Re: An Open Letter to the IAHC

["Marty Modell" <ir001264@mindspring.com>]

If we assume that the gTLDs are commodities, which they would be in a 
shared environment then a registry makes money through giving better 
service than its competitors.  However if the growth rate of 2LDs 
continues as it hs been, then we can assume that people will go to 
the registry that offers the lowest price, or the fastest service, or 
other benefits which they might dream up.

It would work the same as any business sector where they deal in 
commodities.

Owning a registry should not be equated to a license to mint money.  
It is a service, not a product that is being sold.  Even NSI sells a 
service, they just happen at the moment to be the only one around 
selling that particular service.

NSI would probably react much differently with competition

> From:          jp@PalmerOwns.The.Earth (John Palmer)
> Subject:       An Open Letter to the IAHC
> To:            iahc-discuss@iahc.org
> Date:          Sun, 29 Dec 96 13:05:50 EST

> An open letter to the IAHC:
> 
> OK - I have some time this Sunday morning, so I am going to quiz
> you on how in the hell this will work.
> 
> WHY would anyone want to be a registry when there is NO INCENTIVE?
> 
> How does a registry make any money when it doesnt own a particular
> resource to sell??
> 
> 
> For instance, lets say that I own the rights to a cool gTLD, such
> as .XYZ. People who want a domain in that gTLD come to me and I
> charge them $50 per year. They CANNOT GET a 2LD under .XYZ anywhere 
> else. Bottom line: I have a commodity that I can sell.
> 
> Now, if someone else can also register people in .XYZ (maybe
> thousands of registries), how do I make any money - in fact, 
> how does anyone make any money?? 
> 
> If you have owners, then someone is responsible, ultimatly
> for making sure all of the name servers are in place (and that
> there are resources [ie: $$$] for running nameservers and WHOIS
> databases). They subcontract or join a registry guild and offer
> their gTLD's for shared registration. 
> 
> Otherwise, no one is guaranteed any $$$ and there is no incentive
> for anyone to work hard at all. MORE IMPORTANTLY, we still end up
> with no accountability for keeping the resources stable for a gTLD.
> No incentive == No accountability.
> 
> Someone please explain why anyone would want to volunteer to 
> become a registry when they have no lock on a source of income because
> they dont have exclusive rights to own a gTLD property. 
> 
> Analogy: I am Disney. I develope a piece of intellectual property
> (for instance _THE LION KING_). Now, if the law allowed any tom,
> dick or harry to duplicate the movie and sell them, then how is
> Disney going to make any money off of the property that they develop??
> Disney, when coming up with _THE LION KING_, did it on a FIRST COME,
> FIRST SERVE basis - that is - they came up with the idea before 
> anyone else, developed their product and then marketed and sold it. 
> 
> I came up with USA and EARTH first, I developed them and marketed
> them. 
> 
> Why is it any different from Disney and _THE LION KING_?
> 
> Disney, by creating _THE LION KING_ and by defending its 
> intellectual property rights, does not in any way shape or form
> stifle or hinder creativity in the motion picture industry. Anyone
> else can come up with other ideas and make movies out of them. 
> It only seems reasonable that the restriction be in place that NO ONE
> ELSE can, without permission, infringe on Disney's intellectual 
> property rights.
> 
> That means - if you want to use their idea somewhere, ask their
> permission. Pay whatever they ask. Or, if they say NO, live with it. 
> 
> AGN, by creating USA and EARTH, and by defending its intellectual
> property rights, does not in any way shape or form, stifle or hinder
> the DNS or the internet. Anyone else can come up with other gTLDs and 
> develope their gTLD properties. It only seems reasonable that the
> restrictions be in place that NO ONE ELSE can, without permission,
> infringe on AGN's intellectual property rights.
> 
> That means - if you want to register a domain in USA and EARTH, ask
> AGN's permission. Pay whatever they ask. Or if they say NO, live
> with it. 
> 
> Now, AGN cannot charge $2500/yr for a domain - why? Because ANY
> one can own a gTLD and the end user will have an UNLIMITED number 
> of options out there. This is called FREE MARKET COMPETITION.
> It is THE ONLY ECONOMIC MODEL THAT HAS EVER WORKED.
> 
> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
> 
> Shared Registries:
> 
> I think the idea of a network of "generic" registries which
> are able to register people into multiple gTLD's is a good idea.
> Its like the clearing and settlements system that MasterCard/Visa/
> AMEX/Discover use. 
> 
> You need:
>    1> To develope the data exchange standards for Registration
>       Action Messages (RAM's)
>    2> Allow for a method of financial settlements.
> 
> In Number 2: Someone will own a gTLD and will join the registry
> group (CORE?) and allow people to register in their gTLD. 
>       The gTLD owner allows registration in bulk for $40
>       The registry charges $50
>       CORE? gets 2% of that. ($1).
>       The registry keeps $9 and pays $40 to the gTLD owner.
>       (Prices may vary - these are just examples).
> 
> I am developing models for this proposal as the USA and EARTH 
> geograpical sub-TLD components will be HUGE and I would like to
> allow registries to register people into various geographical
> areas of these gTLD's
> 
> For instance: Perhaps some ISP in Paris would like to sign up 
> to be a registrar for Paris.FRANCE.EARTH. Or a national Italian
> ISP would like to be a registrar for ITALY.EARTH. Or a Chicago
> ISP (Hi Karl) would like to be a registrar for Chicago.Illinois.USA
> or Illinois.USA. 
> 
> As I said, I will need to develope a shared registry system for my
> own gTLD's as they lend themselves to regional registrations. 
> 
> Depending on wether or not I consider IAHC worthy (depends on their
> draft of Dec-31), I may make my sharing code public domain. I am
> a software engineer by trade and have developed many complex systems
> such as these (including working on part of the MC/VISA settlements
> code). I am willing to help, but IAHC must respect FCFS and must 
> acknowlege that the concept of private property extends to gTLD's
> 
> If not, I will continue on my own (and with other like minded 
> individuals and organizations) to develope my gTLD properties and 
> will vigoroursly defend these properties in court.
> 
> I would much rather be part of the community, but will be a rebel
> if people like the IAHC aim to deprive me of the benefits of my
> hard work and investment. After all, the hard work and investment
> is an investment in the internet as a whole, not just in my future.
> 
> Closed or opened. Fragmented or unified. 
> 
> The ball is in your court.
> 
> John Palmer
> 
--  
Marty Modell                     e-mail: ir001264@mindspring.com 
      http://www.mindspring.com/~ir001264/Home.htm         
                  author of 
      A Professional's Guide to Systems Analysis
         Second Edition - McGraw Hill - 1996