<a href="http://atlarge-lists.icann.org/pipermail/alac_atlarge-lists.icann.org/2008q1/003290.html">http://atlarge-lists.icann.org/pipermail/alac_atlarge-lists.icann.org/2008q1/003290.html</a><br><div class="gmail_quote"><br>

<br>
Dear ICANN board directors:<br>
<br>
While we are aware that you have been monitoring the<br>
public outrage in response to registrar activities<br>
that have been variously described as "front-running"<br>
and/or "domain reservation" or "cart-hold" or<br>
"cart-reserve" activities, we are of the view that the<br>
obligation to safeguard the operational stability of<br>
Registrar Services now requires the immediate<br>
temporary establishment of a consensus policy<br>
curtailing such practices to be taken in accordance<br>
with the board's authority under the provisions set<br>
out in section 4.3.4 of the Registrar Accreditation<br>
Agreement, that states:<br>
<br>
"A specification or policy established by the ICANN<br>
Board of Directors on a temporary basis, without a<br>
prior recommendation by the council of an ICANN<br>
Supporting Organization, shall also be considered to<br>
be a Consensus Policy if adopted by the ICANN Board of<br>
Directors by a vote of at least two-thirds of its<br>
members, so long as the Board reasonably determines<br>
that immediate temporary establishment of a<br>
specification or policy on the subject is necessary to<br>
maintain the operational stability of Registrar<br>
Services, Registry Services, the DNS, or the Internet,<br>
and that the proposed specification or policy is as<br>
narrowly tailored as feasible to achieve those<br>
objectives."<br>
<br>
Please be advised that we have reached this conclusion<br>
based in part upon the following considerations:<br>
<br>
1.  The use of "cart-hold" or "cart-reserve" systems<br>
has been actively under discussion within the<br>
registrars constituency since early October 2007 when<br>
three different registrars first advanced the concept<br>
within the context of a straw poll on the impact to<br>
registrants were the AGP to be eliminated<br>
in its entirety (footnote 1)<br>
<br>
-- see<br>
<a href="http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/registrars/msg05123.html" target="_blank">http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/registrars/msg05123.html</a><br>
<a href="http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/registrars/msg05130.html" target="_blank">http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/registrars/msg05130.html</a><br>
<a href="http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/registrars/msg05131.html" target="_blank">http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-<br>
lists/archives/registrars/msg05131.html</a><br>
<a href="http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/registrars/msg05380.html" target="_blank">http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/registrars/msg05380.html</a><br>
<a href="http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/registrars/msg05626.html" target="_blank">http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/registrars/msg05626.html</a><br>
<br>
2. The use of this domain name reservation practice<br>
next came to be adopted by a large-volume registrar<br>
(Network Solutions) on or about 8 January 2008, and<br>
the practice was immediately condemned by the<br>
community at large (with extensive coverage in the<br>
Tech media, the general press, in blogs world wide, on<br>
domain name forums, and on community discussion<br>
lists).<br>
<br>
3. The actions of Network Solutions has now spawned a<br>
similar project on the part of another large-volume<br>
registrar (<a href="http://register.com" target="_blank">register.com</a>), and we have no reason to<br>
believe that other large-volume registrars will<br>
refrain from rapidly setting up comparable efforts.<br>
<br>
(footnote -- see<br>
<a href="http://help.register.com/cgi-bin/register_help.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2796&p_created=1185549188&p_sid=*Nq5PxZi&p_accessibility=0&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD01NDImcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0x&p_li=&p_topview=1" target="_blank">http://help.register.com/cgi-bin/register_help.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2796&p_created=1185549188&p_sid=*Nq5PxZi&p_accessibility=0&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD01NDImcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0x&p_li=&p_topview=1</a><br>

)<br>
<br>
<br>
While we recognize that we are unable to point to an<br>
ICANN-approved definition of "operational stability of<br>
Registrar Services" (as no such definition exists<br>
within either current ICANN contracts or supporting<br>
materials), we take guidance from the ICANN Policy<br>
Document ICP-3 which posits that activities that do<br>
not interfere with the operation of the DNS are,<br>
generally speaking, those that operate within<br>
community-established norms.<br>
<br>
Such norms tend to respect a set of long-established<br>
principles such as the principle of least<br>
astonishment.  When registrants currently search for a<br>
domain name at these registrars using normative search<br>
practices, they are clearly astonished by that which<br>
results from their efforts:  the inability to readily<br>
register the domain name of their choice with a more<br>
competitive registrar and/or the domain name that they<br>
have selected appearing in the WHOIS with the name of<br>
the registrar as the registrant of record<br>
<br>
(footnote -- see<br>
<a href="http://help.register.com/cgi-bin/register_help.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2796&p_created=1185549188&p_sid=*Nq5PxZi&p_accessibility=0&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD01NDImcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0x&p_li=&p_topview=1" target="_blank">http://help.register.com/cgi-bin/register_help.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2796&p_created=1185549188&p_sid=*Nq5PxZi&p_accessibility=0&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD01NDImcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0x&p_li=&p_topview=1</a><br>

).<br>
<br>
The community's trust in ICANN's ability to manage the<br>
Domain Name System is at stake.  It is inappropriate<br>
for such registrar activities to proceed unabated in a<br>
policy vaccuum.  Accordingly we call upon the ICANN<br>
board to establish a temporary narrowly-tailored<br>
policy as a stopgap until such time as the relevant<br>
policy-recommending ICANN Supporting Organizations can<br>
provide a comprehensive consensus policy solution.<br><br>[Submitted to Board via At-Large Advisory Committee Board Liaison, Wendy Seltzer]</div><br><br clear="all"><br>