[CPWG] OCTO-34 Challenges with Alternative Name Systems

Fri Apr 29 09:10:34 UTC 2022

Many thanks Justine for the post.

You may be aware that, I have been working with the early owners of
the Internet Kiosks nearly 20 years back. Admittedly, there was not much
of advise from ICANN as such. Experiences taught me a valuable lesson: 
Word - of - Mouth
and "Peer Group" command more trust and quick action rather than any 
branded documentation.

During the past few years of the COVID - 19 crisis, I found the 
following ICANN blog very useful.

"Ways of Trusting Internet Identifiers" at:
https://www.icann.org/fr/blogs/details/ways-of-trusting-internet-identifiers-3-4-2017-en

A quick excerpt:

ICANN has responded by having an extremely open, transparent and 
accountable process. Trusted community representatives
play an active role in the maintenance of the cryptographic keys, 
participating in ceremonies that people can watch either
live or via recordings. Technical communities help shape the processes 
that govern the chain of trust for DNSSEC......

I ma sure you would appreciate that, it is a lot more than what you have 
very nicely included in the trace that reads:

"UNLESS INTERNET USERS INSTALL SPECIFIC SOFTWARE OR CONFIGURE CERTAIN 
SETTINGS ON ALL
OF THEIR DEVICES, THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE THESE NON-DNS NAMES."

What is in a NAME?

Sincerely,

Gopal T V
0 9840121302
https://vidwan.inflibnet.ac.in/profile/57545
https://www.facebook.com/gopal.tadepalli
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dr. T V Gopal
Professor
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
College of Engineering
Anna University
Chennai - 600 025, INDIA
Ph : (Off) 22351723 Extn. 3340
       (Res) 24454753
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On 2022-04-29 06:12, Justine Chew via CPWG wrote:
> This came to my attention vide the NCAP Discussion Group and is a
> worthwhile read for those with concerns over name collisions in
> competing name spaces (please note that these sort of name collisions
> is out-of-scope for the NCAP Studies) and I would add to Jim's excerpt
> extracted from the document ......
> 
> https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/octo-034-27apr22-en.pdf
> 
>> "_A key reason to obtain a brandable domain is that it is easy to
>> remember, pronounce, and spell. We also make assumptions. For
>> example, you might assume that any potential customer anywhere in
>> the world could use the domain name you select to connect with you
>> easily, either by clicking on a link or typing the name into a
>> browser, regardless of which platform the customer is using._
> 
>> _This assumptions holds true when you get a regular DNS domain name.
>> Once the proper DNS records and web servers for that domain name are
>> set up, any user on the Internet can reach you. This is one of the
>> most important advantages of the DNS: domain names can be resolved
>> by anyone, anywhere on the planet, from any platform. Meanwhile,
>> alternative naming systems have existed for a long while, but have
>> remained marginal. More recently, various blockchains have
>> introduced their own naming systems. Those are often promoted as
>> real alternatives to the DNS._
> 
>> _If you are using a name that is part of such an alternative naming
>> solution, the above assumption no longer holds true. Resolving
>> domain names in an alternative naming system requires a specialized
>> bridge from the DNS world in order for the alternate names to work.
>> What does this mean to the average Internet user? UNLESS INTERNET
>> USERS INSTALL SPECIFIC SOFTWARE OR CONFIGURE CERTAIN SETTINGS ON ALL
>> OF THEIR DEVICES, THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE THESE NON-DNS NAMES.
>> In this circumstance, an Internet user clicking on a link with an
>> alternate name will see a failure with an error message that the
>> domain cannot be found....._"
> 
> Justine
> 
> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
> From: JAMES GALVIN
> Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2022 at 05:06
> Subject: [NCAP-Discuss] OCTO-34 Challenges with Alternative Name
> Systems
> To: NCAP Discussion Group
> 
> This document was recently published by OCTO:
> 
> https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/octo-034-27apr22-en.pdf
> 
> Although our focus is name collisions within the DNS infrastructure,
> we have stated that we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge that
> there are alternate namespaces and their impact on us.
> 
> I believe the aforementioned document by OCTO is informative to this
> concern.  I have excerpted the Executive Summary here for your
> consideration and encourage all to review the document.
> 
>> _"The Domain Name System (DNS) is a component of the system of
>> unique identifiers ICANN helps to coordinate. It is the main naming
>> system on the Internet. It is not the only one. Some predate it, and
>> some others have been recently proposed in the wake of the
>> blockchain approach of decentralized systems._
> 
>>> 
> 
>> _ Proposing a new naming system is one thing. Making sure everybody
>> on the Internet can use it is another. Alternative naming systems
>> face a huge deployment challenge. A number of solutions exist to
>> bridge the DNS to those parallel worlds, but they all come with
>> their own set of drawbacks._
> 
>> _ Furthermore, the lack of name space coordination, either between
>> those alternative naming systems and the DNS, or simply among those
>> alternative naming systems, will result in unworkable name
>> collisions that could lead to completely separate ecosystems, one
>> for each alternative naming system, further fragmenting the
>> Internet. This is the exact opposite of the vision “one world, one
>> Internet.”_
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Jim
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