Hello All,

Historically a number of identifiers within the .com.au namespace were
reserved for a range of reasons.  These included identifiers that were
considered to be generic words used in English and identifiers that are
also used to identify geographic places in Australia.

I believe that there should be no "reserved" words within the .com.au
namespace.  The namespace should be governed by common eligibility
rules.   .com.au is intended for use by Australian businesses, and the
identifier chosen should have some connection with the business.   A
separate namespace has been created for use specifically for
organisations that are associated with a specific geographic region.

Thus Melbourne IT supports the release of reserved  names  that were
previously reserved because they are also used to identify geographic
places in Australia for the following reasons:

- the release of reserved names like "computer" and "flowers" in 2002
has had no ill effects on the .com.au namespace

- names used for geographic regions in Australia are often also used for
a range of other purposes - including a person's name (e.g Melbourne), a
fruit (e.g Orange), a generic geographic term (e.g Deep Bay), a bird
(e.g Falcon) etc.

- the lack of some names in .com.au, has led businesses to register in
.com and other namespaces instead

- the use of search engines and website content provides context for the
use of a particular domain name

- a new group of namespaces within .au have been created specifically
for geographic names (e.g nsw.au, vic.au)

- there are dispute resolution processes in place to address problems
where a name is registered in bad faith

Melbourne IT encourages businesses to select a .com.au or .net.au domain
name that is related to their business, and is also easy for a customer
to remember.    The .com equivalent of many of the more desirable names
that are being released has already been taken by businesses outside of
Australia.  This is an opportunity for Australian businesses to gain a
name that is appropriate for their business.

Regards,
Bruce