ICANN's security and stability committee (SSAC) recently issued a report on "dotless" domain names. These would be where the domain name is the extension - so instead of having $thing.$extension you would find $extension by itself. As the report (PDF) explains, there are quite a few technical issues with the concept of no domain extension. Just polling a few users on … [Read more...] about Dotless Domains Deemed A Bad Idea
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Google’s Copyright Algorithm Change Welcomed By White House
Late last week Google announced a change to their algorithm to penalise copyright infringers in the search engine's results. The White House's Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, Victoria Espinel, last night welcomed this move: On Friday, Google announced that it will incorporate valid copyright removal notices into its search algorithms, moving infringing sites … [Read more...] about Google’s Copyright Algorithm Change Welcomed By White House
Kids.us Goes The Way of the Dodo
.Kids.us is one of those domain extensions that sounds like a good idea, but when you look at it a bit more closely you end up having more questions than answers. Essentially the domain extension was designed to be a safe internet space for "kid friendly" content, but the restrictions on registration were incredibly tight. How many .kids.us domains were registered? No idea, but … [Read more...] about Kids.us Goes The Way of the Dodo
ICANN Pre-Prague Document Dump
In the run up to the Prague ICANN meeting in a couple of weeks there has been a flurry of activity chez ICANN. As happens in the weeks running up to any public meeting there has been a load of important documents published in order to meet the deadlines. Last night, while most of Europe was sleeping, ICANN published the following: Board Conflict of Interests Review RAA … [Read more...] about ICANN Pre-Prague Document Dump
Irish Country Code High Risk For Business
If you're going to choose a country code for your business you might want to think long and hard about choosing the .ie ccTLD. Why? Because if you reorganise your business you might end up losing your domain. In several recent cases the IEDR have flatly refused to update the registrant details on domain names citing registry rules that were never applied to the initial … [Read more...] about Irish Country Code High Risk For Business
ICANN and Registrars Provide A Status Update
One of the "hot topics" at the ICANN meeting in Costa Rica next week will be the ongoing negotiations around the RAA. The RAA is basically the core document and contract that all ICANN accredited registrars have to sign with ICANN in order to be able to offer domain name registration services. (Oddly enough UDRP providers aren't bound by anything as strict..) The first … [Read more...] about ICANN and Registrars Provide A Status Update
Nominet Publish Draft Member Code
Nominet, the domain registry for the .uk ccTLD, has published a draft "member code". Nominet's structure means that its registrars are also "members" of the organisation, so this move is quite an interesting one. You can read the draft text on the Nominet site here. From an initial reading the "code" appears to be quite "light" and doesn't impose any onerous obligations … [Read more...] about Nominet Publish Draft Member Code
Kroes Says No To EU SOPA
EU commissioner Neelie Kroes has been critical of SOPA and suggests that the EU would not introduce legislation of this kind. Of course Kroes can only speak for the EU commission and possibly only for that part of it that she's in charge of. Several member states have been discussing legislative measures that are very similar to SOPA. In Ireland, for example, the … [Read more...] about Kroes Says No To EU SOPA
This Site Is Going Dark
This site will be "dark" tomorrow from 8am to 8pm Irish time in protest against SOPA and similar legislation. It doesn't matter that SOPA might be "dead". There will be other legislation that is just as bad .. … [Read more...] about This Site Is Going Dark
Wikipedia To Go Dark In Protest Against SOPA
Obviously I'm not the only person who is more than a little cynical about SOPA, or the retraction / shelving, cal it what you will of the legislation. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has made it clear that he's not considering SOPA "dead" until the proverbial fat lady sings. More coverage on Financial Times Related articles Wikipedia will go dark to protest SOPA/PIPA … [Read more...] about Wikipedia To Go Dark In Protest Against SOPA