REMINDER: http://icann.org/announcements/announcement1-28jul06.htm Comments due by August 18, 2006 There is a web form to facilitate comments: http://survey.icann.org/cgi/comments: This form is to facilitate gathering public comments on currently active issues in the ICANN policy development process. Please fill in the identifying information below, and select the issue you wish to comment upon. Name: Title: Organization: Email: Email again: Issue: New gTLDS After submitting this form you will be presented with a second form with space for comments on the selected issue. When that form is submitted, your email address will be sent a "confirm" message verifying that you wish to publish the comments. Note that the confirm will not be sent if you have recently submitted and confirmed other comments. Comments may also be sent to: newgtlds-comments@icann.org. Comments will be viewable at: http://forum.icann.org/lists/newgtlds-comments. ....................................................................... GNSO Council's Committee on the introduction of new top level domains has released its Initial Report as part of ICANN's policy development process. This Report is the product of a long series of consultations and meetings about the Terms of Reference . The GNSO Council's new TLD Committee will meet again in Amsterdam between 29 & 31 August 2006 to consider any further public comments and inputs from ICANN's Advisory Committees and Supporting Organisations before preparing a Final Report for submission to the ICANN Board prior to the Sao Paolo meeting in early December 2006. A public comment period is now open until Friday 18 August 2006 and members of the community are asked to respond specifically to the following questions upon which further discussion is needed. 1. After reading the Initial Report, are there any other selection criteria which may be helpful for a new top level domain application round? 2. Thinking about the issue of application fees for any new top level domain application, is there merit in graduated application fees to assist applicants? 3. Taking into account the experiences from the 2000 and 2004 round of new top level domains, do you have further comments to make about streamlining the application process? 4. Thinking about ICANN's responsibility to ensure competition in registry services operation, do you have any additional comments about how to encourage applications which would serve needs which are not met by the existing top level domains? 5. Looking closely at the technical selection criteria section of the Report, are there any further comments which would assist with identifying appropriate base line technical criteria for new applications? 6. Do you have any further comment to make on the use of the first come first served system for processing applications and then whether auctions or lotteries are appropriate ways of resolving competition between applications? 7. Do you have any further views on the kinds of new TLDs that might be encouraged? Specifically, do members of the community expect the existing differentiation between sponsored, generic, chartered and open TLDs to remain? Comments can be submitted via this web form, http://survey.icann.org/cgi/comments or by sending email to newgtlds-comments@icann.org. Comments will be viewable at: http://forum.icann.org/lists/newgtlds-comments. Further questions about any aspect of the /Initial Report /or the policy development process can be addressed to Dr Liz Williams, Senior Policy Counselor, at newgtlds-questions@icann.org. Thank you for taking the time to comment. Kind regards, Glen de Saint Géry GNSO Secretariat - ICANN gnso.secretariat[at]gnso.icann.org http://gnso.icann.org