No! Don't!

To open 1st LD .AU domains is to misunderstand the significant role that 
we played in the creation of this whole catastrophe in the first place - 
to misunderstand why the 2LDs were birthed and where they were borne 
from. And why.

We inherited our .AU infrastructure as a result of our involvement in 
the initial deployment of the Internet. It's not our structure that 
needs correcting, it's the TLD itself.

The whole DNS system was designed around redundancy, and what would 
survive in a post-apocalyptic context. Commercialising it is akin to 
breaking out the 4WD Ladas on a snow-laden CSKA Moscow pitch - 
impressive, but pointless.

.AU used to be over-regulated, but now it's very competitive. I can't 
see any justification for further de-regulation at this time that won't 
undermine the value of all the domains that the rest of you have been 
holding onto and profiting from.

Many of you are paying premium for the likes of M.I.T. to "manage" your 
domains. But many of you want to increase your margins.

You could lose all of that. Everything. Once .com.au becomes 
un-regulated as .au - the likes of DNA will pounce, this time legitimised.

The .AU part will become almost irrelevant.

Sure, the Eneticas and NetRegistries will make their 10% margin, but the 
consequences... You will damn the market forever.

It's all very nice to say that the TLD can buy back a 2LD if necessary - 
but that's simply not realistic. You're either in or you're out. Once 
the TLD is in, the 2LD is out.

And I'm out too.


One policy that we've stuck by, all along, is that com.au has to be 
registered to a trading entity. That policy has served us well and I see 
no reason to change it.


cb
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P.S. j'vens'cule, vos'toires d'merde