Re:  I don't understand why this is a problem 

Adam,

(1) This Sub Group is populated only by individuals
with a clear conflict of interest.  Neil Blair has
been promoting Overstock.com's efforts to obtain
O.com; Marilyn Cade has Overstock.com as a client, and
Mike Roddenbaugh seeks to promote Yahoo's interest in
obstaining Y.com.  This has led to a blatant disregard
for expert technical commentary that opposes
single-letter introductions such as that put forth by
John Klensin -- see
http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/registrars/msg04473.html

(2) If energy is devoted to a debate over which 20+
companies will acquire rights to a single letter .com
name, it will divert the focus away from higher
priority issues such as the release of IDN TLDs.

(3) The recent overstock.com proposal -- see
http://www.icann.org/correspondence/warren-to-board-28nov06.pdf
-- proposes an auction only between 
"parties with established trademark or use rights in
the ‘name’,".  The Sub Group will next meet to come up
with allocation methodologies which will certainly
ratify the overstock proposal.

(4) Introducing WG results into the tail end of an
already long PDP process is the equivalent of hiding
last-minute and perhaps unpopular measures into a
1000-page appropriations bill.  

My advise continues to be that we watch developments
closely lest a surprise emerges.





 
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