Web based form makes commenting easy.
Last week I wrote about how International Trademark Association (INTA) asked its members to comment on ICANN’s proposed “Expressions of Interest” (EOI) scheme for new top level domain names. As a result of INTA’s request to its members, the comments for EOI are filled with unhelpful one-liners such as “I do not support ICANN’s acceptance of pre-registrations for new gTLDs.â€
If you’d like to leave a more meaningful comment on EOI, Minds + Machines is making it very easy with a new form on its web site. The form covers the major issues at hand with EOI (e.g., is the $55,000 fee fair?), and lets you check boxes and add your own explanation on each individual issue.
Minds + Machines stands to profit from new top level domain names and is in favor of EOI. But M+M is upfront about this, stating its view but also noting that some people may disagree (and allowing them to comment as such through its form). The form then automatically submits to ICANN’s web site, and all you have to do is click a link in a confirmation e-mail for your comment to be posted. The deadline for commenting is January 27, 2010.
Kudos to Minds + Machines for this great idea, and for being more open-minded than INTA. I’d like to see other groups, such as Internet Commerce Association, adopt this online form model to encourage commenting and participation in the ICANN process.
Jothan says
Thanks for the post, Andrew, and for your objectivity on the matter of new TLDs.
We encourage people to comment, and we’re trying to ensure that the form is fair.
While it explains our position, we encourage folks to comment their own opinion and in their own words.
Jim Davies says
To be fair, INTA only encouraged participation. It did not prescribe a response.