From: Mike & Sheena Cardiff 
Sent: Sunday, 18 July 2004 4:17 PM
To: jo.lim@auda.org.au
Subject: Response to geographic names review

Dear Jo,

Thanks for providing the opportunity to respond to this review. 

In responding to your questions, may I first say I think it is absolutely essential that geographic 
names are reserved for use by the community – that is, for use by a community group who are not only 
representative of the said community, but meet strict criteria that they will develop and operate a 
website about and for a community. I think there would be widespread community angst at the idea that 
geographic domain names of .com.au and .net.au could become commodities available for free trade to 
all – no matter that community you are from. 

As someone involved in the national test case, at a personal level, removing the .com.au and .net.au 
restrictions altogether would leave a bad taste in my mouth, and I have no doubt would discourage 
other community groups from endeavoring to secure the 2LDs. Operators of 2LDs have to prove they are 
operating for their community, are representative of their community and meet many other regulations. 
Removing restrictions on .com.au and .net.au altogether will undo the good work done to date to 
develop the 2LD concept, and be an enormous roadblock to further growth of 2LDs for ownership by 
their communities. 

 

The roadblocks the .com.au and .net.au geographic names present to 2LDs is in the hindrance they would 
be to successfully marketing community owned sites. Marketing costs are probably one of the most 
forgotten expenses in making a successful website – there’s hardly a point in having a website if no 
one knows it’s there. Open up .com.au and .net.au geographic names to all – in competition with 2LDs 
and suddenly 2LDs will become lost in the online wilderness. 

 

This is not to say I am against removing the restrictions altogether. As a web user, the .com.au and 
.net.au domain names are the most intuitive domain names and for many people, the first place they 
would go looking to find the ‘online home’ of an Australian community.  

 

I would argue that those operators who meet the criteria for the 2LD domain name should by default 
also own the .com.au and .net.au space. Should such a move prove too difficult to police and track, 
then my preference is to continue the .com.au and .net.au restrictions altogether. 

 

I certainly hope it isn’t the intention of AuDA to create 2LDs in order to ‘pacify’ community interests 
in the event of removing restrictions on .com.au and .net.au restrictions altogether. 

 

Regards,

 

Sheena Frost