For Sale CIRA Election

[Jeff Rybak]

Hi folks

The CIRA election is currently underway, and as a candidate who's up for reelection I was surfing around looking for relevant discussion to get some idea of what people are saying and thinking. This forum came up on several hits, and there seems to be enough going on here that it was worth a few dollars to register and start a topic.

So here's the deal. I've been on CIRA's board for the past three years and I'm seeking three more. I'm not a domainer in any sense and never have been. But I appreciate that the resale market for domains is here to stay and I'm interested in your thoughts and experiences.

Now I do appreciate that the first roll out of our authenticated membership was a botched mess. Some of you may recall bad experiences you had here, especially in connection to Adam Dicker's candidacy in 2007. I read up on the details and they are very similar to the experiences of many candidates in that election, who were relying on 11th hour sign-ups for support. For those who don't recall, there was quite a lot of frustration and discussion here:

http://www.dnforum.com/f356/adam-di...-all-ca-owners-please-vote-thread-244482.html

Officially, the CIRA campaign forum for will open on September 15th. I've received assurances it will be real time, btw, and moderated (if necessary) only retrospectively. "Discussion" that requires approval of each post before it appears isn't worthy of the name - so I do hope we'll have some robust conversation. But even before then, I'll do my best to address your views and questions here. So fire away.

Cheers,
Jeff

 

[Tedgeman]

Hi Jeff,
I,m not enthusiastic about anyone on the Cira board representing domainers, as to date, I have not heard one voice that sees the industry clearly.
I think the domain renewals are too expensive, there is a high risk in domain transfers for noobs, whereby they click the wrong button and sign over the whole registrant domain account, when they simply wished to transfer one.
The rest of the issues are minor for myself, although some of us wish people outside Canada could own .CA, I don,t.
Don,t get me wrong, I would profit in the short term with new buyers on my generics but, .CA is really growing here in Canada, and I think that has to do with the fact that the Canadian CA is more aptly available, then other ext.
Our CA has a bright future, and I really wish we could find a representative in Cira with vision , I will be watching

 

[katherine]

The transfer process definitely need streamlining.

 

[Spex]

And the drop process. registrars and their partners should contact winning bidders immediately and implement a streamlined process too.

This may not be a CIRA issue, but when it takes registrars 30 seconds to charge your credit card but 3 weeks to grant you access to the names, there's obviously something wrong.

 

[Jeff Rybak]

Well first off, in reply to Tedgeman, let me be clear on one important thing. I never claimed I was here to represent domainers or that I want to advocate for your particular goals. Just that I'm comfortable with the fact that you're as much a part of the industry as anyone else and I see no reason to treat domaining as a problem. I hope I didn't seem to suggest otherwise, because I'd have to be really full of crap to claim I'm here especially for you. I'm not. I believe in a healthy dot-ca namespace for all concerned, and that means accommodating a variety of goals and interests.

So in reference to the price, bear in mind that CIRA sets a bulk rate that is common for all registrars. What happens past that is just the operation of the market. CIRA's rate at present is $8.50. There's no intention to see that go down but there's also no move to raise it either - and considering the rest of the market is creeping upwards you can see that as CIRA coming down in comparative terms, if you like.

Regarding the transfer process - yes, it's messy and cumbersome. I don't know if the goals of making it easier and more convenient but also noob-proof are entirely compatible. There's gotta be a balance, after all. I'd be interested to hear from more people on that topic.

So yeah, straight up. I'm not here to promise you your wish-list - which would probably include a few bucks off the bulk price, a market open to non-Canadians, etc. I'd be completely full of it if I promised that. But even if you elected a professional domainer to the board those promises would be worthless anyway. CIRA's very mandate is based on the idea that dot-ca would be for Canadians. If we tried to back out of that the government would probably pull the plug on the whole deal and take the registry back. And although we could theoretically lower the bulk rate, one voice on the board won't get you that. There are too many sound arguments against it.

What I want is to be practical. Things like making the transfering process easier will upset no one and could benefit you. That's the sort of suggestion that's got legs. And worst case scenario, even if I don't agree with some of your priorities, I'd still prefer to understand them. And I'm hoping some folks might respect that.

Keep the comments coming. =)

 

[hugegrowth]

What is your background and interest in .ca, Jeff?

 

[whitebark]

Sorry but I won't vote for anyone already on the board. From my point of view next to nothing has been done over the past few years to warrant my vote from anyone on the board. While that might not be completely your fault, I haven't seen anything from any board member to change my mind.

The 1 millionth registration for example was a great time to really pump out to Canadians just what that milestone was and why it was important - but it was a complete fizzle. That's just one example many of us could give.

 

[Jeff Rybak]

@Spex - Yeah, that is, unfortunately, pretty much out of our hands. It's entirely the registrar at that point. While CIRA would and could do something about actual abusive practices among registrars, it does take a fair amount. Mostly we just have the potential big whammy of decertifying the registrar. And while that may be required in extreme cases, it also reduces competition in the marketplace, which is better to avoid all things considered.

@hugegrowth - In a nutshell, my original interest in the dot-ca space came just because I'm fascinated by digital communities. I mean, even this forum is a digital community. People coming together, with a shared identity and purpose, who in many cases have never met in person and may never. And yet, we have social capital here. I find that really encouraging and I like to see it leveraged. In this case you're leveraging it to earn an income. But we can also do other things, like encouraging net neutrality, building citizen participation, etc. I like CIRA's member-based structure if only because it gives people a chance to participate. And I want to see much much more of that.

Of course after three years on CIRA's board I have a wider perspective than that also, and I'm more familiar with the major issues than I was when I first joined. I'm watching the new gTLD roll-out with considerable interest, as is everyone in CIRA. You can view my full candidate statement here:

https://elections.cira.ca/2009/membernominees/show/1053/en

Oh, and my personal background is in not-for-profit governance. I'm just finishing up law school this year.

@whitebark - I understand, and you're certainly welcome to your protest vote. But I hope you won't disengage entirely. There are twelve voting directors and there's a wide range of opinion out there. Even just contributing your views to discussion, when the forum opens, will help put them on the map. And in the near future (I swear to God) there will be a permanent forum as well, so you don't have to wait for the election each year to register your opinions in a public way. I'm a great fan of discussion boards, as I'm going to assume most of the people here are as well.

 

[Belzibut]

Cira does close to nothing to promote the .ca in the media. With the millions of dollars made from renewals/registration/transfer... where is that money going?

Of all these years you are the first one to join the forum, welcome!

D.

 

[Jeff Rybak]

Hey Belzibut, thanks for the welcome! I'll say one thing about this forum - it's probably got one of the highest concentrations of people around who actually realize they are members of CIRA.

CIRA does clear a fair amount of revenue over expenses. Of course a fair proportion of the registration fees are going to routine overhead. It does take money to run the registry in a 100% uptime environment, with redundancy on redundancy. Any failure in the DNS, after all, would be disasterous for both the economy and many important public services now channeled through the Internet. I compare it to a power outage in terms of the potential consequences.

At the moment, the excess revenues beyond that are going into an operating reserve. Some folks don't get it and point to the millions of dollars we have in the bank as an irresponsible excess. But the accounting types assure me that 12 months of operating reserve is a normal and responsible amount. We aren't quite there yet. As the registry grows, we'll have to top it up once in a while. But we will, inevitably, have excess revenue in the not distant future.

So yes, we certainly could put more into advertising. We do promotions as is, but we could be better at it. It's something we've struggled with. Actually, considering that we don't really have millions to throw at it - more on the order of hundreds of thousands at most - we do have to be creative. We can't exactly buy television ads with that. Our new marketing guy has some plans though.

Where I really get interested - and actually where I think there's an opporunity for a real alignment of interests - is in the potential to do public good with some of our excess revenue. I know some peopel view that as a tax on the cost of a domain and feel we should cut the price to whatever we can and run a bare bones operation, but I don't feel the two goals are incompatible. If CIRA got more into the public sphere - which could include public causes like Net Neutrality, general good works like free public wifi, anti-spam protocols, etc. - that sort of project can "buy" way more exposure than we can afford in traditional advertising. The Canadian community is so starved for real leadership in this sphere. If CIRA were to occupy a role there, we could effectively promote the dot-ca product far better than we have been, while still doing public good in the process.

That's my ideal vision, anyway. We're still some way away from that. But when people talk about directing some of our money towards public ends, I don't see that as charity. I see that as a marketing opportunity waiting to happen. And I know I'm not alone in that.

 

[Wzhxvy]

Jeff, you mentioned we were members ? But are we ? Speaking of that, why the DNA test to become a member ? ...if I own a .ca, I should automatically be a member and given a member ID to be able to vote and get involved in the direction of CIRA.

 

[Jeff Rybak]

@Wzhxvy - yeah, true that. I alluded to some of the frustrations earlier. I know there are members here. There's been discussion around CIRA AGMs etc. But I'm also sure there are many potential members who can't be bothered. And that's a shame.

As I said, the original roll out in 2007 was botched. The mail out tokens to vote, especially ... what a mess. We won't ever be doing that again. It's a lot easlier than it was. You can snail mail, fax, or even just scan in and e-mail your ID now. The details, if you're interested, are here:

http://www.cira.ca/membership-enrolment-process-2/?lang=en

So yes, in a sense, I completely agree. You should be and effectively are automatically a member of CIRA. It's free, once you have at least once dot-ca domain. What the authentication process is meant to ensure is that you aren't 50 members of CIRA, if you know what I mean.

Look, you're all entrepreneurs here. I'm sure you appreciate that if you have something of value it's only a matter of time before someone comes along and tries to take it. The fact is that CIRA has value - and there's a number of potential parties who might want to take control of the organization for their own interests if they could. We've had people deliberately screw with our elections before. And if we didn't bother to enforce the principle of one person one vote it would be very easy indeed. A single unscrupulous registrar could do it alone.

So I do apologize for how hard it's been in the past. It isn't meant to be. Hey, I want to get people I know signed up too, and I hear about their difficulties. But give it another chance, if you found it a pain in the past. We'd like you to be members.

 

[Belzibut]

Hi Jeff, I agree and I'm sure the operation cost is huge but the marketing is so important. If Cira were to raise registration by $1 they would have all the money they need for marketing. I don't get why they would set the price to $8.50 if it's not going to be enough to run the business successfully, it's not like they have competition to deal with. Once the marketing is in place there will be so much more revenue they can then bring the price back down a bit or offer better services.

On another subject, the privacy function should have been an option and not set by default. Most people/companies have no clue about the form they can fill to contact a domain owner. At least it should be more noticable.

Thanks for sharing your thought and participating in the forum.

D.

 

[Namefox]

Hello. My name is Wallace. I would like to see CIRA doing more advertizing of the extension. Radio spots, TV, etc...You don't have to spend millions on TV spots but rather pick local markets and do a rolling promotion. Get the word out to citizens and businesses alike the importance of owning a .ca domain. This would help both registrars and domain holders. I am sure this would bring some headaches but I believe it to be the next step in the evolution of CIRA. In my opinion, it is CIRA's obligation.

Sincerely,

W.M. Rose
West Coast Internet Group

 

[Jeff Rybak]

Well, that's noted. And I guess I'm not surprised. To give his full due to Rick Anderson (a fellow board member - not up for reelection this year) it's usually him that's harping on the shortcomings of our advertising efforts. Though it's a regular theme for everyone and something I'm concerned about also.

I don't know if everyone feels similarly on the idea of spending whatever it takes to advertise even if it means raising the price. That's an interesting view of things. Not that it's an immediate topic for consideration, but I'd be interested in other views on that suggestion.

One thought that I personally have is this. With the roll out of new gTLDs we're sure to see a flurry of advertising and publicity. I'd like to see CIRA riding on that wave. Along with some inevitable dilution in the market we're probably also going to see some flight to quality. Dot-ca is a known and credible commodity. That would be a really good time to emphasize the value of our established brand and presence. Of course that isn't the answer to all our marketing needs, but it's one thing I'd like to see happen.

 

[liberator]

Welcome here Jeff, I also agree that the biggest thing needed for the .ca namespace is public awareness. If CIRA doesn't have the capital it requires to run the ad campaigns, you could also look at dividing the costs by allowing multiple medium size business have a short spot on how having their .ca has helped them grow.

While these other companies may not have the capital to run their own spot either, combined with CIRA it could be worked out.

All the best,

Jay

 

[ianccc]

Jeff

Your statement stating CIRA has
“12 months of operating reserve is a normal and responsible amount”

I find this an interesting comment, lean close to your computer to hear this “YOU ARE A MONOPOLY, where are we going to go, can you see any other way to purchase a .CA domain. If the “aftermarket” that participates here had another option available to us we would have jumped ship long ago.

Sorry Jeff, I appreciate your valiant effort to engage the “aftermarket” but from what I see CIRA and the Toronto Maple Leafs are on a rebuilding year

 

[TheLegendaryJP]

But even before then, I'll do my best to address your views and questions here. So fire away.

Cheers,
Jeff

Do the masses a favour and don't run again, in fact spread the word to the others. Seriously, no sarcasim here at all. If you were not such a monopoly you would sink, the cash cow CIRA has become, holding millions in reserve and with no reason to promote the extension has lead to lazy attitudes.

I rather vote for the board not to be re elected.

 

[Jeff Rybak]

Well, first, to reply to liberator - as always I have to frame my remarks from the perspective that even if I am elected I'm still only one member of the board and the board can't reasonably micromanage management level decisions. But I find the idea of partnerships with businesses to share advertising costs to be a novel suggestion and one I haven't heard before. I'll draw staff attention to the idea.

In reply to criticism around accounting practices, it's been argued before that sitting on cash reserves to cover a period of operating expenses isn't necessary given CIRA's position. I see both sides of the debate but I'm willing to defend the view that's prevailed. The fact is that CIRA does have an existence as a corporation (not for profit) that extends beyond its operation of the dot-ca registry. We wouldn't cease to exist if we lost operation of the registry - we'd just have a very complex and bad situation on our hands. But we would drop to zero revenue overnight. Any situation where you keep an operating reserve contemplates a doomsday scenario - but contemplating such scenarios is a part of responsible management. Not everyone agrees or can frame the situation in that way, and I don't take it personally if you're unwilling to do so. But if sitting on an operating reserve in an interest-bearing account is the worst mismanagement CIRA is accused of, it's criticism I'm willing to endure.

Description of CIRA as a monopoly is interesting. Honestly, I really don't agree. CIRA has a monopoly on dot-ca domains in the same sense that Ford has a monopoly on Ford cars. You can describe it that way and it's true, but in fact Ford competes with other car manufacturers just as CIRA competes with other registries. And with new gTLDs rolling out our competition is going to increase.

If you'd prefer not to support any directors who have done the job in the past I can understand that. But it would be more helpful if that could be described in terms that point towards what you'd like to see done differently. This thread has been generally quite helpful to me, and I'll certainly draw staff attention to all the points that have been made - whether I'm reelected or not. But suggestions that everyone should go simply for the sake of change ... that doesn't really say much. If you look at the senior management team of CIRA, just about everyone has in fact changed in the last year to year and a half. Remember that it is management that runs CIRA on a day-to-day basis, and the role of the board is more to decide who is going to run CIRA. In other words, a need for change has already been recognized and is underway. But it also doesn't happen overnight.

Hope that's helpful in some ways. I can't be more honest than that.


In case my point about the monopoly analogy seemed lacking, btw, I should elaborate.

Bear in mind that CIRA's real job in running the registry is a technical one. It cannot in any realistic sense be shared. We can't have multiple agencies running the same registry at one time. Competition is intended to occur at the registrar level. I can understand a desire for change and frustration with some ways that CIRA functions. You might contemplate CIRA functioning in a different way or under a different name entirely. But you'll only ever have one agency running the dot-ca registry at a time, and so in the sense described it must always be a monopoly, if it is at all.

 

[TheLegendaryJP]

But if sitting on an operating reserve in an interest-bearing account is the worst mismanagement CIRA is accused of, it's criticism I'm willing to endure.

$5M ?

Curious, what was CIRA's bottom line ( operating budget ) last fiscal year? How much in a reserve is warranted when the flip side is appearing lazy and unwilling to promote the extension?