I go further -- I would suggest ICANN prepares a PDP on how to establish a bridge with governments and communities (regional, idiomatic, indigenous etc), and how to define criteria, for building a full database of internationalized names (regularly updated by a guidance board) which would not be acceptable as g/sTLDs. This would be part of the effort of distancing itself from having to decide in the last instance if a name is "good" or "bad". In addition, ICANN would launch another PDP on expanding thematic criteria (geographic, historical, idiomatic etc) for new TLDs to be able to decide in a clear and timely process on .berlin, .gal, .rio, .katakana, .syracuse, .bio, .social :) etc etc. frt rgds --c.a. Horacio T. Cadiz wrote: > Milton Mueller wrote: > >>> I also think it has become crystal clear that TLDs which ombination >>> of letters might confront resistance (of cultural, legal or similar >>> nature) in one or more countries or communities, should in principle >>> be discarded >> >> Completely wrong, imho. I understand that you are trying to show >> respect for different >> cultures, etc. But the true effect of trying to do so is simply to >> immobilize everyone. If everyone has a veto on what is published, >> nothing is published. > > How then is it to be balanced in the gTLD? In the end, even if only > the most meaningless groups of letters and numbers will ever get > registered in a gTLD, > the fact is that censorship won't stop there. > > For example, if a pro-Nazi group in Germany registers its > "hitlerisgod" domain > under the .PH domain, do you think the controversy would end because it > is not > in a gTLD? > > Should we not forget the precept that the answer to "bad speech" is > not the curtailment of "free speech" but in the propagation of "good > speech." Both "good speech" and "bad speech" die when there is no "free > speech." > -- ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Carlos A. Afonso diretor de planejamento Rede de Informações para o Terceiro Setor - Rits http://www.rits.org.br ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++