[NCAP-Discuss] Clarifications

[Matt Larson]

Patrik, everyone.

On May 13, 2020, at 4:17 PM, Patrik Fältström via NCAP-Discuss <ncap-discuss at icann.org<mailto:ncap-discuss at icann.org>> wrote:

(1) a proper definition for name collision and the underlying reasons why strings that manifest name collisions are so heavily used;

We are not able to, and would like to not spend/waste time and money on trying to answer that question in the generic context (i.e. talk about abstract name spaces overlapping etc...).

I agree with everything you wrote in your email. My personal opinion is that B.c (TLD-level re-registration collisions) are out of scope for the NCAP work. I also think that B.b (TLD re-registration collisions) and B.a (search list collisions) should be in scope if we consider the big picture that the NCAP work is to help the Board in its deliberations regarding new gTLDs.

I don't want to beat a dead horse, nor do I want to be (too) pedantic, but let me offer a definition of name collision below that gets across the points I was trying to make in the call yesterday: (1) the term "name collision" is very broad and therefore (2) there exist name collisions that are not in scope for NCAP.

Matt L.


A name collision is when a name used in one context and intended to be interpreted in that context is inadvertently interpreted in another context. One possible context is time. For example, a TLD .EXAMPLE could be present in the root zone, then be removed, and then later reappear being run a different operator. Queries for the domain SLD.EXAMPLE could be intended for that domain's registration with the original operator of .EXAMPLE, but are instead now resolved by the current operator of .EXAMPLE. Another possible context is name space. For example, a domain might be used in the context of an organization's private name space and therefore intended to be resolved within that organization's infrastructure. The name is instead resolved by servers in the public Internet that are part of the name space managed by the Root Zone Management partners ("RZM"). Both of these examples are collisions that are in scope NCAP. But not all name collisions in these contexts are in scope for NCAP. For example, if the name EXAMPLE.ORG<http://EXAMPLE.ORG> is registered, expires, and is then registered by a different registrant, queries intended for the original registrant but resolved by the current registrant are not in scope for NCAP.

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