At-Large Survey: WT5 GeoNames Scenarios
Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. The At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) within ICANN are attempting to reach an agreement on how so-called “geographic names” should be handled in a new round of applications for top level domains (TLDs). Names like .PARIS and .NYC were granted in the previous round of applications but so was .AMAZON which has proven to be controversial.

The At-Large have compiled a series of “scenarios” that could happen if different policies were put in place and we’d like to know what you think about them. If we discover some consensus on the outcomes that the community would like to see, we can craft policy recommendations to match them. If something doesn’t make sense, feel free to skip it!

Please reference

GeoNames Video in EN: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/kje9gzerb4egbe1/AAA0uGNN15p-Lab-br2RAs1Oa?dl=0&preview=geonames_en.mp4

GeoNames Video in ES: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/kje9gzerb4egbe1/AAA0uGNN15p-Lab-br2RAs1Oa?dl=0&preview=geonames_es.mp4
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Which RALO are you from?
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1.    The GEONAMES.org data base lists 11 million words that could be geographic references. In one scenario, ALL of these are put on a reserved list that requires interested applicants to gain permission from all applicable authorities. For example, someone wanting to apply for .UNION would need permission from at least 15 city governments. Do you think this type of scenario is likely?
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How would you categorize this outcome?
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2.     A reserve list of national capitals is created and all other geonames are unreserved allowing them to be applied for on a first come, first served basis. Do you think this type of scenario is likely?
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How would you categorize this outcome?
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3.     An “open" TLD is one where anyone can apply for a domain name in that TLD. A “closed” TLD has restrictions on who can apply for a domain. In this scenario, the Catholic Church applies for .SANTAMARIA as a closed TLD, open only to an order of nuns to promote their charitable activities worldwide. The Church is required to get approval from 1,200 jurisdictions worldwide. All but 50 agree with those 50 holding out for “rent” for their permission. Do you think this type of scenario is likely?
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How would you categorize this outcome?
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4.     A list of reserved SECOND level strings (the word to the left of the period, as everyday people would normally register) is created as reserved names for geographic entities to use for their own purposes within a geographic TLD. Consequently, anyone can apply for a geoname but must reserve these second level domains for disposition by local governments. Using .UNION as an example, these second level strings would include things like tourism.union, safety.union, travel.union, police.union, security.union and several others. Do you think this type of scenario is likely?
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How would you categorize this outcome?
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5.     A conservation NGO in Ethiopia applies for .BLUENILE to both encourage ecotourism and highlight efforts to prevent destructive erosion in the surrounding area. The Blue Nile jewelry company (www.bluenile.com) is able to block that application because it has previously been granted a trademark by the Ethiopian government. Do you think this type of scenario is likely?
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How would you categorize this outcome?
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6.     A registry applies “.nile” as a generic “open” TLD with no stated intention to use it for geographic purposes. However, the majority of registrations for second level domains are, in fact, geographic uses. Do you think this type of scenario is likely?
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How would you categorize this outcome?
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7.     The Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC) applies for “.Persia “ with the express intention of creating an international community of Iranian diaspora. The government of Iran is able to block the application on the grounds that it is a geoname over which they have sovereignty. Do you think this type of scenario is likely?
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How would you categorize this outcome?
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8.     A conglomerate of hotel chains apply for .SPA to promote their respective spa facilities internationally. The government of Belgium is able to block the application by arguing that .SPA should be used exclusively by businesses in the town of Spa. The situation is resolved by the conglomerate paying an annual fee to Belgium for the use of .SPA. Do you think this type of scenario is likely?
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How would you categorize this outcome?
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9.     Applicants from Oregon and Michigan, in the USA, both apply for .DETROIT and the applicant from Michigan is awarded the string because Detroit, Michigan has a higher population. Do you think this type of scenario is likely?
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How would you categorize this outcome?
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10.  Applicants from Italy and the Philippines are in contention for .SANTAMARIA and it is awarded to the applicant from the Philippines on the grounds that they are in an “underserved” region. Do you think this type of scenario is likely?
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How would you categorize this outcome?
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11.  Turkey objects to an application for .CONSTANTINOPLE but is overruled because the current government is on the Amnesty International list of worst human rights violators. Do you think this type of scenario is likely?
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How would you categorize this outcome?
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12.  The Coachella Native American tribe, in the United States, applies for “.coachella” but the city of Coachella, located in Southern California, successfully blocks the application. Do you think this type of scenario is likely?
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How would you categorize this outcome?
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13.  A domain investor gets approval for .NILE and populates info.nile with ads from tourism companies  and gets sizeable traffic to the page. They license Blue.Nile to the jewelry company. Egypt doesn’t approve of the direction in which .NILE is headed and wants to get it back. The other 10 countries on the Nile have actually seen an increase in tourism with the development of the domain and want to leave things as they are. The domain investor sells .NILE to the government of Egypt for $5 million. Do you think this type of scenario is likely?
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How would you categorize this outcome?
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14.  An unidentified third-party applicant financed from outside Montenegro has successfully blocked the government of Montenegro’s application of .MONTENEGRO because they own the Cyrillic IDN (international, non roman characters) version of the Montenegro name .ME and the three letter code MEN. Do you think this type of scenario is likely?
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How would you categorize this outcome?
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15.  The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) blocked a well-funded private consortium promoting crypto currencies for the top 20 currency code TLDs—accounting for 75% of all foreign exchange transactions, with a view to diverting that business to their own platforms—because BIS believes that all the currency codes should be reserved and not used as TLDs. Do you think this type of scenario is likely?
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How would you categorize this outcome?
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16.  Countries in the Pacific Rim have successfully blocked several applications for several ISO 3166 three character country codes in Chinese script from Alibaba.cn, because they think that these IDN codes cannot be strict transliterations of the corresponding ASCII codes, since they contain much more information, and in some cases represent descriptive sentences. Do you think this type of scenario is likely?
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How would you categorize this outcome?
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