From: Alison Norris 
Sent: Tuesday, 20 July 2004 4:28 PM
To: 'Jo Lim'
Subject: RE: [auda-members] review of auDA policy - restriction on
geographic names in com.au and net.au

Thank for the opportunity to provide feedback on the review of the restriction on geographic 
names in .com.au and .net.au.

I am currently completing a PhD at the University of Wollongong with a focus on community portals. 
As part of my PhD research, I have been involved with the One City One Site Wollongong community 
domain name pilot project, and have conducted interviews with the facilitators and general members 
of all three OCOS test cases (Ballarat, Bathurst and Wollongong).

As part of the interview process, interviewees were informed about auDA's proposal to release the 
.com.au and .net.au geographic domain names. In excess of 15 interviews were conducted, and all 
participants had similar opinions. These responses are summarized below:

. A number of participants indicated that their respective communities had considered developing 
a community previously, however had been deterred because they were not able to register a 
(geographic) name that adequately represented their community. The release of the new community 
2LDs was welcomed by these individuals as extremely valuable in truly representing the community, 
both because of the geographic location, and the new state-based 2LD spaces. Interviewees were 
surprised and disappointed that auDA was considering releasing the protected .com.au and .net.au 
domains so soon after the geographic 2LDs, and prior to fully developing the new community domain 
names. 

. Interviewees believe that if geographic .com.au and .net.au domains are released, there is no 
incentive for communities to complete the rigorous application process for a community domain name. 

. If auDA chooses to proceed with the release of the .com.au and .net.au geographic domains, 
interviewees suggested that there should be strict rules regarding ownership eligibility, with 
ownership limited to members of that geographic community. If this is not possible, then domain 
names should be offered to community groups in the area prior to being available for general sale. 

. Questions were also raised about the process for purchasers to prove that their business was 
entitled to own the geographic domain name. Current general domain registration guidelines require 
businesses to demonstrate that the domain name requested is linked to their business name. In 
situations where a geographic name is being registered (e.g. canberra.com.au), and there would be 
numerous organisations with 'Canberra' in their name, how does auDA determine who has the most 
appropriate claim on the name? Similar issues overseas have led to litigation. 

. A limited number of individuals indicated that they were supportive of the release of the geographic 
names, with this viewpoint based on the potential for commercial use of the domains. These individuals 
were all already heavily involved in local community portals, and believed that the domains would be 
extremely valuable to their businesses. However, all were small, community-based operators and their 
feedback was based on the assumption that the domain names would be sold in an identical way to all 
domain names. If the domains were sold to the highest bidder, all individuals indicated that they 
would be unable to afford them, and they believed that organisations outside the geographical area 
would be likely to purchase them. 

From a professional perspective, it would appear inappropriate to release a new range of domain names 
that will potentially compete with the newly developed community domain names, without first completing 
the OCOS pilot projects, releasing the community domain names to the public, and providing an 18-24 
month period to allow communities to establish their community-based portals. During this time, auDA 
should raise community awareness about the new community domain space, which will support the 
establishment of community sites. If auDA chooses to release the geographic .com.au and .net.au domains 
before the community portals have had the opportunity to become established and known throughout 
Australia, there is no future for the community domain names. Communities will not complete the 
rigorous application process for a domain in an unknown space when they are able to purchase a similar 
domain in the .com.au and .net.au spaces. 

After the community portals have completed their 18-24 month establishment period, an independent 
review of the OCOS community portals should be conducted to determine whether the community domain 
namespace is well-enough established that it can compete with the sale of geographic .com.au and .net.au 
domains. 

Thank you
Alison Norris

School of IT & Computer Science
University of Wollongong