[governance] It's Time to Stop ICANN's Top-Level Domain (TLD)

[Milton L Mueller]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Roland Perry [mailto:roland at internetpolicyagency.com]
> 
> We should not forget the history - new gTLDs have been introduced
> steadily over the last ten years; starting with .biz .info and .museum,
> and finishing (I would say) with .post this year; and has always been a

Not quite correct. The first round (in 2000), was considered an "experiment" or "proof of concept". Only 7 were added.
The second round was artificially restricted to so-called "sponsored top level domains" although that restriction ended up being honored more in the breach than in substance. Only 8 or so more were added.

What needs to happen, and is finally happening now, is to define a standardized process to apply for and get new TLDs, so that this is a routine part of ICANN's process and not considered some big exception or massive privilege. As new linguistic groups and communities come on to the internet there will always be a demand for new top level domains. 

> But later on, a problem arose with the application for .xxx, in so far
> as the decision-making process (to use Vint Cerf's words) "failed to
> converge". Every time it came to a vote, the board seemed to be more

This is not what happened, either. What happened is that the US government intervened after the decision was made and threw the whole process off the rails. This is well documented in the .xxx independent review process. So well documented, that ICM Registry won.

> He therefore resolved to create (and I simplify) a new "one size fits
> all" approval process which would streamline the situation and remove as
> much as possible of the subjective decision-making. Which is the DAG etc
> that we see coming ever closer to delivery.

False again. The decision to create an ongoing new TLD addition process had nothing to do with the .xxx mess - indeed, the preparation for a new TLD process preceded the .xxx fiasco. Developing an ongoing process is perfectly sensible - can you imagine a radio spectrum management authority that had no standard process for letting people apply for and get new radio channels or applications? That would be utterly stupid. ICANN administers the domain name space. If it doesn't know how to award new TLDs to people who need/want them it isn't doing its job. 

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