Good points. I'm not saying I support or am involved with this plan. Just letting people know that I have discovered its existence. Maybe it's worth letting those people know your concerns?Best, Rebecca On Wed, Jul 29, 2009 at 7:03 PM, Norbert Klein <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Thanks, Rebecca, for sharing this - but I have some problems with what is > proposed: > > ".ngo would be for charities only" > > I am writing from Cambodia and I know that very often we are considered to > be > irrelevant by those who care for the "larger picture." > > There is a fierce debate going on in some circles here, that "NGOs should > not > get involved in anything else but charity work" - and they should not > be "political" by talking about the environment (like Greenpeace? I usually > ask), or talk "about what these NGOs call human rights which is just > criticising the government to get international funding." > > A new, restrictive definition as "charities" may become part of the new NGO > law under discusion. > > So why would the Internet community need a ".ngo for charities only"? It > will > only make our life more difficult, I am afraid. > > NGOs here use either domain names under the Cambodian ccTLD to show their > Cambodian identiy, or they use .org - is that not the best solution also > for > the future? > > > Norbert > > > > > From: Non-Commercial User Constituency [mailto:NCUC- > > > [log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Rebecca MacKinnon > > > Sent: Saturday, July 25, 2009 6:02 AM > > > To: [log in to unmask] > > > Subject: [NCUC-DISCUSS] New domain name .ngo would be for charities > only > > > > > > FYI, see article below. After the London consultation, Abraxas > > > Partners and Verisign held an invitation-only seminar for people in > > > the NGO sector who might want to consider applying to run a new gTLD. > > > They also appear to be helping Article 25 to set up a new .ngo domain. > > > Some of their materials - in PDF and PPT - attached. Not sure if this > > > list-serv does attachments to copying to Robin for further forwarding. > > > > > > Best, > > > Rebecca > > > > > > ----- > > > > > > http://thirdsector.co.uk/news/Article/922487/New-domain-name-ngo- > > > charities/ > > > > > > New domain name .ngo would be for charities only > > > > > > By Kaye Wiggins, Third Sector Online, 23 July 2009 > > > > > > Human rights charity Article 25 proposes internet scheme to be funded > > > by philanthropists > > > > > > Human rights charity Article 25 has proposed a consortium of charities > > > to run a new internet domain name that would be available only to > > > not-for-profit groups. > > > > > > The charity wants the proposed consortium to raise $185,000 (£112,000) > > > and bid for a .ngo domain because it says the .org address is open to > > > abuse by fraudulent groups. > > > > > Its suggestion follows an announcement from internet regulatory body > > > Icann that from 2010 onwards any organisation will be allowed to bid > > > to run new internet domains. > > > > > > Victoria Harris, chief executive of Article 25, toldThird Sector > > > Online her organisation wanted to put together a consortium of > > > charities that would ask philanthropists and corporate firms for > > > funding to bid for and run the new domain. > > > > > > "Lack of regulation has meant that commercial entities, individuals > > > and even professional criminals have been able to register websites > > > with .org suffixes quite legally, with no check on their identities or > > > intentions," she said. > > > > > > "In order to have a web address ending in .ngo, a group would have to > > > prove to the consortium that it was a genuine charity. Once consumers > > > realise that legitimate charitable organisations are regulated by the > > > .ngo domain name, the battle against fraud will start to be won." > > > > > > Article 25 will hold meetings with interested charities and umbrella > > > groups to discuss a framework for the scheme over the next few months. > > > > > > -- > > > Rebecca MacKinnon > > > Open Society Fellow | Co-founder, GlobalVoicesOnline.org > > > Assistant Professor, Journalism & Media Studies Centre, University of > > > Hong Kong > > > > > > UK: +44-7759-863406 > > > USA: +1-617-939-3493 > > > HK: +852-6334-8843 > > > Mainland China: +86-13710820364 > > > > > > E-mail: [log in to unmask] > > > Blog: http://RConversation.blogs.com > > > Twitter: http://twitter.com/rmack > > > Friendfeed: http://friendfeed.com/rebeccamack > > > > -- > If you want to know what is going on in Cambodia, please visit > The Mirror, a regular review of the Cambodian language press in English. > > This is the latest weekly editorial: > > Comparing Notes and Actions - Sunday, 26.7.2009 > http://tinyurl.com/mlwlra > > (To read it, click on the line above.) > > And here is something new every day: > http://cambodiamirror.wordpress.com > > > -- Rebecca MacKinnon Open Society Fellow | Co-founder, GlobalVoicesOnline.org Assistant Professor, Journalism & Media Studies Centre, University of Hong Kong UK: +44-7759-863406 USA: +1-617-939-3493 HK: +852-6334-8843 Mainland China: +86-13710820364 E-mail: [log in to unmask] Blog: http://RConversation.blogs.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/rmack Friendfeed: http://friendfeed.com/rebeccamack