[Comments-info-renewal-18mar19] Opposition to the removal of price caps for .info TLD

[Matthew Rasnake]

I am writing in opposition to the proposed changes which remove price caps
for the .info TLD. The internet exists in its current state because it has
always been an open platform for innovation and creativity. Part of the
internet's openness has resulted from pragmatic, responsible management by
organizations such as ICANN, which has kept prices reasonably low and
critical services and infrastructure accessible to just about anyone. As
we've seen with the recent creation of a plethora of new TLDs, the absence
of price caps will allow, and in some cases encourage, price gouging and
extortion. Domain squatting and secondary domain sales have become a blight
on the internet, hampered the proliferation of ideas, and hamstrung the
internet's growth to some extent, and if domain names are only available to
organizations with deep pockets this will only get worse, leaving the
internet less open and innovative.

As an unrestricted domain, .info has served a vital purpose as an
alternative to the .com and .org TLDs, offering a place for a wide variety
of domains with a wide range of purposes. Nevertheless, allowing registrars
to raise prices on this TLD may cause material harm to individuals and
organizations which have owned and operated .info domains for decades, and
would be tantamount to extortion. I would hope that, should this policy
change go into effect, a class action suit would be brought against both
ICANN and the registrars responsible for managing and selling .info domains
to replace the price caps, and enact a suitable punishment for the
extortion of nearly six-million current registrants.

Please reconsider this ill-advised and harmful policy change.

Thanks for your time.
--
Matthew Rasnake
Writer of Science-Fiction For All Ages

P.S. If you're interested in my work, my two latest short stories are
available for free <https://www.matthewrasnake.com/signup>!
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