The view from my window

[Gary Morrell <garym@lanminds.com>]

I have watched the TLD debate for many months now. I have been on three mailing lists. Up to this point, I have remained fairly quiet, feeling that some of the more vocal proponents that I sided with could sway the debate and an outcome that I felt comfortable with. Sadly, such was not the case.

Firstly, I must ask, how was the IAHC formed? How did these folks get chosen? Why wasn't there a "lottery" to be included in this committee? The folks with the most at stake, companies running new TLD registries, had absolutely no representation at all in this process. I believe that the debate that has gone on in this mailing list, the submissions of drafts, and the present period of public debate are unfortunately a sham. I see absolutely no components of Chris Ambler's and nor Karl Denninger's drafts in the current IAHC draft. I barely see any portion of Jon Postel's draft. Frankly, many of us were misled.

I find it amazing that the current IAHC draft doesn't even address the techincal and economic viabilty of prospective registry applicants. The IAHC claims that these issues will be addressed in the future. To me, these are the most important aspects. Furthermore, shared registries seem to propose quite a technical hurdle that has not even been addressed. Not one word about it in the draft.

One of the reasons that Jon Postel wrote his original draft, and one of the reasons that the IAHC was formed was to stem the splintering of the namespace. Sadly, if this draft is implemented in it's present form, that splintering will continue. The Root64 project and the AlterNic businesses will have no choice but to go forward with renewed vigor. I think it sad that the many businesses and families that have registered new TLDs, as well as the countless thousands of dollars invested by current registries, are completely ignored by the IAHC. The IAHC claims to have the best interests of the public in mind, but what of these folks?

I have an open question to the members of the IAHC. Please explain to me what doom would befall the Internet if the root server addresses of qualified registry applicant's (ones who met the requirements put forth in Chris Ambler's draft) were added to the nine Root Server's cache file. I just don't see the problem. These registries are businesses. They would be subject to the same problems that all businesses face - supply/demand, quality service, competitive pricing, etc. No one is forced to register a new TLD. It's a free market. Some would thrive, others may fail. That's the outcome of the free market. If a registry fails, so be it. Many ISPs have gone under. The Internet is still chugging along. Imagine if prospective ISPs had to face the same obsticles that are put forth in the IAHC's draft. There would be an uproar. And many qualified businesses serving millions of people and employing thousands of people would have been prevented from operating. I just don't see the logic of limiting the new registries to the winners of a lottery. True, DNS is an itegral central core of the Internet. However, it's not going to break if new TLDs are added and run by qualified businesses. If a registry fails, the Internet still won't break. Please, go forward with the new shared 7 gTLDs. But let some of us run our own private registries - please.

The following is not a threat. It is reality. I have applied for a trademark for .fam many months ago. I have been developing a registry for over 9 months. I have root servers deployed and I have arrangements to deploy more. I followed the "procedure" in July that Jon Postel and Bill Manning put forth, namely mailing in an application for future consideration (lets not debate this again). From the list that Jon Postel sent out, we were first to register .fam. With all this said, I will be running a .fam registry. It will be an honest, viable business, just like my current ISP business. I will be very forthright with regards to the current small use of AlterNic root servers. Any attempt by the IAHC to use the TLD .fam will be faced with a lawsuit by my company. Take this as a warning. I mean no offense. Please choose your seven new gTLDs with this in mind. I fully realize that the AlterNic name servers have a small Internet penetration now. But I, and the rest of the AlterNic registries will be doing everything in our power to promote the use of AlterNic Root Servers. You've left us no choice.

I would love to work within "the system". I will continue to try and do so. I am amazed that the IAHC would write a draft such that anyone with a stake in the outcome would most likely be snapped off. Everyone that has invested many thousands of dollars and many hours of energy will most likely lose If the IAHC draft becomes reality. I think that the Internet as a whole loses if this draft, in its current form, goes through.

Is there room for compromise, oh IAHC??? Is there room for shared and exclusive TLDs? I believe that there is. Lets give it a try.

Sincerely,

Gary Morrell