[Comments-org-renewal-18mar19] Objection to removing price cap for .org domains

[Matthew Rasnake]

I am writing in opposition to the proposed changes which remove price caps
for the .org 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 is the result of 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, and the internet
will become less open and less innovative.

On top of this, the .org TLD was intended for smaller, non-profit
organizations, though it has grown beyond that original purpose.
Nevertheless, allowing registrars to raise prices on this TLD may cause
material harm to organizations that have owned and operated .org 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 .org domains to replace the price caps, and enact a suitable
punishment for extortion against the nearly ten-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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