This project and the resulting study aim at answering the following set of questions:
- What are the components of an acceptable user experience for variant TLDs?
- How will various user roles be impacted if variant TLDs are activated?
- What are the necessary rules or guidelines a TLD should operate under in order to provide an acceptable user experience for variants?
- What are the policy/contractual considerations that will make these rules effective?
- How does the impact of variant TLDs on applications affect user experience?
Its work, conducted by a team formed of ICANN staff and expert consultants, focused on studying variant practices in several ccTLD registries from a user experience and registry management perspective, on proposing guiding principles to define an acceptable user experience, on identifying the impact on various users communities by active variant TLDs, and finally, on proposing a set of recommendations for ICANN, registries, registrars, and impacted technical community to ensure the security, stability and acceptable user experience for active IDN TLDs.
Project’s team discussed and gathered input from the community during public sessions of the ICANN Toronto meeting in October 2012, as well as from the technical experts heaving worked on developing the LGR Procedure. Project team have continuously integrated community inputs throughout multiple public comment publications:
IDN Variant TLD Program – Interim Report Examining the User Experience Implications of Active Variant TLDs – 23 October 2012
IDN Variant TLD Program -- Draft Final Report Examining the User Experience Implications of Active Variant TLDs – 18 January 2012
Please download on the following link User Experience study team’s presentation made during one of the face-to-face meetings with consultants and volunteers working on developing the LGR Procedure: P6-update 29 August 2012.pdf
The team currently seeks to establish a dialog with the community to refine proposed principles, impacts and recommendations of the Examining the User Experience Implications of Active Variant TLDs study through project’s final P6 public comment process and 13 February 2013 Public Webinar (see recording and presentation).
