Section 1.2.2 of the 2012 Applicant Guidebook required applicants for city-TLDs to include a Letter of Non-Objection as part of their application:
“If an applicant has applied for a gTLD string that is a geographic name (as defined in this guidebook), the applicant is required to submit documentation of support for or nonobjection to its application from the relevant governments or public authorities.”
Having followed the acquisition process for the .nyc TLD since 2001, I’ve come to see the Non-objection standard as inadequate. My firsthand experience with the .nyc TLD, and observations from afar about other city-TLD application processes, indicates that a knowledge asymmetry existed between (some/many) of the 2012 cities and the potential social, economic, operational, and political impacts of what I've come to see as resource that should be planned and developed as digital infrastructure.
My intention is to follow the current crop of city-TLDs, evaluate their experiences, and if appropriate, explore with the Working Group a strengthening of the application process for city-TLDs; perhaps requiring that applicants for city-TLDs include with their applications an indication of Informed Consent rather than Non-Objection.
Informed Consent Explored
There are several standards for Informed Consent. Referring to the terms use in medicine, Wikipedia says https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informed_consent “An informed consent can be said to have been given based upon a clear appreciation and understanding of the facts, implications, and consequences of an action. In order to give informed consent, the individual concerned must have adequate reasoning faculties and be in possession of all relevant facts at the time consent is given.”
Another view of Informed Consent is in resource management - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_Management_Act_1991.
My premise in providing special consideration for cities is that they are in some ways special: that 1/2 the world's population lives in these tiny patches of the earths surface; that they offer the potential for a more sustainable planet via their energy efficiency; and that they provide the genesis for social and economic innovation.
Informed Consent for City-TLDs
Assuming agreement that Informed Consent is appropriate for city-TLD applicants, here's a first thought on its definition.
An applicant for a city-TLD must demonstrate Informed Consent. It must provide clear indication that it understands the potential and implications of developing the resource on all stakeholders. To demonstrate informed consent, a city must provide evidence that all stakeholders were engaged in planning the TLD application and provided their consent.
Application Development Process
Another area that I'd like to explore involves the engagement of all stakeholders in the development of the application. And the possibility that the application development process might provide an opportunity for the Independent Internet users to participate in the process thought the creation of at-large structures.
Finally, to facilitate global cooperation between cities that the at-large.city domain name be reserved.
