Public Comment
Work Track 5 on Geographic Names at the Top Level - Supplemental Initial Report of the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Policy Development Process
Open Date
5 December 2018 23:59 UTC
Close Date
1 February 2019 23:59 UTC
Staff Report Due
22 February 2019 23:59 UTC
Brief Overview
Notice:Due to an error in the numbering of proposals contained in the original version of this report, the document was updated on 12 December 2018 to correct the fact that two proposals were labeled "Proposal 10." In your comments, please ensure that you are referencing the correct version of the report, which contains a total of 38 proposals.
Purpose: This public comment proceeding is being opened in order to obtain input on the Supplemental Initial Report of the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Policy Development Process Working Group (PDP WG) focused on Work Track 5. The PDP is chartered to evaluate what changes or additions need to be made to existing new gTLD policy recommendations. Work Track 5 focuses on one specific issue within the Working Group's charter, the topic of geographic names at the top level. The Working Group issued its first Initial Report, containing the output of the Working Group on the Overarching Issues as well as preliminary recommendations and questions for community feedback from Work Tracks 1-4, on 3 July 2018. This Supplemental Initial Report contains outputs from Work Track 5, which started later than the other Work Tracks and has therefore operated on a different timeline.
Current Status: This Supplemental Initial Report for Work Track 5 is being posted for public comment as supported by the GNSO Operating Procedures.
Next Steps: Following review of public comments received, Work Track 5 will integrate public comments received and work towards recommendations to send to the full Working Group for consideration and inclusion in the Final Report.
Section I: Description and Explanation
The GNSO's New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Working Group (WG), which was chartered by the GNSO Council to conduct a Policy Development Process (PDP), is seeking to determine what, if any, changes may need to be made to the existing Introduction of New Generic Top-Level Domains policy recommendations from 8 August 2007 as well as the final Applicant Guidebook dated June 2012. As the original policy recommendations as adopted by the GNSO Council and ICANN Board have "been designed to produce systemized and ongoing mechanisms for applicants to propose new top-level domains", those policy recommendations remain in place for subsequent rounds of the New gTLD Program unless the GNSO Council would decide to modify those policy recommendations via a policy development process. The PDP WG created 5 Work Tracks that are responsible for considering the subjects within its charter. The PDP Working Group sought community input through two community comment periods. The Working Group issued its first Initial Report, containing the output of the Working Group on the Overarching Issues as well as preliminary recommendations and questions for community feedback from Work Tracks 1-4, on 3 July 2018. This Supplemental Initial Report contains outputs from Work Track 5 on geographic names at the top level, which started later than the other Work Tracks and has therefore operated on a different timeline.
The objective of this Supplemental Report to the Initial Report is to document Work Track 5's deliberations, potential options for recommendations, and (where applicable) preliminary recommendations, as well as specific questions for which Work Track 5 is seeking input. These topics have not yet been considered by the Working Group as a whole.
The Work Track 5 Supplemental Report is structured similarly to the Initial Report, especially in that it does not contain a "Statement of level of consensus for the recommendations presented in the Initial Report." As with the Initial Report, the Co-Chairs of the Working Group continue to believe that it is premature to measure the level of consensus of Work Track and Working Group members, and that doing so could have the unintended consequence of locking Work Track and Working Group members into positions of support or opposition prior to soliciting public comment from the community on those recommendations. To form such definitive positions at this early a stage could have the adverse effect of being less open to modifications to those positions as a result of community input. The Co-Leaders of Work Track 5 support this approach and, after discussion with Work Track members, have adopted it for Work Track 5.
After a comprehensive review of public comments received on the Work Track 5 Supplemental Report, Work Track 5 will deliberate further on the preliminary recommendations and potential options for recommendations contained herein. Once that is completed, the full Working Group will deliberate and conduct a formal consensus call on all recommendations before the recommendations are integrated into the Final Report.
Therefore, comments on any preliminary recommendations, options and/or questions presented are welcomed and encouraged. In addition, in some cases the Working Track was unable to reach preliminary recommendations. The community, therefore, should not limit itself to commenting on only the preliminary recommendations, options, and questions specifically identified in the Work Track 5 Supplemental Report, but on any other items that may not have been adequately addressed. For example, if there is an option you believe Work Track 5 should consider, but that option is not presented or even discussed in the Work Track 5 Supplemental Report, please provide detailed information about that option, along with any background, context and supporting documents.
Section II: Background
In June of 2014, the GNSO Council created the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Discussion Group, which was focused on reflecting upon the experiences gained from the 2012 New gTLD round and identifying a recommended set of subjects that should be further analyzed in an Issue Report. At the ICANN53 meeting, the GNSO Council approved a motion to request that an Issue Report be drafted by ICANN staff, basing the report on the set of deliverables developed by the Discussion Group, to further analyze issues identified and help determine if changes or adjustments are needed for subsequent new gTLD procedures. The Final Issue Report was submitted to the GNSO Council for its consideration on 4 December 2015 and a PDP on New gTLD Subsequent Procedures was initiated on 17 December 2015. The PDP WG has been meeting on a regular basis since February 2016. On 22 October 2017, a Call for Volunteers was issued for Work Track 5 and Work Track 5 held its first meeting on 15 November 2017.
Section III: Relevant Resources
- Supplemental Initial Report on the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Policy Development Process (Work Track 5 on Geographic Names at the Top Level)
- Annex B – Table of Preliminary Recommendations, Options and Questions for Community Input
- Executive Summary of the Supplemental Initial Report on the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Policy Development Process (Work Track 5 on Geographic Names at the Top Level)
Comments Closed
Report of Public Comments