browse comments: WIPO RFC-1

WIPO RFC-1
bentley@crenelle.com
Sat, 11 Jul 1998 19:12:12 -0400

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The mechanism for obtaining a domain name (and account names) is a simple one that WIPO need have no involvement. The rules for establishing precedence over the right to have specific domain names, and the arbitration process to resolve claims, is very much a candidate for WIPO consideration, particularly if WIPO has the reputation for establishing meaningful guidelines that are applicable in international disputes, and have those guidelines adopted in local and international law.

One peccadillo I have regarding domain names is the apparent necessity to adopt a specific suffix as part of your domain name, for example, .com, .gov, and so on, in part to appease the way current domain registrations are taken care of. I on the other hand don't believe that any suffix, particularly one from a restricted list that is dictated by the domain registration process, is appropriate, required, or desired.

The .com suffix is so dominant on the net today, its true meaning is not only completely lost, it puts into question the need for any such suffix in the first place. The domain registration process should not require a mandatory suffix in any part of a domain name; any suffix being present should be in place because the domain owner wants it to be there.

The idea that there would be only five, or seven, or even eleven legitimate formulaic suffix names to choose from (.com, .org, .gov, .wow, .xyz, and so on) appears to be an outgrowth of what users had gotten used to when they bought and used computing systems that ran old operating systems like RT-11, CP/M, DOS and Windows 3.1, when every file had a helpful identifying suffix attached to the name: COMMENT.TXT, for example.

To my knowledge, there is no internet computing requirement, hardware, software, or otherwise, that requires my domain to be crenelle.com. I would like it to be crenelle; if you want to see my web site, you type in crenelle and there you go. If you want to see my ftp site, you type in crenelle and there you go: the software figures out what you mean from context and takes care of the details.

If some governments wish to establish a common practice and use the suffix .gov to indicate the nature of the beast in general terms, as a practical ward against spam, that's fine, but the suffix should be a choice, not a requirement.

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