From: Sam Bauers 
Sent: Thursday, 15 January 2004 1:20 AM
To: jo.lim@auda.org.au
Subject: Geo 2LD

A small comment on the Geographic 2LD draft policy:

The system being proposed would effectively create a de-facto standard 
for community information on the web. By giving only one website 
(registrant) in each geographic location access to the larger 
state-wide and country-wide portal system being proposed and the 
geographic 2LD DNS itself, the system effectively creates a monopoly on 
this type of information once these systems become "authoritative".

Such an occurrence could be perceived to be anti-competitive practice, 
it would certainly have an effect on current providers of such services 
(e.g. citysearch.com.au) and to suggest that the new system would not 
be commercially centred would be naive. The policy states that the 
website may recoup costs through sponsorship or website advertising, so 
"Not-for-profit" + "community-oriented" does not equate to 
"not-a-competitor", and the poor souls who have spent their time 
building up community portals who may now be excluded by this policy 
won't be happy.

Essentially, the policy may effectively impose territorial restrictions 
on the trade of others (albeit in a virtual way), and aside from 
whether or not that is legal, it seems to contradict the way the most 
successful parts of the internet work. I.E. in an open and unrestricted 
way.

The state/country-wide portals being proposed would have to allow for 
the inclusion of *any* portals relevant to the geographic locations 
they cover to be equitable to such existing community portals.


Also:

- Policy 3b)
- The registrant must use the domain name solely for the purpose of 
operating a community website.

I can't see the point of creating a whole domain name space just to 
make websites. If the aim of the whole Geo2LD name space is just to 
provide a web based portal service then why not just use a directory 
structure on one big web-server? What is offered by Geo2lD that is not 
offered by this site - http://tinyurl.com/yvaq4

It is a very limiting use of the DNS, and if the name delegation is 
technically handled in the same manner as current .au names, then it is 
near impossible to police.

I fear that the greater potentialities of this name space are going to 
be lost.

Sam Bauers

P.S. - Portals are, like, so 1998.
P.P.S. - People use the internet to create communities that are 
unrestricted by location, not bound by it.