IDN Timeline: The Broken Record on "the Next Few Months"

[blastfromthepast]

IDN Timeline: The Broken Record on "the Next Few Months"

ICANN as well as supporters and some critics of the IDN implementation strategy have told domainers time and again during the past four years that in "next few months" IDN domains will be "out of testing mode" — and the long awaited multiverse of internationalized domain name technology will be upon us.

The implication has always been that IDN investors just need to hold on a little while longer for things to get better. They've been holding on a little while longer for more than 5 years or more, while it took Rick Schwartz just a couple of months to generate millions when the internet was much smaller than the current installed base of Opera, a browser that currently fully supports IDNs.

The timeline below catalogues the broken record we've been hearing from our leaders like Paul Twomey, ICANN's president and CEO and Vint Cerf, ICANN's chairman.


2000 "end of Verisign test bed" ____|2003 "test mode"_____| 2005 "still testing" _____| 2006 "testing"____2007___>>>

[domainguru]

Just curious. How exactly did Rick generate millions way back then?

[blastfromthepast]

Just curious. How exactly did Rick generate millions way back then?

Generic Adult domains.
 

[Rubber Duck]

If ICANN would make it clear that they are just aliasing the extensions rather than pretending that they are reinventing the internet, then it would make life a lot easier. Microsoft and lack of browser support are still the biggest flies in the ointment. The biggest contribution that ICANN could make would be stop putting out disinformation.

[domainguru]

Generic Adult domains.


yeah but how did he actually generate the cash? Or are you just saying he regged lots of generic adults that are now generating millions?

[Rubber Duck]

yeah but how did he actually generate the cash? Or are you just saying he regged lots of generic adults that are now generating millions?

I believe he was in to paid sex telephone services well before domains.

He has clearly made a lot of money from the Traffics shows.

As for his portfolio, he has few stars which he paid good money for. Much of the rest seems be smoke and mirrors, unless you also count words prefixed with I, E or XXX as top generics.

As for the Live Auctions, whilst this is still a money spinner, most of the moment seems to be going elsewhere at the moment. Even Sedo seems to be stealing market share. It is also clear that much of the establishment is hedging their bets with Round Table. Big players have an interest in an efficient and cost effective market place. Competition will provide that.

[blastfromthepast]

IDN ROADMAP

1996 Originally Proposed
1998 Originally Implemented
November 2000 Verisign IDN Testbed Opens
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First IDNs registered
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Testbed domains get converted to real domains
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20 June 2003 ICANN supported by leading IDN Registries such as cn, info, jp, org, tw, announced the commencement of global deployment of Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) in the second level domain.
21 October 2003 Advisory Concerning Registry Requests for Authorization to Offer IDN Registrations
18 February 2004 ICANN approves a temporary set of procedures to improve the mechanisms for transferring IDNs between registrars.
3 June 2004 ICANN Announces IDN Workshop to be held 21 July 2004 in Kuala Lumpur
18 November 2004 ICANN Announces IDN Workshop to be held in Cape Town, South Africa
23 February 2005 ICANN Statement Regarding IDN Homograph Concerns
14 September 2005 Formal Call for Papers Concerning Deployment of Internationalized Top Level Domains
20 September 2005 Draft Revised IDN Guidelines: Public Comment Period
17 October 2005 Draft Revised IDN GuidelinesThe French version of the draft revised Guidelines for the Implementation of Internationalized Domain Names (”IDN Guidelines”)
31 October 2005 IDN Guideline Revision Update
7 November 2005 Final Proposed Draft IDN Guidelines Posted
14 November 2005 IDN Guidelines Version 2.0 Finalized. The revision focuses on eliminating spoofing between labels
17 November 2005 Implementation of Internationalized Top Level Domains. As previously announced, IDN workshop will be held during the ICANN Vancouver meeting
27 February 2006 IDN Guidelines Posting of Version 2.1
28 May 2006 Policy Issues relating to IDN at the top-level - Preliminary Issues Report. On request from the GNSO Council, ICANN staff prepares a preliminary Issues Report setting out policy issues for introduction of IDNs
23 June 2006 PIR Releases Principles for the Foundation of Top Level IDNs
5 October 2006 ICANN Establishes Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) News Feed
11 October 2006 Review and Recommendations for Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs)
19 October 2006 IDN Laboratory Testing: ICANN has engaged Autonomica AB to develop, conduct and report the results of laboratory testing . The laboratory technical tests of the viability of internationalized top level levels and the effect they may have on the DNS are being done before insertion of such labels in the root servers. The laboratory test focuses solely on a replicate that is as close as possible to the server software of the various root servers. As such it is not a test that includes the end-user perspective, or a live root test
31 October 2006 IDNA Protocol Review and Proposals for Change
Done? ICANN laboratory testing of top level IDNs in the root
Done? Crucial for DNS resolver reactions
Done? Allows Testing of maximum and minimum length IDNs, other variations
WE ARE ALMOST HERE? ---> ICANN testing of IDNs in live Root Zone File
Crucial for Browser and other applications reactions
Cooperative, multi-stakeholder IDN policy formation
Adoption of new gTLD (and IDN) rules
Identification of IDN ccTLDs
Specification of characters allowed in IDNs
Note potential disputes over who has rights to IDN TLDs
Implementation and testing of infrastructure and application software
Installation of IDN TLDs into root zone file by ICANN

[yanni]

yeah but how did he actually generate the cash?

Type-in traffic and banner farms.