Re: TLD Inter-Fact

[Michael Dillon <michael@memra.com>]

On Thu, 28 Nov 1996, Jamie wrote:

> Would you also say that each of 8,000 cultures also
> needs its own area code? ZIP code? Representative in the UN? Weekly Magazine?

What these cultures need is a place. In the real world they often do not
have a secure place to call their own or their "place" is under the
control of somebody else. As you can see by the use of cyberspace
metaphors, we humans conceptualize the Internet as a space and we are all
looking for a place that we can call our own within cyberspace. Right now
people are looking for their place within the namespace. And there are
basically two kinds of good space (TLD's and SLD's) and one kind of
mediocre space (subdomains). We need to make room in cyberspace for
everybody to find their place yet it is not wise to allow an explosion of
TLD's for this purpose. 

> Why do they need TLDs? Why not a SLD?

At this point in time most ISO3166 TLD's do not delegate SLD's. This
leaves the .COM, .ORG and .NET TLD's as the only place for this. If we do
create a limited number of new TLD's in order to create more space
we must be careful that we do not artificially inflate the value of
certain parts of the namespace such as what has happened to .COM. The way
to do this is to dampen the value of the TLD portion of the namespace by
creating TLD's which are intended for 3rd level registrations and which
do not issue monopolies on SLD's. This way, many of those who are looking
for their own place on the net will have a choice between asking for a TLD
or asking for a 3LD in a pre-existing TLD that identifies a very general 
class and is subdivided into more specific related classes.

.POP  - population groups distinct in language and or culture
        This includes broad groups like La Francophonie and the
        Commonwealth nations (commonwealth.pop, francophonie.pop)
        as well as narrow groups like the Okanagan aboriginal
        nation in Canada okanagan.pop or the Ga of Ghana ga.pop

.CAT  - organized groups which want a TLD for a specific category
        This is for existing organizations which are capable of managing
        a policy such as the international organization of museums.
        The .CAT registry would run the .MUS.CAT from the operational
        and technical viewpoint but the museum organization would
        run the policies and actually create the subdomains. 
        rom.mus.cat (Royal Ontario Museum), louvre.mus.cat

.MARCA - this would be delegated to a group which would operate with
         a policy that delegates domains based on existing registered
         trademarks. The .MARCA TLD would be subdivided and/or
         managed so that it can be used as a directory of international
         trademarks.

.ALT - this would register only 3LD's to anyone for any reason. The only
       limits in this TLD should be a higher fee for a 3LD which requires
       the creation of a new SLD in order to encourage use of existing
       groupings. All SLD's would be delegated to and run by the .ALT
       registry. You will find vanity domains here kaharg.klingon.alt,
       freddy.ready.alt, ever.ready.alt and companies registering under
       the usual naming system of <distinctive identifier> <type of
       business> Inc. so that Joe's Restaurant might have
       joes.restaurant.alt and Olympus Pizza might have olymp.pizza.alt
       But if Fred's Restaurant want's freds.rest.alt and .rest.alt
       doesn't yet exist, then $50 extra setup fee and it is theirs.

I believe that we will need approximately a dozen such iTLD's in order to
get reasonably complete coverage in the same way that a large city finds
itself divided into distinct types of neighborhoods, commercial,
nightclub, red-light, slums, ritzy mansions, shopping, etc. It should be
possible for any person, organization or business to have a choice of two
or more TLD's in which they feel they belong.

Michael Dillon                   -               ISP & Internet Consulting
Memra Software Inc.              -                  Fax: +1-604-546-3049
http://www.memra.com             -               E-mail: michael@memra.com