Spill your Guts to Vint Cerf

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This is your opportunity to have your Top-Level Domain related questions responded by Vint Cerf. Please post your questions using the comment submission button below (similar to posting a comment). Please limit your questions to one per comment. Best ten questions are passed on to Vint Cerf and his answers will be posted on CircleID as soon as they are returned. http://www.circleid.com/posts/ask_vint_cerf_the_road_ahead_for_top_level_domains/

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http://www.circleid.com/posts/answers_from_vint_cerf_on_top_level_domains



Q10: Why can’t Domain Name Holders automatically request anonymity without having to pay their Registrar, which really does NOT cost those Registrars anything extra?—by Search Engines Web

Vint Cerf: While I cannot speak for any Registrar (not being conversant with all their costs), there is always some cost associated with doing anything special. There is a tension between the desire for open WHOIS information and the desire of some registrants to be anonymous. That tension has yet to be satisfactorily resolved in policy discussions especially in the GNSO. One of the proposals has been to implement tiered access to WHOIS information, possibly by adopting a new technical substructure for implementing the system. Until that happens, registrars that are offering some form of anonymity apparently do so by adding procedures to the normal registration and apparently adding to cost.


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Q11: Why is it still REQUIRED to supply a Phone Number in this day in age?—by Search Engines Web

Vint Cerf: Experience has shown that it is extremely valuable to registrants to have multiple means of being reached in case there are problems with a registration. Hijacking of email addresses is all too common or changing of email addresses without changing registration information has led to failures of communication with consequent loss of registration. So this provision strikes me as a benefit to registrants.


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Q12: Your Perspective on VeriSign maintaining the .com directory, in light of all their exposed unethical marketing practices to get domains transferred to them?—by Search Engines Web

Vint Cerf: As far as I am aware, those issues have been resolved. There are arguments pro and con about presumptive renewal rights for gTLD operators. I am persuaded by the utility of stable operation and incentive to invest in the infrastructure to lean towards presumptive renewal except in the face of breach of contract.


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Q13: What were the “off the record” reasons for the .XXX domains not going through?—by Search Engines Web

Vint Cerf: There haven’t been any off the record reasons. All that has happened so far is that more time has been given for public input including input from the GAC after it has digested a report on the process of sTLD selection.