To our NCSG Councilors,
Tx Tomslin. This is a real problem for Registrants (like NGOs) identified by Jamie Headlund, head of ICANN Compliance. He and his Staff write that when domain names expire, sometimes they are auctioned off without going to the Expiration Grace Period. Imagine an NGO with a well-known domain name, staff has left, no one gets the renewal message. The domain name "drops" (fails to be renewed), the website disappears, and now the NGO knows there is a problem. Right away, they go to the Registrar and find their domain name has been auctioned off! They can't get it back. (As opposed to the NGO going to other Registrars where their domain name has been put on "hold," in a Expiration Grace Period, and it costs them a little extra to get it back, so the NGO can pays the extra money, and gets their domain name and website (and online services) right back up.
This is a problem of Communication and of Policy. This is causing confusion to Noncommercial Registrants. Please do something. Pages 9-10 of Jamie Hedlund's report below. It's a good and important read. Link below too. Please don't let this problem be delayed for 5 years. We discussed solutions to solve now and over time. We need you, our Councilors, to champion this one. Best, Kathy
"Requirements related to auto-renew grace period and aftermarket activities create
confusion for and/or delayed actions by registrants.
Many registrars implement a process in which they auction or otherwise re-assign the rights
to expired domain names during the auto-renew grace period. These domain names do not
enter a 30-day redemption period (during which the Registrant at Expiration (RAE) may
ICANN | ICANN Contractual Compliance Enforcement of ERRP & EDDP | 31 October 2022 | 10
request the redemption). Instead, these domain names remain at the current registrar and
are re-assigned to the control of the highest bidder. Under the ERRP and EDDP, redemption
period is only required if a domain name is deleted.
"The practice of implementing a process in which the registrar auctions or otherwise re-
assigns the rights to expired domain names during the auto-renew grace period is not
prohibited. However, ICANN Compliance has observed that this practice - coupled with the
lack of definition for certain terms explained in the previous section - causes substantial
confusion for registrants/complainants. Some of these registrants “lost” domain names
during the renewal grace period and contended that they were not afforded a redemption
grace period or the subsequent release of the domain name to permit re-registration.
Although registrars are required to “provide notice to each new registrant describing the
details of their deletion and auto-renewal policy including the expected time at which a non-
renewed domain name would be deleted relative to the domains expiration date” (EDDP
Section 3.7.5.4), the manner in which the auction/resale events are described do not always
make clear that the domain names may not be available for renewal/redemption during this
stage.
"In addition, Section 2.2 of the ERRP prescribes the circumstances under which a Domain
Name System (DNS) resolution must be interrupted. Section 2.2.2 and 2.2.3 describe DNS
interruption requirements, which are determined relative to the time at which a domain name
is deleted. For example, Section 2.2.2 provides, “for registration deleted within 8 days of
expiration the existing DNS resolution path must be interrupted...” The term “deleted” can be
interpreted as the actual deletion of the domain name from a registrar’s database (i.e., a
delete command is sent to the registry) or as the deletion from the registrant’s account
(when it is, for example, made available in auction or sold to a third party). Using the former
definition, in cases of auction or resale as described above, the DNS interruption warning
(often the biggest warning a registrant receives regarding the expiration) would not be
required and may not occur until a domain name is already “lost” (and the DNS resolution
path modified by a new registrant).
"The two provisions defining the DNS interruption requirements are later used to define the
time within which a RAE must be permitted to renew a domain name (ERRP, Section 2.2.5:
“[b]eginning at the time of expiration and through the DNS resolution interruption period
described in paragraphs 2.2.2 and 2.2.3, the RAE must be permitted by the registrar to
renew the expired registration.) (emphasis added). As the DNS interruption period is not
required in cases where the domain name is not deleted, registrants may be confused at the
time within which they have to renew the domain name relative to the time of expiration.
Additionally, even though the ERRP requires the registrar to begin warning the registrant
about the upcoming expiration approximately 30 days before the expiry day, the obligation
for the registrar to permit the RAE to renew is not effective until the time of expiration, at
which point the domain name could have been deleted or is already at risk of being
deleted/lost."
On 4/16/2024 6:30 PM, Tomslin Samme-Nlar wrote:
Hi all,
During the NCSG PC meeting this week, we had a discussion on deferral of a Policy Status Request (PSR) of the Expired Domain Deletion Policy (“EDDP”) and Expired Registration Recovery Policy (“ERRP”). @Kathy Kleiman pointed out that notes in the ICANN compliance report identified that language of the policy is ambiguous in parts and has caused confusion for registrants, a group that we as NCSG care about. And suggested that those aspects of language confusion be given to the Council Comms small team to look at.
In that regard, I thought I should share the attached document which summarises the current educational materials on domain name renewal and expiration that was presented to the council by ICANN staff. Please take a look and let me know if you believe the small team should still study the issue.
Warmly,Tomslin
_______________________________________________
From: council <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Caitlin Tubergen via council <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: Caitlin Tubergen <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wednesday, February 14, 2024 at 10:07 AM
To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: Brian Gutterman <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [council] Summary of domain name renewal and expiration educational resources (Feb Council Agenda Item 6)
Dear Councilors,
Further to Agenda Item 6 for Thursday’s Council meeting, Next Steps for Consideration of Expired Domain Deletion Policy (“EDDP”) and Expired Registration Recovery Policy (“ERRP”), please find a summary of the current educational materials on domain name renewal and expiration attached.
Brian Gutterman from ICANN org will be providing an overview of the materials during the Council meeting on Thursday.
Kind regards,
Caitlin
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