New domain name .ngo would be for charities only

[Rebecca MacKinnon]

Good points. I'm not saying I support or am involved with this plan. Just
letting people know that I have discovered its existence. Maybe it's worth
letting those people know your concerns?Best,
Rebecca

On Wed, Jul 29, 2009 at 7:03 PM, Norbert Klein <nhklein at gmx.net> wrote:

> Thanks, Rebecca, for sharing this - but I have some problems with what is
> proposed:
>
> ".ngo would be for charities only"
>
> I am writing from Cambodia and I know that very often we are considered to
> be
> irrelevant by those who care for the "larger picture."
>
> There is a fierce debate going on in some circles here, that "NGOs should
> not
> get involved in anything else but charity work" - and they should not
> be "political" by talking about the environment (like Greenpeace? I usually
> ask), or talk "about what these NGOs call human rights which is just
> criticising the government to get international funding."
>
> A new, restrictive definition as "charities" may become part of the new NGO
> law under discusion.
>
> So why would the Internet community need a ".ngo for charities only"? It
> will
> only make our life more difficult, I am afraid.
>
> NGOs here use either domain names under the Cambodian ccTLD to show their
> Cambodian identiy, or they use .org - is that not the best solution also
> for
> the future?
>
>
> Norbert
>
>
> > > From: Non-Commercial User Constituency [mailto:NCUC-
> > > DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Rebecca MacKinnon
> > > Sent: Saturday, July 25, 2009 6:02 AM
> > > To: NCUC-DISCUSS at LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
> > > Subject: [NCUC-DISCUSS] New domain name .ngo would be for charities
> only
> > >
> > > FYI, see article below. After the London consultation, Abraxas
> > > Partners and Verisign held an invitation-only seminar for people in
> > > the NGO sector who might want to consider applying to run a new gTLD.
> > > They also appear to be helping Article 25 to set up a new .ngo domain.
> > > Some of their materials - in PDF and PPT - attached. Not sure if this
> > > list-serv does attachments to copying to Robin for further forwarding.
> > >
> > > Best,
> > > Rebecca
> > >
> > > -----
> > >
> > > http://thirdsector.co.uk/news/Article/922487/New-domain-name-ngo-
> > > charities/
> > >
> > > New domain name .ngo would be for charities only
> > >
> > > By Kaye Wiggins, Third Sector Online, 23 July 2009
> > >
> > > Human rights charity Article 25 proposes internet scheme to be funded
> > > by philanthropists
> > >
> > > Human rights charity Article 25 has proposed a consortium of charities
> > > to run a new internet domain name that would be available only to
> > > not-for-profit groups.
> > >
> > > The charity wants the proposed consortium to raise $185,000 (£112,000)
> > > and bid for a .ngo domain because it says the .org address is open to
> > > abuse by fraudulent groups.
> >
> > > Its suggestion follows an announcement from internet regulatory body
> > > Icann that from 2010 onwards any organisation will be allowed to bid
> > > to run new internet domains.
> > >
> > > Victoria Harris, chief executive of Article 25, toldThird Sector
> > > Online her organisation wanted to put together a consortium of
> > > charities that would ask philanthropists and corporate firms for
> > > funding to bid for and run the new domain.
> > >
> > > "Lack of regulation has meant that commercial entities, individuals
> > > and even professional criminals have been able to register websites
> > > with .org suffixes quite legally, with no check on their identities or
> > > intentions," she said.
> > >
> > > "In order to have a web address ending in .ngo, a group would have to
> > > prove to the consortium that it was a genuine charity. Once consumers
> > > realise that legitimate charitable organisations are regulated by the
> > > .ngo domain name, the battle against fraud will start to be won."
> > >
> > > Article 25 will hold meetings with interested charities and umbrella
> > > groups to discuss a framework for the scheme over the next few months.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Rebecca MacKinnon
> > > Open Society Fellow | Co-founder, GlobalVoicesOnline.org
> > > Assistant Professor, Journalism & Media Studies Centre, University of
> > > Hong Kong
> > >
> > > UK: +44-7759-863406
> > > USA: +1-617-939-3493
> > > HK: +852-6334-8843
> > > Mainland China: +86-13710820364
> > >
> > > E-mail: rebecca.mackinnon at gmail.com
> > > Blog: http://RConversation.blogs.com
> > > Twitter: http://twitter.com/rmack
> > > Friendfeed: http://friendfeed.com/rebeccamack
>
>
>
> --
> If you want to know what is going on in Cambodia, please visit
> The Mirror, a regular review of the Cambodian language press in English.
>
> This is the latest weekly editorial:
>
> Comparing Notes and Actions - Sunday, 26.7.2009
> http://tinyurl.com/mlwlra
>
> (To read it, click on the line above.)
>
> And here is something new every day:
> http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com
>
>
>


-- 
Rebecca MacKinnon
Open Society Fellow | Co-founder, GlobalVoicesOnline.org
Assistant Professor, Journalism & Media Studies Centre, University of Hong
Kong

UK: +44-7759-863406
USA: +1-617-939-3493
HK: +852-6334-8843
Mainland China: +86-13710820364

E-mail: rebecca.mackinnon at gmail.com
Blog: http://RConversation.blogs.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/rmack
Friendfeed: http://friendfeed.com/rebeccamack
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