[NCAP-Discuss] OCTO-34 Challenges with Alternative Name Systems

[James Galvin]

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