[NA-Discuss] Pre-registrations

[ebw at abenaki.wabanaki.net]

Michele,

The difference between offering "pre-registration" before a registry
contract exists, or has been applied for, or the parties involved in
making the determination that the new gTLD program shall progress to
implementation, and offering "pre-registration" when there is a
contract is significant.

Another significant difference is between the efforts of applicant
projects to communicate ICANN's current plan of record, and their
own plan of record, to the communities for which the eventual legal
applicant of record will, in their application, if required by the
application evaluation process (and so conditional upon the acts of
others) claim support and/or offer services to, and communications
by other parties not intending to become the eventual legal applicant
of record.

As you note, personal views color "pre-registration" and "expressions
of interest" as useful terms. My point is not only is the example we
have of "pre-registration" problematic, but a similar act, carried out
by the NCBA or PunctCat in 2000 or 2004, for .coop and .cat, respectively,
is also distinguishable, and less inherently problematic, as these were
in the process of obtaining a contract right to create .coop and .cat.

Eric