Question: I agree with having additional TLD's (.tv, .web, .child, .xxx, etc.) but is there a limit? How many are too many? Where is the line drawn?

Nominee Replies

Emerson Tiller, J.D., Ph.D. - posted on 2000-09-29 19:22:33 I don't think we need artificial limits on TLDs. Let the market and technical limitations decide the appropriate number of TLDs. Karl Auerbach - posted on 2000-09-24 21:58:42 The technical limit is somewhere well above a million TLDs - the actual number is probably much higher and will grow with the speed of computers. Below that number I draw no line on how many is acceptable because that is a value judgement that is well beyond ICANN's legitimate scope. I'd rather let the users of the internet determine, by their usage, whether a TLD is viable or not. Donald Langenberg - posted on 2000-09-24 12:30:38 I'd be curious to know the statistical distribution of people's answers to that question. My own answer is a number that corresponds to the maximum number ot TLDs that I personally can keep in mind without having to ask Huh? What do you suppose that one means? when I encounter it. In typical physicist's fashion I'd estimate that number as about half-way (logarithmically) between 10 and 100, i.e., somewhere around 30. Barbara Simons - posted on 2000-09-23 19:09:39 I am not aware of any technical limitations to creating large numbers of new TLDs. I have heard concerns expressed about maintaining stability, but I have never seen any technical explanation of what that means or why it should be a concern. A clear and precise analysis would help to dispel the widespread perception that stability is a code word for trademark protection. Absent such an explanation, I believe we should not be limiting the creation of new TLDs. Lawrence Lessig - posted on 2000-09-20 08:58:55 My presumption is that we should increase the TLDs until someone can show why not. There may be a limit; there may be a point when there are too many. But I have not been convinced, either technically or from a policy perspective, that we are close to that limit. It is crucial, however, for ICANN to expand this space. The small number of TLDs increases the power of any particular TLD; and the requirement that all TLDs follow certain rules like the UDRP simple protects that market power even more. ICANN should work, as the White Paper said, to create an environment of maximum competition. More TLDs, each with their own rules and offerings (within proper limits), that would assure that none alone had too much power.