[ncdnhc-discuss] Modified resolutions for NCDHC meeting in Accra

[Manon Ress]

After discussions on the three resolutions proposed in February for the
NCDHC meeting in Accra, we made changes.  Any more suggestions?

Here are the modified versions:

Proposed NCDNHC resolution on protection of Domain Name Holders in
registration of domain names. 
First proposed February 7, 2002 by James Love
Modified  March 7, 2002

1.      Historically domain name registration and operation was a
not-for-profit operation, but over time the operation of registrars and
registries is increasingly a commercial activity.   The businesses that
operate such registries charge fees and have policies on  renewals,
privacy and service that are important to the domain name holders.

2.      Over time, persons who use domains often make considerable
investments of time or money in marketing or publicizing the domain, and
may have an important interest in third party hypertext links to the
domain.   Persons who use the web also have an interest in stable URLs,
which make it easier to maintain and use various reference materials.

3.	Domain name holder's may sometimes face abusive practices by some
registrars or registries, including for example poor service, high
prices, failures to provide adequate notice when domains are terminated
which can lead to loss of control over names for existing email accounts
or web pages (particularly combined with the sale of information to
third parties on domain expirations), and a variety of other problems.  
Domain name holders are particularly vulnerable if the problem is with
the registry and it is costly to switch domain names.

4.      ICANN needs to assess the nature of domain holder problems, and
also to determine if the ICANN contracts with registries or registrars
or government oversight provide sufficient remedies to protect domain
name owners abusive practices.


Proposed resolution on .org and protection of existing domain name
holders
First proposed February 8, 2002 by James Love
Modified  March 7, 2002

1. The NCDNHC represents non-commercial domain name holders.  Many
non-commercial domain name holders have registered domains in .org, and
indeed, .org is widely considered the default TLD for global  non-profit
organizations.

2. When .org was first created, registration of a domain was free. In
recent years the registration of domains in .org required the payment of
fees.  The price of a .org registration has been regulated by the US
Department of Commerce.  This regulation led to decreases in the price
of .org registration.

3. When  .org is reassigned to a new operator, it is essential that the
existing .org domain name holders be protected against unreasonable fees
for domain name registration.  Many .org domain owners would  find it
extremely costly to switch domain names, and are vulnerable to abusive
pricing practices of the .org registry.  Also, contracts regarding the
reassignment of the .org registry not provide windfalls for the registry
operator at the expense of the domain name holders, particularly if the
costs or running a system could lead to lower prices.

4. The ICANN staff should provide the NCC with a memorandum explaining
how the existing .org domain name holders will be protected from abusive
pricing, after .org is reassigned, and what mechanism will be used to
determine reasonable pricing, including for example if there will be
competitive bids to determine the true costs of operating the registry..


Proposed resolution on conflicts of interest
First proposed February 8, 2002, by James Love
Modified March 7, 2002

The NCDNHC was created to represent the interests of non-commercial
domain name holders, in the ICANN/DNSO governance.  

In order to avoid the appearance of conflicts of interest and to ensure
that the NCDNHC continues to provide independent representation of
non-commercial domain name holder interests, the following practices
should be followed:

1.  	No one can serve on the NCDNHC Adcom or vote in any NCDNHC matter
if they have the following economic interests with ICANN:

a.	They are or have been full or part time employee of ICANN within the
past 12 months.
b.	They have done any consulting or other compensated work for ICANN
within the past 12 months.


2.	 Any member of the NCDNHC Adcom or anyone who represents the NCDNHC
on any DNSO task force or committee should disclose potential conflicts
of interest.  These disclosures should be available from the NCDNHC web
page.