Hi Volker,

I'm starting to conclude that metaphors are useful when explaining technology to non-technology people, but metaphors only go so far when trying to understand how ICANN policy for Domain Names affects end users. 

A domain name is not a house. It is not a ticket to an event. It is not a trademark. It is not a copyright. 

A domain name is simply a technical identifier used to facilitate human interaction on the internet ... and it is controlled by ICANN policy.

Nat raises a legal question about interpretation ... a property right or a contract right? 

Evan raises an economic question about "rent seeking". 

I wonder if it might be better to identify and discuss the different factors of domain name policy which affect end users, rather than getting overly caught into a discussion about metaphors. 

e.g. Legal, Economic, Operational, User Experience (DNS Abuse), ??, ??, ??

Cheers!
David (I am not a cat)

On Sat, Feb 13, 2021 at 12:25 PM Volker Greimann <vgreimann@key-systems.net> wrote:
In that case, domaining can also be likened to the practice of buying land or houses for resale or renting out to third parties, to buying art for the purpose of resale, buying or amassing copyrights and trademarks or even to buying stocks.

Are we really prepared to say any form of investing, renting, leasing or using property for your own personal gain are a societal evil?

-- 
Volker A. Greimann


On Sat, Feb 13, 2021 at 4:42 PM John More via NA-Discuss <na-discuss@atlarge-lists.icann.org> wrote:
+1

On Feb 11, 2021, at 11:59 AM, Evan Leibovitch <evan@telly.org> wrote:

Hi David,

I didn't see your original email, but I did see the response and your followup.

There are significant differences between ticket scalping and domaining, mainly arising from the finite number of seats and hard expiry dates that make unused event tickets worthless once the event is over. However IMO the two share a fundamental characteristic broadly known in economics as "rent seeking": wealth obtained through manipulative use of resources without any associated increase in productivity.

Being in a queue early to buy a ticket/domain (without intent to use it) inflates the price without adding any value. I am fascinated by speculators who claim what they're doing is innovation, and even more by those who peddle themselves as branding experts to try to give some veneer of added value. Nobody is fooled by this. Nor does anyone shed any tears when the primary sellers (ie, Ticketmaster/Godaddy) see the greed and then seek to compete with them. The losers are the end-users in both cases.

Cheers,

Evan Leibovitch, Toronto Canada
@evanleibovitch / @el56
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