| Close Date | Statement Name | Status | Assignee(s) and | Call for Comments | Call for Comments Close | Vote Announcement | Vote Open | Vote Reminder | Vote Close | Date of Submission | Staff Contact and Email | Statement Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23.09.2012 | SSAC Report on Dotless Domains | In Progress | Sergio Salinas Porto (LACRALO) | 10.09.2012 | 13.09.2012 | 14.09.2012 | 14.09.2012 | 20.09.2012 | 21.09.2012 | 22.09.2012 | Kurt Pritz kurt.pritz@icann.org | AL/ALAC/ST/0912/3 |
| Comment/Reply Periods (*) | Important Information Links | |||
| Comment Open: | 24 August 2012 | |||
| Comment Close: | 23 September 2012 | |||
| Close Time (UTC): | 23:59 UTC | Public Comment Announcement | ||
| Reply Open: | 24 September 2012 | To Submit Your Comments (Forum) | ||
| Reply Close: | 14 October 2012 | View Comments Submitted | ||
| Close Time (UTC): | 23:59 UTC | Report of Public Comments | ||
| Brief Overview | ||||
| Originating Organization: | ICANN | |||
| Categories/Tags: |
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| Purpose (Brief): | This purpose of this public comment period is to bring to your attention of the SSAC's report on dotless domain [PDF, 183 KB] and to solicit your input on ICANN's implementation of the recommendations in this report. | |||
| Current Status: | Open for public comment | |||
| Next Steps: | Comments will be collected and incorporated into a briefing paper for the ICANN board. | |||
| Staff Contact: | Kurt Pritz | Email: | kurt.pritz@icann.org | |
| Detailed Information | ||||
| Section I: Description, Explanation, and Purpose | ||||
Dotless domains are domains that consist of a single label (e.g. http://example as opposed to example.tld or mail@example as opposed to mail@example.tld) and there is an A/AAAA or MX records in the APEX of a TLD zone. On 23 February 2012, the ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) published SAC 053: SSAC Report on Dotless Domains [PDF, 183 KB]. In this report, the SSAC stated that dotless domains would not be universally reachable and the SSAC recommended strongly against their use. As a result, the SSAC recommended that the use of DNS resource records such as A, AAAA, and MX in the apex of a Top-Level Domain (TLD) should be contractually prohibited where appropriate, and strongly discouraged in all cases. On 23 June 2012, the ICANN Board adopted a resolution tasking ICANN to consult with the relevant communities regarding implementation of the recommendations in SAC053. Section 2.2.3.3 of the Applicant Guidebook essentially prohibits the use of dotless domains, stating that the only permissible DNS Resource Records for the apex in a TLD zone (i.e., the TLD-string itself) are: SOA, NS, and relatedDNSSEC records. The same section also states, "An applicant wishing to place any other record types into its TLD zone should describe in detail its proposal in the registry services section of the application. This will be evaluated and could result in an extended evaluation to determine whether the service would create a risk of a meaningful adverse impact on security or stability of the DNS." One option under consideration to implement the SSAC's recommendation could be to amend the base new gTLDagreement to prohibit A, AAAA and MX records in the apex of the TLD. Do you have any input for ICANN to consider in relation to ICANN's implementation of SAC 053: SSAC Report on Dotless Domains [PDF, 183 KB]? | ||||
| Section II: Background | ||||
| On 23 February 2012, the ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC) published SAC 053: SSAC Report on Dotless Domains [PDF, 183 KB]. In this report, the SSAC stated that dotless domains would not be universally reachable and the SSAC recommended strongly against their use. As a result, the SSAC recommended that the use of DNS resource records such as A, AAAA, and MX in the apex of a Top-Level Domain (TLD) should contractually prohibited where appropriate, and strongly discouraged in all cases. | ||||
| Section III: Document and Resource Links | ||||
| SAC 053: SSAC Report on Dotless Domains [PDF, 183 KB] | ||||
| Section IV: Additional Information | ||||
| None | ||||
(*) Comments submitted after the posted Close Date/Time are not guaranteed to be considered in any final summary, analysis, reporting, or decision-making that takes place once this period lapses.
FINAL DRAFT
The New gTLD Program will introduce a significant number of new top level domain names into the Domain Name System (DNS). This prospect has generated considerable interest, and sometimes confusion, in how top level domain names can be used.
The SAC053 report relates the ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee's advice on "dotless domains", defined as domain names without a dot.
It is our understanding that trust in the Domain Name System, as well as its stability and accessibility, is one of the pillars upon which the Internet is based. For an Internet user, this includes trust in the consistency of name resolution.
Having reviewed the SSAC report, the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC), congratulates the SSAC for its excellent advice and fully supports the contents of its report.
We find there are serious and well-grounded issues derived from the use of dotless domains. Specifically, we are concerned that dotless domains may not work as expected for some Internet users depending on the application they are using. This is detrimental to Internet user experience.
Therefore, we recommend that ICANN should explicitly prohibit dotless domains in contracts with organizations that obtain the delegation of a new gTLD.
We understand that ICANN has the necessary mechanisms to monitor the observance of this rule and penalize instances of breach through the tools contained in its contracts, on the basis of the contractual review conducted by ICANN’s Contractual Compliance Team.
FIRST DRAFT
Please click here to download a copy of the draft below in PDF format.
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