All,

 

Here is the note I sent on 2/27 that has not been answered.  I have sent a reminder to ICANN’s GC office several times since then to get an answer.

 

Please feel free to post.

 

 

I am cc’ing Patrick, Craig, Dan and John on this so I can repeat the same questions I have now asked twice to ICANN staff and Board members.  I even note that Craig took notes at the constituency meeting in Dehli to follow up on these questions.

 

I would like the following answered:

 

Does ICANN believe that they can force gTLD Registries to allocate single letter domain names in the first place through a Consensus Policy?  I note the following statement in the report: “ICANN has received many inquiries from third parties seeking to register single-character domain names, has advised these parties that the names are reserved, and informed these parties that the reservation can be removed through a bottom-up process.

 

- On what basis did ICANN make these statements?

 

I do not believe that ICANN (or the community) can force these reservations to be removed without registry consent even if there is a Consensus Policy.  If ICANN feels differently, please explain the rationale of your statement.

 

Let me expand on why I believe ICANN cannot force the allocation of single letter domains.  The following is from the .biz agreement (also in .com, .net, .info and others) which states that Consensus policies may not

 

“3.1 (b)(v)(I)  alter services that have been implemented pursuant to Section 3.1(d) of this Agreement (unless justified by compelling and just cause based on Security and Stability.”

 

3.1(d) is the section talking about Registry Operations.  It includes the following:

 

“3.1 (d)(i)(A)  Registry Operator shall reserve, and not register any TLD strings (i) appearing on the list of reserved TLD strings attached as Appendix 6 hereto or (ii) located at http://data.iana.org/TLD/tlds-alpha-by-domain.txt for initial (i.e., other than renewal) registration at the second level within the TLD.”

So, it states that a consensus policy may not modify the reserved names list “Unless justified by compelling and just cause based on security and stability.”  ICANN – Where is the compelling security justification??

Thanks.

 

 

I haven't had a chance to read this yet but thought I would forward it right away.

 

Chuck

 

From: owner-council@gnso.icann.org [mailto:owner-council@gnso.icann.org] On Behalf Of Patrick Jones
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 7:22 PM
To: council@gnso.icann.org
Subject: [council] ICANN Synthesis on Single-Character Names at the Second-Level

Prior to the Delhi meeting I advised the Council that staff was preparing a paper on single-character domain names at the second-level. The attached ICANN Synthesis on Single-Character Domain Names at the Second-Level is being sent to the Council for information and discussion. Staff is working on engagement of a qualified entity or entities to assist with additional process development for various auction needs. Further information will be provided to the community and the Council.

 

In the meantime, could you place this paper on the schedule near the end of the Council meeting for discussion on 6 March?

 

Regards,

 

Patrick

 

Patrick L. Jones

Registry Liaison Manager &

Coordinator, ICANN Nominating Committee

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

4676 Admiralty Way, Suite 330

Marina del Rey, CA 90292

Tel: +1 310 301 3861

Fax: +1 310 823 8649

patrick.jones@icann.org