Dear EPDP Team, 

Thank you for the discussions to date on the string similarity review topic (charter questions E3, E1 (part1) and E3a). The leadership team appreciates that this is a difficult topic and that a range of views are evident across the Team, particularly on the three levels of string similarity review.

In order to facilitate the continued deliberation of this topic, the Leadership Team requests members to consider the three levels of string similarity review and indicate your preferred level of review, along with the reasons why this is your preferred level, on the list by Wednesday, 27 April 2022. 

When sharing your preference, please include responses to the following questions: 

1. Why do you believe your preferred level of review is the most appropriate? 
2. Based on your preferred level of review, what would be the string similarity review’s impact on preventing user confusion and security/stability issues in the DNS? In other words, how effective would string similarity review be in preventing delegation of similar strings? 
3. Have you considered the feasibility of implementing the string similarity review based on your preferred level? For example, the complexity and costs involved to conduct the resulting review. 

The string similarity review topic is expected to be discussed again during the EPDP Team meeting next week (28 April 2022) and members and participants will be invited to speak to their respective preferences and rationales. As a reminder, the three levels are as follows (please see details in the slide deck): 

• Level 1: Primary + ONLY Requested Allocatable Variants 
• Level 2: Primary + ALL Allocatable Variants 
• Level 3: Primary + ALL Allocatable and Blocked Variants 

Thank you for your contribution!

Best Regards,

Steve, Emily, Ariel