[ncdnhc-discuss] An overview of the issue

[Milton Mueller]

U,U = "unrestricted, unsponsored"
S,R = "sponsored, restricted"

As we consider the distinction between sponsored
and unsponsored, here are some things to keep
in mind:

1. The stakes are fairly low.

Dot org is not a "problem" now. There is nothing
about it that causes special or unique issues
in regards to trademarks, whois, registrars, etc.
Org registrants are not clamoring for new policies, 
business/IP interests are not tormented by 
renegade .org registrants.

2. Divestiture itself is half the battle.

The primary rationale for this whole exercise
was to get dot org out of Verisign's hands and
into someone else's hands. That is, the impetus
came from promoting competition. So that 
objective is achieved merely by executing
the divestiture expeditiously.

3. Representing the noncommercial sector 
is the other half (or 45%?) of the battle.

Whatever issues remain are pretty much 
solved (some would say only partially solved)
by making the new administrator of ORG 
representative, supportive, and 
responsive to noncommercial domain 
name registrants. That will ensure that the 
domain is promoted and administered in 
the appropriate ways.

I think we alll agree on the 3 points above.

4. The (contested) remaining 5%

The only point at issue, then, is the degree, if
any, of restriction to be imposed on the domain.
We can execute points 1-3 via a U,U model.
If we want to impose restrictions we must 
choose a S,R model. 

Why I currently lean toward U,U:

* We originally agreed on S,U, and it seems clear
that the objectives of the original report could
be easily achieved within a U,U framework.
Both Stuart Lynn and L. Touton have 
made the same point.

* S,R increases uncertainty and raises the
stakes.
As an .org registrant, I do not lose any 
sleep at night over the fact that someone,
somewhere in the world might use an .org
name for commercial purposes. As time passes
and commercial TLD options increase any
associated threat will decrease. I might, 
however, lose sleep over the fact that 
registrants could be thrown out of the domain.
I don't know what form a CEDRP will take.
I would expect the costs of administering the
domain to increase with restriction. I expect
the complexity of a S,R policy to be much
greater, and the difficulty of selecting a 
winner to increase.

* There does not seem to be much
support for imposing restrictions among the
noncommercial registrant community itself.

That's my assessment at this stage; I 
welcome other views.