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Dear ICANN, </div>
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The new proposal agreement with Verisign that allows for annual price increases to the prolific domain extension .COM is very worrisome. The .COM extension makes up 40% of all domains, making it the singular most common and familiar domain extension across
the globe. </div>
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One thing that makes the world wide web the wonderful place of wisdom, growth, and community is its accessibility. Any individual, any entrepreneur or start-up, or school program, etc, can add their voice to the internet simply by creating a place to house
their knowledge. In recent years, it has become more difficult to afford hosting for this little piece of internet. With more-or-less mandatory SSL certificates for even barebone websites, paid WhoIS protection, and other such hurdles, it's getting increasingly
harder for the "little guy" to enter this world. </div>
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So much of a website's success and identity comes from a memorable domain name, and the .COM extension is clearly the easiest extension to remember. I personally own a handful of domains, all .COM extensions. I am a web developer working for a small design
firm. When our clients ask for assistance with choosing domains, we exclusive suggest .COM extensions.</div>
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I am skeptical on who this price increase would benefit and how it will effect the internet community. If the money isn't going back into the community, I feel this deal between ICANN and Verisign is pure bribery. I believe ICANN should more heavily consult
the public and other experts, before settling on a deal that could be very harmful to the internet at large.</div>
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Best,</div>
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Erin Witzel</div>
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