Milton: I don't think a consultation requirement is overly regulatory. I do think the need for consultation is greater, and consultation is easier, in smaller communities. Harold Milton Mueller wrote: >Harold: >I want to make sure I understand where you are going with this. >Most people involved in this controversy are advocating >that unsponsored gTLDs be _more_ regulated than >sponsored gTLDs. So my point 4 was meant to point >out that if a case for intervention exists, it is basically >the same for both sponsored and unsponsored. > >But what you say below implies the >opposite: sponsored gTLDs should be more regulated >by ICANN than unsponsored. Is that what you are saying? > >>>>Harold Feld <[log in to unmask]> 01/08/04 05:33PM >>> >>>> >I must disagree with point four. > >Milton Mueller wrote: > >>4. The PDP should consider whether there should be a distinction between >>policies applied to sponsored and unsponsored TLDs. NCUC believes >>the answer is no: if the justification for regulation is economic; i.e, >>that users are locked in to a supplier and cannot switch service providers >>without incurring damaging costs, then the same fundamental economic >>problem applies regardless of whether the registry is sponsored or not. >>If the justification for the process is technical, the answer is the same: >>there is no relevant technical distinction between sponsored and un- >>sponsored registries. >> >Sponsored TLDs may have communities in which particular changes are more >damaging than others. Furthermore, the collective nature of the >community surrounding a sponsored TLD lends itself better to closer >consultation with registrants. > >For example, to the extent museuems have customized how they use their >domain names for particular purposes, in reliance on past practices of >the .museum registry, a registry change might well have a significant >effect on the entire community. For larger, more diffuse registries, >such as unsponsored TLDs or sponsored TLDs with broader communities, >such as .biz, the cost of community consultation is much higher and the >vulnerability of the entire community as a whole to a change in policy >is decreased. > >Harold > > >