Hi,

> On Nov 20, 2019, at 4:02 AM, Raphael Beauregard-Lacroix <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 

[SNIP]

> There was an understanding that .org was meant to have a broader purpose than just making money. Now it looks it is headed the same way as every other TLDs. I gather that this seems to be the most problematic issue in all the comments on the list. But was this understanding enshrined in anything beyond the previously-existing price caps? Or was it just some loose commitment by ISOC/PIR? 

I’d say it was the latter. To my knowledge, there was never any contractual restriction on PIR regarding who could register a .org domain name. It certainly has never been limited to civil society orgs. Many For-Profit organizations and individuals have registered domain names under the .org TLD over the years. Individuals include both registrants who use the domain names in whatever ways they do (wether commercial or non-commercial), as well as those who invest in them for potential semantic value, like domainers.

Obviously, no change in additional restrictions on who may register one has happened since PIR have signed the base registry agreement so many were opposed to.

Thanks.

Amr