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<FONT SIZE="4"><FONT FACE="Optima, Times New Roman"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10.5pt'>(for those of you not here in Seoul)<BR>
Below is what I said (not on behalf of BC) today at the Public Forum, regarding Rr/Ry separation.<BR>
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</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Optima, Times New Roman"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>I Listened to debate over separation. inconclusive (both sides passionate and articulate)<BR>
</SPAN></FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE="Optima, Times New Roman"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>But I did learn about motivations for Registrars wanting to run Registries<BR>
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I learned about innovative methods for monetizing premium names.<BR>
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What I learned tells me ICANN should reset public expectations about benefits of new TLDs. <BR>
</SPAN></FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE="Optima, Times New Roman"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>Let’s start being more transparent about the way names will and won’t be available to the public. <BR>
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Let’s limit disappointment when TLDs launch. <BR>
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And let’s make it less likely that the review team on Competition , Consumer Trust, and Choice will give ICANN a failing grade.<BR>
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For years, the <U>Rhetoric</U> of expectations has been: we need new TLDs to give registrants all those “good names that are unavailable in current TLDs. <BR>
That’s the rhetoric. What’s the reality?<BR>
</SPAN></FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE="Optima, Times New Roman"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'><U>Reality 1</U>: new gTLD applicants will maximize profits on premium names, whether by selling them at diff prices, or by having an affiliate park the domain with advertising. That name is never going be available to a registrant that wants to use it for content or commerce.<BR>
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<U>Reality 2</U>: will see Innovative ways to identify and control premium names at launch, and then afterwards, when words and phrases suddenly <U>acquire</U> premium value ( h1n1.whatever)<BR>
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There’s Nothing illegal about that, and new Ry contracts allow uncapped and variable premium pricing. And you don’t have to own a registrar to monetize your names – I’ve been educated about that.<BR>
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But let’s stop kidding ourselves and the internet public about how new TLDs will let ordinary people register names they want but can’t get today. <BR>
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-- <BR>
Steve DelBianco<BR>
Executive Director<BR>
NetChoice<BR>
<a href="http://www.NetChoice.org">http://www.NetChoice.org</a> and <a href="http://blog.netchoice.org">http://blog.netchoice.org</a> <BR>
+1.202.420.7482 <BR>
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