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Discontinuation of third level domain registrations for the .name TLD [pdf]

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Re: Discontinuation of third level domain registrations for the .name TLD [pdf]

#21

Post by vidarh »

rpdillon wrote: post #8
altairprime wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which TLDs allow users to registry arbitrary.arbitrary.tld other than .name?

I read the PDF, and thought I understood, but you're asking a good question. I did some research, and it turns out that when .name launched in 2001 (under Global Name Registry), it used this really weird shared-SLD architecture where the registry retained the second-level domain (e.g., rpdillon.name) and sold independent third-level domains (e.g. bob.rpdillon.name and jane.rpdillon.name) to completely unrelated indiv…

I cofounded Nameplanet, which morphed into GNR, and my name is in the ICANN docs for .name...

Basically, .name came out of us starting out as a webmail provider offering people to pick from ca. 60k domain names covering most common last names, because one of my co-founders and I both had firstname@lastname.tld email addresses.

When ICANN opened up for new TLDs we decided to try to offer the same more broadly.

So it wasn't just the registration, but initially also email forwarding..

None of the first batch of TLDs did as well as projected, and demand for .name was well below what we'd hoped, sadly.

For .name, it was a match of less demand than we thought and people not getting the third level thing, which led to eventually abandoning it as the main offering (after I'd moved on).

We ended up selling to Verisign a few years later.

Re: Discontinuation of third level domain registrations for the .name TLD [pdf]

#22

Post by vidarh »

wmf wrote: post #14
subarctic wrote: post #11

Can someone explain what this is, to someone who has never heard of the .name tld before?

Instead of registering your.name you would register first.last.name (nobody owned last.name). This was intended to allow more people to have personal domains with fewer conflicts. Now, years later, they are undoing it and they're even breaking existing domains. ("existing third level domain names will be terminated") This kind of breaking change shouldn't be allowed.

Most critically, the intent was to offer email forwarding at lastname.name, so you could also get email at firstname@lastname.name.

That was the starting point - we started as a webmail provider letting people share lastname.sometld domains

Without that, it's just another name.

Re: Discontinuation of third level domain registrations for the .name TLD [pdf]

#23

Post by LawnGnome »

badgersnake wrote: post #18
wmf wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Instead of registering your.name you would register first.last.name (nobody owned last.name). This was intended to allow more people to have personal domains with fewer conflicts. Now, years later, they are undoing it and they're even breaking existing domains. ("existing third level domain names will be terminated") This kind of breaking change shouldn't be allowed.

I currently have firstnamelastname.name which I use. I’m thinking I need to switch after this.

Same. That would be an ugly transition for me, but I guess I should start thinking about it.

Re: Discontinuation of third level domain registrations for the .name TLD [pdf]

#25

Post by jnwatson »

badgersnake wrote: post #18
wmf wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Instead of registering your.name you would register first.last.name (nobody owned last.name). This was intended to allow more people to have personal domains with fewer conflicts. Now, years later, they are undoing it and they're even breaking existing domains. ("existing third level domain names will be terminated") This kind of breaking change shouldn't be allowed.

I currently have firstnamelastname.name which I use. I’m thinking I need to switch after this.

They are cancelling 3rd level domains, not the 2-level domain you have.

Re: Discontinuation of third level domain registrations for the .name TLD [pdf]

#26

Post by jnwatson »

Can't anyone set up a "registrar" for a subdomain of a domain they already use? They control the DNS record, right? Why is ICANN even involved here?

I don't see how this is any different, other than the second-level domain owner delegates their registrar job to the first-level domain owner.

There is something weird though if you control smith.name, that you don't control john.smith.name. The DNS system does convey some indirect concept of responsibility.

Re: Discontinuation of third level domain registrations for the .name TLD [pdf]

#27

Post by nikanj »

"2.1. What effect, if any, will the proposed service have on the life cycle of domain names?

None. There will not be any effect on the life cycle of domain names."

Well, aside from deleting all of them. But no other effect on the life cycle.

"3.6. Have you communicated with any of the entities whose products or services might be affected by the introduction of your proposed service? If so, please describe the communications. No. Not applicable."

I guess communication is not applicable when you just cease a service.

Re: Discontinuation of third level domain registrations for the .name TLD [pdf]

#28

Post by zamadatix »

cpburns2009 wrote: post #16
altairprime wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which TLDs allow users to registry arbitrary.arbitrary.tld other than .name?

Don't many ccTLDs do something like that with the ".co.xx" second-level domain? (e.g., ".co.uk")

Kinda, it's a slight variation of that from what I can tell. E.g. you can't go and register john.smith.uk because it's arbitrary.fixed.fixed rather than arbitrary.arbitrary.fixed. You can do something like john.smith.co.uk, but only if you have registered smith.co.uk or they delegate to you.

It's an odd concept. I have to say I hadn't really thought of it before reading this.

Re: Discontinuation of third level domain registrations for the .name TLD [pdf]

#29

Post by famfamfam »

I have used a third-level .name domain as my primary domain and email since 2005, and I am in this list of domains affected. This is the first I have heard of this, does anyone have information on _when_ this might occur?

In the RSEP it states:

> "Have you communicated with any of the entities whose products or services might be affected by the introduction of your proposed service? If so, please describe the communications."

> "No. Not applicable."

As thankful as I am to OP for bringing this to my attention; I am equally disappointed that my registrar (Fasthosts) has not made any attempt to warn me about this, and that Verisign consider me "Not applicable" to a change that will be extremely onerous.

90 days to transition is an extremely short period of time to transition literally every account I have, including email addresses I use for government and medical services.

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