NameYourself said:
.Tel and .Mobi are intended for two separate purposes in the wireless world:
.Tel = wireless contact / phone directory (like AIM) - Amanda312.tel
.Mobi = wireless formatted websites
Will either take off? That's tough to say, the other new TLDs surely haven't in my opinion, still it will be interesting to see.
Tough indeed.
Here is some information taken directly from the .mobi website. http://pc.mtld.mobi/switched/reg_compliancepolicy.html. The intiative is well-intentioned, to get mobile websites to deliver content properly formatted for cellphones, but their compliance/policing methods may prove to be too onerous not only for registrants, but for registrars as well. The registrars are being called on to "police" their .mobi customers well in excess of simply notifying them of pending renewals.
Notification to Registrars
The contract for the use of a .mobi domain is between the registrar and the registrant, hence any communication to the registrant about the compliance status of their domain must initially come via the registrar. mTLD will inform each registrar on a regular basis about any domains associated with them that are not in compliance with the mandatory rules, via a special report made available to them. The frequency of this report has yet to be determined. mTLD will only step in at the third and final stage of non-compliance to communicate directly with the registrant.
Registrars will, in turn, be required to notify the appropriate registrant in any manner they choose, probably with an email message sent to the site administrator address that is required on domain registration. This notification is a one-way communication from the registry to the registrar registrars are not obliged to notify mTLD of successful/unsuccessful communication with the registrant.
Non-Compliance Stages
There will be five stages in the domain compliance process as indicated in the following timeline:
[DIAGRAM PURPOSELY OMITTED]
The compliance process works as follows:
* The mTLD test tool will periodically visit every site in the .mobi domain. Every .mobi domain will be tested for conformance no less frequently than once every 90 days
* If a domain is found to be not in conformance with one or more of the mandatory rules, the domain goes into first notification state and the domain administrative contact is notified via the appropriate registrar.
* If in the period 15 days from the notification of the registrant the domain is again found not to be in compliance, the domain goes into second notification state and a second notification is sent to the domain administrative contact via the appropriate registrar, 15 days after the first notification. The registrars will be obliged to make it clear that this is the second notification.
* If in the period 15 days from the second notification the domain is again found to be not in compliance, the domain goes into final notification state and a third and final notification is sent to the domain administrative contact, directly from mTLD, 30 days after the first notification. This email will state that the compliance check has failed 3 times, citing dates and times, and state that the domain is pending suspension. A designated contact in the relevant registrar will be copied on the email. The email will also contain challenge instructions and a link to enable the registrant to appeal the decision.
* If compliance has not been reached within the next 30 days, the domain is then suspended, 30 days after the final notice and 60 days after the initial notice. The suspension process is described in more detail below.
In each case, the notification that is sent to the registrant will indicate the following pieces of information to help them diagnose the problem:
* List of Switch On! Guide rules that site does not conform to
* Date/time of check (with time zone)
* The user agent that the test tool was emulating
* The site URL that was checked
If at any stage of this timeline the domain compliance check for the domain in question passes (domain is compliant), the domain automatically reverts back to domain in compliance status.
Site Suspension
The final step of the site suspension process will involve human oversight to ensure appropriate decisions are made. Sites pending suspension will be reviewed weekly by mTLD and actioned appropriately, on a case-by-case basis. Domains will be suspended by setting the domain status to REGISTRY-HOLD status in the root DNS servers. This will prevent any name resolution of any queries related to the domain, and all sub domains.
What will happen if registrars find that it takes too much time and effort chasing down deadbeat registrants and simply throw in the towel?
Thoughts, comments?
