ICANN : Request for Proposal for LGR Tool Set

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) is seeking a provider to design and develop software for creating, using and managing Label Generation Rulesets (LGRs) based on a new machine readable format based on the formal representation available at https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-davies-idntables.

ICANN anticipates a contract to be signed and work to begin no later than May 5th 2015.

ICANN hosts a repository of language and script specific data through its IANA department which is used by registries to generate labels, generally known as IDN tables and now being referred to as Label Generation Rulesets (LGRs). A new machine readable XML-based format is currently being designed to organize and represent the LGR data. This format will also be used for the LGR for the Root Zone, for validating prospective top-level domain (TLD) labels and determining the variants of existing and prospective labels. The Root Zone LGR is currently being developed with the collaboration of various script communities (organized as script based Generation Panels).

ICANN intends to release this software with open source license for community use and also utilize it for internal operations.

Proposals should be submitted to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
by 23:59 UTC on 5 April 2015.

ICANN anticipates a contract to be signed and work to begin no later than May 5th 2015.

ICANN intends to release this software with open source license for community use and also utilize it for internal operations.

Proposals should be submitted to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
by 23:59 UTC on 5 April 2015.

This announcement was sourced from :

https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2-2015-03-19-en

TheRecRoom.com Wins Weekly Sales List at $89,888

TheRecRoom.COM,sold for $89,888,topped Domain Name Journal sales list of reported domain names for the week,ending March 15,2015.

Sedo had a great week in the sales chart,taking 14 of the top 20 positions .Correspondingly,Flippa took only three of the top 20 positions .

.COM dominated once again the list,with 15 of the top 20 positions.

Here are the top 20 positions for the week ending March 15,2015 :

1. TheRecRoom.com     $89,888
2. Videos.de     $53,000
3. RSL.com     $45,000
4. DEH.com     $29,680
5. Divider.com     $17,500
6. XBC.com     $16,500
7.tie     Automating.com     $15,000
7.tie     EXB.com     $15,000
7.tie     EZM.com     $15,000
10. Degree.me     $11,500
11. Trybe.com     $11,000
12.tie     Imama.com     $10,600
12.tie     Rapunzel.dk     $10,600
12.tie     Sumus.com     $10,600
15.tie     CaliforniaPoker.us     $10,000
15.tie     FitnessBuddy.com     $10,000
15.tie     TopReview.com     $10,000
18. MyWeddingDress.com     $9,950
19. SkyInfo.de     $9,010
20. Ideals.com     $8,100

ICANN : Japanese Community Forms Generation Panel for Developing the Japanese Root Zone Label Generation Rules

ICANN is pleased to announce that the Generation Panel for the Japanese Label Generation Rules (LGR) for the Root Zone has been seated.

Following the Call for Generation Panels to Develop Root Zone Label Generation Rules, on 6 February 2015 the Japanese community submitted to ICANN the Proposal for Generation Panel for Japanese Label Generation Rules for the Root Zone [PDF, 223 KB]. ICANN staff has reviewed the proposal including panel composition and scope, to ensure that requirements set forth in the LGR Procedure [PDF, 772 KB], and in particular the criteria set forth in the Call for Generation Panels to Develop Root Zone Label Generation Rules, are fulfilled.

On behalf of ICANN, we would like to use this opportunity to thank each of the members for offering their time and expertise to volunteer for the Japanese Generation Panel.

With composition and work plan approved, the Japanese Generation Panel will start its work on the label generation rules. According to the LGR Procedure [PDF, 772 KB], the starting point of any Generation Panel’s work is the Maximal Starting Repertoire (MSR), with its first version (MSR-1) released on 20 June 2014 and the second version (MSR-2) currently released for community review. The full specification of Generation Panel’s tasks can be found in the LGR Procedure [PDF, 772 KB] in particular, Section B.3 “Variant Rule Generation Procedure”.

ICANN has provided a central public workspace on the project website where Japanese Generation Panel composition, work plan updates, public reports, contact details, and any other relevant information will be included.

As a reminder, and to highlight the importance of script community involvement required in the development of the IDN Root Zone LGR, we would like to reiterate the Call for Generation Panels to Develop Root Zone Label Generation Rules. A successful development of the Root Zone LGR depends on having Generation Panels for each script represented in the Root Zone. In addition to ongoing efforts with the Arabic, Armenian, Chinese and Japanese, Generation Panel formation is expected to cover other scripts including Bengali, Cyrillic, Devanagari, Ethiopic, Georgian, Greek, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Hebrew, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Latin, Myanmar, Oriya, Sinhala, Tamil, Telugu, Thai and Tibetan.

For further information on how to form a Generation Panel, please refer to the Call for Generation Panels to Develop Root Zone Label Generation Rules and to the additional supporting documentation provided on the Root Zone LGR Project website. Individual interests may be emailed to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
.

This announcement was sourced from :

https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2015-03-17-en

ICANN Quarterly Stakeholder Report – Register for the Q3 Call on 23 April 2015

ICANN has announced its FY15 Q3 Stakeholder Call, which will take place on 23 April at 15:00 UTC. The call will cover how ICANN has progressed against its strategic and operating plans for the Quarter ending 31 March 2015.

Please click here http://goo.gl/forms/l9PfNTXStc to register for the call and to receive joining instructions,

The call is open for all to attend, including press, and there will be ample time for Questions & Answers (Q&A). A recording of the call will also be available online on the ICANN website here.

These calls were set up to enhance ICANN’s accountability and transparency efforts by making it easy to follow ICANN’s progress toward fulfilling its mission of keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable.
More information

Please visit the Reporting page on the ICANN website here from 24 hours before the call to pre-read the presentation. You can also find other useful recourses and background information on this page, as well as archived transcripts and recordings of all previous Quarterly Stakeholder Calls.

Agenda
10 min     President’s Overview
Fadi Chehadé, President and CEO
10 min     Policy Update
David Olive, VP Policy Development Support
15 min     Management Update
Tarek Kamel, Sr. Advisor to President, GSE
10 min     Finance Update
Xavier Calvez, CFO
30 min     Q&A
All

This announcement was sourced from :

https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2015-03-18-en

ARI Registry Services Signs Unique Operational Model For .STUDY and .COURSES

ARI Registry Services has signed a unique ten year agreement with Open Universities Australia, the owner of the .study and .courses new TLDs, for strategic consultancy, policy development and ongoing operational management of the two namespaces.

What’s unique about this arrangement ARI notes is that ARI will not only be responsible for the backend registry, but also for the strategic direction of the TLDs and the day-to-day management of the TLDs – which includes administration of the financial, marketing and policy management of the TLDs and all of the necessary work with Registrars. In effect, we’re operating the TLDs on their behalf for a fee and passing back revenue to the TLD owner.

This type of partnership will enable the TLD owners to focus on their core business and have confidence that ARI can deliver long-term profitability for their TLDs. ARI believes there are other generic and brand applicants interested in adopting this model for the management of their TLDs, and the example of .study and .courses will be appealing to these applicants.

“The .study and .courses Top-Level Domains are an integral component of our organisation’s strategic plan and we recognised early on that we needed a partner like ARI Registry Services to help us fully achieve the potential of these digital assets,” said Jose Herrera-Perea, Executive General Manager, Tertiary, Professional and Corporate Education at Open Universities Australia.

“ARI Registry Services has been fantastic in their ability to help us understand the true requirements of operating TLDs and through this we realised that it would be more cost effective and strategically astute to leverage their resources and experience to manage our Top-Level Domains.”

“We will still remain intrinsically involved and provide our significant industry expertise to assist the project. However, this partnership enables us to keep focusing relentlessly on ensuring a high-quality experience for our students and simultaneously have the confidence that we’re working with an organisation that is focused on building long-term profitability in our Top-Level Domains for the sector.”

The model closely follows the approach many Governments have taken with their geo TLDs. ARI currently works with the Victorian (.melbourne) and New South Wales (.sydney) governments in a very similar way.

“Online learning is booming worldwide and Open Universities Australia has secured two of the most powerful terms on the web in the education sector,” said Adrian Kinderis, CEO of ARI Registry Services.

He said there is enormous potential to leverage the strong growth in online education via .study and .courses.

“ARI Registry Services is about turning your Top-Level Domain aspirations into reality. For operators like Open Universities Australia, there are significant barriers to achieving your goals because these applicants lack the time, capability or resources to operate a core piece of mission critical Internet infrastructure,” Mr Kinderis said.

“We offer a comprehensive solution for clients to launch their assets and achieve the benefits of owning a successful Top-Level Domain, but outsource the burden of operational compliance auditing, policy development and the myriad of other components that go into running a namespace.

“For Open Universities Australia, we’re simplifying their operations to remove the complexities so they can maximise the benefit of .study and .courses for their organisation.”

Mr Kinderis said ARI Registry Services performs a similar role for a number of clients, including the Governments of Victoria (.melbourne) and New South Wales (.sydney). This is in addition to continually advocating for the success of the overall program as well as lobbying specific positions for clients.

“ARI Registry Services has always been committed to the success of the program. Offering end-to-end technical and consulting solutions is another way we can go above and beyond for our valued clients.”

ARI also note the .reise auction of their live TLD. ARI wonders if Dotreise (and other applicants considering selling their TLD) had had another option, whereby they could outsource the management of their generic TLD to ARI, retain ownership, and make a profit on their TLD without the burden of actually operating it? That’s the deal they’re offering gTLD owners and they believe ARI is the only provider offering this type of service.