Re: [wg-c] new TLDs

[Paul Garrin <pg@name-space.com>]

> 
> 
> >Milton Mueller wrote:
> > 
> > Example: Delegation of .bank. Under Kent's concept (and please correct me if
> > I am mis-stating or misunderstanding) .bank is delegated to some legitimate,
> > authoritative inernational organization that ICANN thinks is best suited to
> > decide what is and is not a bank.
> 
> Karl Auerbach wrote:
>
> I object to ICANN even saying that "bank" is a TLD category and creating a
> even a skeletal charter in which that TLD is to be operated.
> 
> These are matters that ought to be absolutely and utterly beyond ICANN and
> the DNSO - if there somehow came to be a .bank then whoever operates it
> should be free to use it for whatever purpose that operator sees fit with
> no limitation whatsoever except those it agrees to between itself and its
> customers.
> 
> Otherwise ICANN becomes even more of a regulatory body and further
> ossifying and retarding the imaginative powers that have created the net.
> 
> .bank is a prime example of a notion that has wildely different meaning to
> different people depending on the geographic context, the age of the
> person, and the person's particular business background.

Exactly.

Name.Space, Inc. has been operating the TLD "BANK."  for some time
now.  Some of the existing, active registrations include:

net.bank
sperm.bank
salzburg.bank
west.bank

to name a few.  Those examples may or may
not have to do with financial institutions.

some other possible uses of bank may be:

image.bank
idea.bank
fantasy.bank
knowledge.bank

which are legitimate, perhaps expressive, descriptive,
and have nothing to do with financial institutions.

You may check the listings by querying
those names at http://dns411.com

In short, ICANN has no business acting as a regulatory agency
in any way, shape, or form, nor do they have the right to forclose
on any existing operations and businesses servicing new TLDs.

--Paul Garrin