Versions Compared

Key

  • This line was added.
  • This line was removed.
  • Formatting was changed.

...

  • social,
  • philanthropic,
  • community base
  • minority IDN build-out. 

. Indeed, some in the WG believe that the process to evaluate eligible applicants could take advantage of the existing Applicant Guidebook processes for evaluating the “Community” category of gTLD application.

While for-profit companies, private-public partnerships and hybrid entities can be eligible, the WG agrees that this support program must not be used as a substitute for conventional business risk; and the applicants set out in 3.3 are not eligible for support. It should be used to enable new gTLDs that could -- without this program -- be unimaginable.

The WG wished to maintain flexibility in the type of organizational structure that could apply, however there was agreement that the following shouldnot be eligible:

  • Governments, para-statal agencies and government-owned companies
  • Groups applying for TLDs based on geographical names (ie, “city TLDs”)
  • Companies proposing a corporate name or brand as the applied-for TLD string

We are aware that the ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee has requested reconsideration for the WG's limit on governmental applications. However, the GAC has not provided any real rationale for this request, nor has it offered any participation of its own in the WG.

3.3 Communities needing to preserve a language or culture

The “.cat” Catalonian TLD is seen by many linguistic, ethnic and cultural communities as a success story that has helped to preserve and indeed grow the language and culture. Many such groups -- especially those with geographically dispersed diasporas -- see a TLD as unifying icon that will facilitate Internet use while encouraging community growth. The WG agreed that the applications by such communities, should they meet the requirements of need, should be eligible for relief/support.

3.4 Communities supports for under-served languages

In the working group call of April 26th, which had "IDN" as its scheduled topic, there was consensus among the participants to substitute the word "language" for the word "script" where it appears in the final text(s).

A number of WG members have advocated support for the build out of TLD strings in non-Latin scripts by communities that use these scripts and have to date been unserved or under-served on the web. 

As a part of this, the group has identified two categories of groups that might receive support – communities that regularly use more than one script but might otherwise be unable to afford full-price build out of two scripts; and smaller script communities whose scripts are very limited on the web.

To address the needs of these groups, partial (but not consensus) support has been expressed for concept of “bundling” -- that is, reducing the price of a TLD string in an “underserved” IDN script that accompanies a conventional application for the similar string in a Latin script. The WG achieved a consensus that as long as the Applicant is providing build-out of a language whose web-presence is limited and they meet the other criteria, price support should be recommended.

The WG did achieve consensus that as long as the Applicant is providing build-out of a language whose web-presence is limited and they meet the other criteria we should give support. 

3.5 Organizations based in Lesser Developed Economies

The WG achieved full consensus in agreeing that the criteria offered to judge applications give preference to those originating within the world’s poorer economies. Rather than having ICANN undertake the distracting task of determining where such economies are located, we would refer instead to the internationally agreed upon UN DESA list:

...

There are various possibilities of needy applicants that could be offered support under the guidelines recommended by the JAS, among them:

3.2.1 Community-based applications. Community groups such as cultural, linguistic and ethnic groups may be eligible to receive support, or

3.2.2 Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), civil society and not-for-profit organizations or

3.2.3 The WG achieved full consensus in agreeing that the criteria offered to judge applications give preference to those originating within the world’s poorer economies. Rather than having ICANN undertake the distracting task of determining where such economies are located, we would refer instead to the internationally agreed upon UN DESA list:

  1. Least developed countries: category 199;
  2. Landlocked Developing Countries: category 432; or
  3. Small Island Developing States: category 722.
  4. Wiki Markup
    \[ possibly \-\- per EBW and pending refinement \-\- a designation that would be inclusive of indigenous groups in developed economies as well as within non-national entities (ie, Palestine) 

3.2.4 IDN eligibility (INSERT UPDATED DISCUSSIONS)

Wiki Markup
Applications in languages whose presence on the web is limited. For the purposes of this program, under-representation would be defined as a having less than \[20 million\] users \(?).  Just trying for some sort of definition here that would not include languages already being built out.  The #10 language on the web, Korean, currently has some 40M users.  

Communities needing to preserve a language or culture

The “.cat” Catalonian TLD is seen by many linguistic, ethnic and cultural communities as a success story that has helped to preserve and indeed grow the language and culture. Many such groups -- especially those with geographically dispersed diasporas -- see a TLD as unifying icon that will facilitate Internet use while encouraging community growth. The WG agreed that the applications by such communities, should they meet the requirements of need, should be eligible for relief/support.

Communities supports for under-served languages

In the working group call of April 26th, which had "IDN" as its scheduled topic, there was consensus among the participants to substitute the word "language" for the word "script" where it appears in the final text(s).

A number of WG members have advocated support for the build out of TLD strings in non-Latin scripts by communities that use these scripts and have to date been unserved or under-served on the web. 

As a part of this, the group has identified two categories of groups that might receive support – communities that regularly use more than one script but might otherwise be unable to afford full-price build out of two scripts; and smaller script communities whose scripts are very limited on the web.

To address the needs of these groups, partial (but not consensus) support has been expressed for concept of “bundling” -- that is, reducing the price of a TLD string in an “underserved” IDN script that accompanies a conventional application for the similar string in a Latin script. The WG achieved a consensus that as long as the Applicant is providing build-out of a language whose web-presence is limited and they meet the other criteria, price support should be recommended.

The WG did achieve consensus that as long as the Applicant is providing build-out of a language whose web-presence is limited and they meet the other criteria we should give support. 

3.2.5 Organizations based in Lesser Developed Economies

While for-profit companies, private-public partnerships and hybrid entities can be eligible, the WG agrees that this support program must not be used as a substitute for conventional business risk; and the applicants set out in 3.3 are not eligible for support. It should be used to enable new gTLDs that could -- without this program -- be unimaginable.

(SUGGEST THIS GO TO 3.3)The WG wished to maintain flexibility in the type of organizational structure that could apply, however there was agreement that the following shouldnot be eligible:

  • Governments, para-statal agencies and government-owned companies
  • Groups applying for TLDs based on geographical names (ie, “city TLDs”)
  • Companies proposing a corporate name or brand as the applied-for TLD string

We are aware that the ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee has requested reconsideration for the WG's limit on governmental applications. However, the GAC has not provided any real rationale for this request, nor has it offered any participation of its own in the WG.

Application formula

The WG proposes that the following formula be applied to the above-stated criteria:
In order to be eligible for support under this program, an application MUST:

...