Francisco, This is a truly existential question for ICANN. This ICANN/WG/VIP can consider itself as being: 1. either an ICANN/WG with the ICANN policy in the background, considering the variants in this sole framework. In such a case, this would only impact the ICANN documents and permit other root management systems to propose solutions that ICANN would in turn not accept. This can be a guarantee of better quality of service that is favorable to the ICANN world, or a limitations set that will lead TLD candidates to use a system other than the ICANN/NTIA root. 2. or an Internet Users leading WG, trying to "influence (mission of the IETF [RFC 3935] in terms of protocols) those who design, use, and manage the Internet for the IDNA to work better". In that case, the target would be to show ICANN as an open common sense leader, proposing a naming netiquette that everyone will want to respect. That will be a source of trust for TLD candidates who will think: ICANN is more serious and secure, if they lead the consensus they will probably also lead the process' quality. I know that this is a vision of the DNS and naming that is different than ICANN's vision. However, this is the DNS vision that is actually documented by the RFCs. Jon Postel, ICANN, and simpler management have all led to constrain the reading of these RFCs and the resulting Internet architectural deployment. IDNA2008's consensus was reached because its RFCs do not constrain the true nature of the internet, i.e. subsidiary unique virtual root and its distributed structure. The true issue is not to sell TLDs. The true issue is a stable, technically sound, legally acceptable, operationally proficient and conflict free set of systems/services permitting one to freely operate their root name/TLD (software, machine, control, registration, new services, lawyers, etc. ) on a VPN, an externet (e.g. class supported vision of the Internet), the entire Internet, or throughout the whole digital ecosystem. When ICANN decides to sell a TLD for $185,000, it must correctly understand what it is selling and the resulting presentation strategy that it must adopt. What ICANN is selling at $185,000 is not a TLD that can be freely operated on the Internet. It is selling TLDs that have been technically, financially, legally screened, stamped and sponsored by ICANN and the USG. There are people and corporations that are obviously ready for many reasons to pay that $185,000 for the ICANN label on their TLD. However, there are many more who are not willing or cannot pay ICANN when cheaper commercial offers and free FLOSS systems are available. The entire necessary program set, except for the installation and some NIC management SQLite routines, are already in operation - no big deal for some investor to take over the name space, or for Google in using their public DNS service (IP 4.4.4.4 and 8.8.4.4.). ICANN must not confuse its TLD business plan and the decline of the wrong open root solution. Open roots propose (sell) alternative domain names. Here, what is at stake is the market acceptance of crossing the 300 TLDs threshold. Less than 300 TLD was in some way a stable perception of the Internet domain names system: a few global TLD names to memorize, and one per country. ITLDs and gTLD sales are going to switch usage from a very limited set of known TLDs being used by each user to the common experience that TLDs are just another part of the domain name with thousands of them. Either ICANN will influence the acceptance of a certain TLD netiquette that the users will all be familiar with (distrusting the non conformant TLDs) or will not. In the later case, TLDs will be totally free form because no one is able to visually recognize an ICANN sponsored TLD from a non ICANN sponsored one when reading a URL. The decision is yours. This is the future of ICANN. jfc At 09:17 07/09/2011, Cary Karp wrote:
Quoting Francisco:
Besides protocol restrictions there could also be policy restrictions. For example, there could be a policy prohibiting TLD labels that have code points from Latin and Cyrillic scripts.
ICANN requires that a gTLD adopts the following policy before freeing it from a general contractual prohibition on accepting IDN registration:
"All code points in a single label will be taken from the same script as determined by the Unicode Standard Annex #24: Script Names <http://www.unicode.org/reports/tr24>. Exceptions to this guideline are permissible for languages with established orthographies and conventions that require the commingled use of multiple scripts. Even in the case of this exception, visually confusable characters from different scripts will not be allowed to co-exist in a single set of permissible code points unless a corresponding policy and character table is clearly defined."
Of course, if there were any language that is so regularly written with mixed Cyrillic and Latin letters that a justifiable TLD label could be proposed with them, root policies might require additional constraint. Asking again -- is there any such everyday writing system? If not, putting this on our agenda is redundant at the very least.
/Cary