Dear Everyone,
The project was confidential until now, but today we have just received confirmation of a first sponsorship ($50,000.00). The sponsor has agreed to participate in the project (as soon as they will have received the operational file), and it is a good time to announce its existence to the whole Community. I had already had the pleasure to announce this project and to discuss it briefly with ICANN managers during the 32nd International Public ICANN Meeting, held last June in Paris. The first feedback I received was very enthusiastic. People are excited at the thought of launching a new gTLD: dotOpenID, ".OpenID." Please understand, this goes way beyond OpenID. It is the introduction of a new gTLD dedicated to identity, a concept which has everyone concerned. It has been talked about for several years. To this day, it is still uncertain under which form it can materialize, be it .openid or .myID, xxxx. to this day, things are still in flux. Of course, the possibility of using "OpenID" as a new extension of a domain name opens wonderful prospects and very exciting; the new specifications (onwards to OpenID3.0?) could for example include that... and the unique opportunity for cobranding - which would focus a lot of attention on OpenID - it would be visible right there with the DNS/Domain names, since OpenID would be an URL. Of course, in part this project becomes possible because of the new ICANN program http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-program.htm aimed at simplifying all formalities necessary to become candidate, which are objectively examined and accepted as long as they meet all the necessary conditions. This being said, a lot of questions still remain unanswered, for example the legal-technical angle, the Business Plan or the type of entity which will manage this new extension. I tend to be in favor of a Non-Profit supporting this project, rather than a business entity. This would in my view guarantee a more neutral position, in particular in the absence of the rules I was alluding to earlier. This Non-Profit, can be OIDF or another Foundation, especially created for this project. The revenue generated could become an important source of income for the development of OpenID, of the Open Web, and of digital ID. The next phase (covering the next three months) is to gather a few thinking heads (yours? :) ) and to think through all the possibilities. If all possible obstacles can be lifted, the process could start as soon as January 2009. After that, we would have to wait between 8 and 14/18 months to the see the first: - [YourCompanyName].OpenID - To isolate the SSO from each RP (e.g.: Plaxo.OpenID) - [YourName].OpenID - To be able to have your own URL, managed by your favorite OP, while remaining free to change it (e.g.: Snorri.OpenID) - [YourProvider].OpenID - This would create a simple and strong URL, with the OP you trust (e.g.: My.OpenID, Yahoo.OpenID...) All news concerning this project will be presented here, at www.dotOpenID.org (a wiki has been opened, but at this time there is still very little material on line) Please give us your opinion, and become a part of this sensational project. My thanks to you all, -Snorri
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