There’s been a lot of talk lately about reforming WHOIS. In an effort to make good on its vows to improve the system, ICANN released a document entitled “Inventory of WHOIS Service Requirements.” The document (PDF) lays out a number of proposals for fixing the broken domain owner contact database. …
April, 2010
-
6 April
VeriSign makes proposal for domain exchange service
Domain giant VeriSign sent a request to ICANN this week seeking approval to launch a domain exchange service designed for registrars who bundle domains with hosting packages. As of right now, the company is only looking to do this on the .net TLD. The proposed plan would let hosts “swap …
March, 2010
-
31 March
.YU is officially dead
The .yu ccTLD saw its demise yesterday around noon when all of its name servers were taken offline. Because of the break-up of Yugoslavia, ICANN decided the .yu extension was redundant in 2008 and ordered its users to switch to new domains. The shut-down was originally supposed to take place …
-
30 March
ICANN opens .xxx comment period
ICANN opened a public comment period a few days ago to gauge the public’s feelings on the .xxx gTLD. People have until May 10 to make a comment, which can be done here. So far, only a handful of comments have been left. This just reassures me that no one …
-
11 March
What is the ICANN fee?
When you register a domain, you may notice that a so-called “ICANN fee” is charged by your registrar. At 18 cents per year per domain, it isn’t a lot, but adds up if you have a lot of domains. The administrative fee is charged to all .com, .net, .org, .biz, …
-
10 March
An educator's perspective on .XXX domains
Many of the voices we have heard speaking out about the proposed .XXX top-level domains (TLD) are mostly from the tech community, the adult industry, and politicians with various agendas. Although I rarely use this blog for editorial purposes, I thought it might be helpful for people to consider the …
-
9 March
ICANN to reconsider .xxx
After losing a non-enforceable lawsuit against ICM Registry for blocking the .xxx domain, ICANN will reconsider the extension. According to a spokesman, it will be discussed at a meeting this Friday. As much as we all love the wide array of busts and brawn available online, I really don’t see …
-
2 March
Rod Beckstrom to visit China
Rod Beckstrom is scheduled to visit China for two days next week. This will be the ICANN CEO’s first trip to the country since assuming his post last year. A number of things are on the agenda. A major point of discussion will be China’s plans to launch its own …
February, 2010
-
22 February
ICANN "fined" $475,000 for rejection of .xxx
The International Centre For Dispute Resolution ruled yesterday that ICANN should pay ICM Registry, the main proponent of the controversial .xxx domain, $475,000 in damages plus $221,000 in arbitration fees for its rejection of the extension. Fortunately for ICANN, the ruling is not binding. ICM has applied for the extension …
-
17 February
ICANN: 77% of WHOIS data inaccurate
A study conducted by ICANN on five gTLDs (including .com and .net) reveals that 77% of WHOIS data is at least partially inaccurate. In addition, only 46% of domain owners in the study could be successfully contacted. ICANN talked with a number of domain owners and found that they did …