DomainForum is being held today in Sofia, Bulgaria with a firm focus on newTLDs. The event was opened by one of the Bulgarian ministers who spoke about Bulgaria's open policy towards the internet. ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom was the opening speaker and the rest of the day's speakers is varied (disclosure - I'm one of them) The full schedule may be found … [Read more...] about DomainForum in Sofia Focuses On NewTLDs
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ICANN 42 Kicks Off This Weekend
The 42nd public ICANN meeting officially opens next Monday, but, as usual, a cursory glance at the event schedule shows a different story. GNSO, At-Large, GAC and other stakeholders will be meeting from 9am (local time) on Saturday onwards. What's on the menu for this meeting? With the launch date for newTLDs announced don't expect any "huge" announcements, though … [Read more...] about ICANN 42 Kicks Off This Weekend
Comments On CoCCA’s Proposals
CoCCA have published a set of proposals under the title of "Best Practice Recommendations for Minimising Harm ( and increasing trust ) in small ccTLDs". While the spirit of the proposals is admirable I find the proposals themselves to be more than a little disturbing from both a registrant and registrar viewpoint. Since I'm not sure if the comments on the proposal will be … [Read more...] about Comments On CoCCA’s Proposals
4th International conference for ccTLD registries and registrars of CIS, Central and Eastern Europe Schedule Finalised
The final schedule for the 4th International conference for ccTLD registries and registrars of CIS, Central and Eastern Europe which is being held in Serbia in September has been published. The speakers for the event include ICANN staff, CENTR, Afilias, registrars, registries, ccTLD managers. It should be an interesting event judging by the lineup (Disclosure - I'm … [Read more...] about 4th International conference for ccTLD registries and registrars of CIS, Central and Eastern Europe Schedule Finalised
ICANN Chief Announces Departure Via Twitter
ICANN's CEO and President, Rod Beckstrom, has announced that he will be stepping down in July of next year. The announcement came via Twitter of all places, with a press release, presumably with more details, due sometime soon: I have decided to wrap up my service at ICANN July 2012. Press release soon. With the launch of the new TLD program scheduled to officially … [Read more...] about ICANN Chief Announces Departure Via Twitter
ICANN Chief Slaps Down ANA
Kevin reported in detail about the letter that ANA (Association of National Advertisers) sent to ICANN where they threatened to sue over the launch of new TLDs. ICANN chief, Rod Beckstrom, has replied in detail and while the response is polite it's a bit of a slap down, as Beckstrom points out why ICANN believes that ANA's arguments do not hold water. You can grab the PDF … [Read more...] about ICANN Chief Slaps Down ANA
New TLD Event To Be Held In Bulgaria
With the countdown towards the opening of the application window on new TLDs next January draws closer the number of new TLD related events is growing. In November there will be a one day event on new TLDs in Sofia, Bulgaria. At the moment the timetable covers topics such as: intellectual property IDNs IPv6 DNSSEC new TLD application … [Read more...] about New TLD Event To Be Held In Bulgaria
Minds and Machines vs COCCA – Registry Software Still Open Source
COCCA, which runs the backend for over 30 ccTLDs, issued a clarification last week about its registry software. You can read it below, but the key takeaway is that: COCCA is 100% open source Minds and Machines has no control over COCCA Any developments made to COCCA were done without Minds and Machines Here's the statement: Public Notice, Clarification: … [Read more...] about Minds and Machines vs COCCA – Registry Software Still Open Source
George Sadowsky’s Explanation of His No Vote
George Sadowsky voted against the launch of new TLDs in last Monday's ICANN board meeting. I'd been meaning to re-read the transcript, as I found a lot of what he said was very well thought out and logical. Here it is: >>GEORGE SADOWSKY: Thank you, Peter. This is one of the most important votes in which I will participate within ICANN. I have agonized over it, and … [Read more...] about George Sadowsky’s Explanation of His No Vote
ICANN Board Votes in Favour of New TLDs
This morning's board meeting in Singapore didn't bring too many surprises. The board voted in favour of launching the new TLD program, though not all board members voted in favour. They've also put out a timeline for applications, which should make quite a few people happy. What is interesting is what the board members said both in favour of the decision and against … [Read more...] about ICANN Board Votes in Favour of New TLDs