David,
> As for your latter points, New.net is not trying to "take over" the domain
> name space without public input. On the contrary, as a market based
> company, we are 100% directly accountable to the public. If we do not act
> as good corporate citizens, then businesses will shun us. If we make stupid
> decisions that enrage the public, then the public will not support us. If
> we do not act responisbly to protect the stability of the Internet, then we
> will engender more vocal opposition from the technical community.
Regardless of whether you believe you are trying to take over the domain name
space without public input, if you are successful then you will do so. Perhaps
not a bad thing in itself, but I'm sure we all remember how dreadful Netsol
were when they were a monopoly. Their policy was to do what they wanted and
bollox to the customer.
How do the current technical community know that your company is not going to have
the same attitude? It's no good saying that the market will judge you. Markets
are not capable of judgement. Most domain name consumers are ill-informed about
their choice of domain names. I'm guessing that most people who visit your site
think something along the lines of "Great! Just the domain I am looking for."
without being even slightly aware that 90% of Internet users cannot resolve it yet,
and maybe won't ever be able to do so.
I don't per se have any problem with what you have done, but I can see potential
major problems, technical and legal, further down the line. However since we do
live in an age where the US attitude is to make a quick buck and forget about the
future (a la our shared environment), you may as well go ahead and make yourself
rich - let other people worry about the consequences of your actions.
Of course, if you care to prove your doubters wrong, why not open your company up
to peer scrutiny. Let's see details of your shareholders, directors, accounts,
business plans and how you plan to integrate your name space to the public name
space as a whole. You never know, you might be able to bring the doubters on to your
side, in which case in 10 years time you may well be running the ICANN name space as
well!
BTW, what are your plans should ICANN decide suddenly (OK, it's unlikely I grant)
to open the field for new gTLDs and anyone can bid for whatever gTLD they want?
It's what I would be doing right now to deal with your competition.
Regards,
--
Stewart Boutcher Systems Support
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