sites currently sat within .org will simply be lost as registrants decide not to swallow the increased cost of keeping a historical curiosity online. .org has operated well enough with it's current structure until now, and I see no suggestion that PIR are in anyway not finding it a valuable commercial venture. Registrants should be protected and the pricing caps on .org retained. Thanks Ben -- Ben Tasker https://www.bentasker.co.uk