---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2002 04:45:36 +1000 (EST)
From: Ian Smith <smithi&#167;nimnet.asn.au>
To: Ms Jo Lim <jo.lim&#167;auda.org.au>
Subject: Proposed new Second Level Domains in .au

         Submission to the AuDA New Names Advisory Panel.

This is not a proposal for new 2LDs in .au but rather an advocacy that
the .au namespace is essentially sound as it stands, that well enough
should be left alone, and that the only entities claiming 'demonstrated'
support for a plethora of 'me-too' ICANN TLD-shadowing new 2LD.au are
those standing to (hopefully) 'grow' demand for such domains to their
benefit rather than that of the Australian Internet Community at large. 

Mark Tearle's proposal for a 'reactivation' of the conf.au domain,
essentially for its original purpose but with some clear and it appears
reasonable clarifications of guidelines applicable to registration,
would seem worthy of support or at least investigation, particularly in
regard to extensions for recurrent conferences, events and festivals
whose organisers may feel comfortable operating in such a namespace. 

The 'One City One Site' joint government proposal for a hierarchy of
national, state and local government controlled 'community portals' is
essentially an immensely bureaucratic and fundamentally flawed attempt
to impose ancient-structured thinking onto new media that is doomed to
irrelevance as communities (however defined) develop local solutions to
local conditions in their own ways; still I expect it will 'get up' ..

Nor can I see how the creation, care and feeding of, for example, a
'biz.au' domain would do anything at all for Australian businesses who
are now at liberty to register domains in com.au or net.au, except
perhaps to 'create a need' to succumb to (no doubt incessant) attempts
at persuasion to register such names as 'protection' against such thus
newly created opportunities for cybersquatters, scammers and spammers.

Claims of any existing 2LD.au being anything like 'full' are spurious.

I cannot see any advantage to creating 'name.au' when we have 'id.au',
and reject the notion that we ought slavishly follow US nomenclature.

I believe, though of course cannot prove, that the majority of those who
care for the Australian Domain namespace, apart from a minority of would
be registrars and/or resellers, have demonstrated by their overwhelming
disinterest to date having been largely unimpressed with notions of
'growing' the number of domains registered in the .au namespace beyond
the quite natural growth in number of businesses, groups and individuals
who are or will be establishing an online presence for more sustainable
reasons than mere indulging in once de rigeur me-too dot-whatever mania. 

That bubble has clearly already burst, and it is up to any new 2LD.au
proponents to demonstrate far more evidence of real 'consumer demand'
than hitherto expressed firmly held beliefs in econo-rationalist
theories of perpetual market growth and attendant 'economies of scale'.

Despite the do-nothing (or do-very-little) option appearing scarcely
accessible to those wishing to comment on this panel's raisons d'etre,
and despite my skepticism of this panel's desire for self-fulfillment
allowing much consideration of it, I feel I must at least advocate the
option, lest silence be construed as consent, and advise much caution
and truly wide and truly public consultation before considering the
supply-side pressure to create further 2LDs in the .au namespace,
especially before the new regime has a couple of years' track record. 

Sincerely,

Ian Smith  (IS297-AU)

Secretary / Technical Manager
Nimbin Network Association
http://www.nimnet.asn.au/