At the summer beginning and a little time after the excellent edition of “General condition of the Internet nomination” 1(EGENI) that took place in Paris, «Internet Community» of professionals have called to a new ICANN meeting in Luxembourg. Announcements, controversies, emotions and dotages. All the ingredients were there and the hot, too. Ready?

« Once more » In the train we were taken to Paris, these words that belong to one of the ICANN responsible, a little disappointed, said in this way…The ICANN exists from six years ago and  you feel, inside the old “walkers” a certain kind of laxity. In fact, Internet has always been a fascinating subject and good wills want to give their ideas, but…

Must it be the hot we feel in the place that we call – affectionately- and from the first day “The Hangar”, this enormous space of tents, built by the Luxembourg presidency of the European Union and “given” with generosity to the ICANN by the government? The interchanges have rarely been so stirred like in this meeting with Registrars and VeriSign. The success in the offer calls that has allowed to be well preserved the .Net management made to hiss teeth, the words were vehement…VeriSign, the big-hearted winner doesn’t have comparison -see interview – but the most worried thing is the political impact of the situation: the ICANN and its management are the ones toward these attacks are leaded to,  the process is discussed, and these same critiques gave place to keep up applauses in the “Forum” on Tuesday…

We must greet an innovation, they invited the “francophone” community inside a small room – with air conditioning!- to give their opinion about the famous “strategic plan”: questions in French, similar answers thanks to a smart system with small keyboards giving to each one. The moment, not very frequent , to express themselves without problem and with a certain envy. We wish it be renewed since it won’t make us to forget a 4 of July without fireworks…and in a hangar!

Little by little the “Supporting Organization” compromised in order to federalize the Registries of Country Codes (the ccNSO) formed by the new candidates and it seems to achieve its bet of “suffocate” of wwwTLD, the organization that preceded it and is still preferred by the majority of  European ccTLDs. Particularly the .DE in which the untiring jurist tried, once again, to point the dangers of the text, specially, because it would give to ICANN an excessive power over the ccTLDs. These observations, of course, have been taking into account - are the same from the ICANN Montreal in 2.003 – and they will be taken into account maybe in the nth. re-deed in that it must intervene. “ It is  the film A never ending day, without Bill Murray” as he says by himself. Less funny, this vote, in an editing session: in behalf of (6), against (4)? “does it mean that 12 of you are making fun?” “maybe…

The ICANN will be professional, it is marching on…The new responsible on Human Resources, with English nationality, also took the interested candidates on the innumerous offers of the site: California or Brussels, the election exists, but the funniest thing was, without doubt, to pay attention on the colleagues to come in prudently in the small room. They tried to avoid the resplendent crime of a compromise…ICANN, “the organization that we love to hate” as a newcomer said, almost astonished, the one who still wasn’t disgusted but, soon he will be when he verifies the ambiguous relations that entailed the organization and the ones that come around the world each quarter in order to find them.

And the domain names inside these? That goes fairly well according to Sedo, one of the “second market” first protagonist. The rule is simple: you have an attractive domain name in mind, (for example: Allergie .fr, valued in… 3.700 euros! And do you want to earn money? Put it on sale in Sedo.com who will find a buyer and pay for the negotiation. They reward a brilliant idea, the buyer has a name that allows him the traffic, everybody are happy, even the Registrar because he managed the transference from one to the other. Of course, some of them are included into the Cyber squatting but that…..

But the event of this edition was, without doubt, the seminary organized by EurID in the big room of colors of Europe – pointed the victory of the “yes” in the referendum of Luxembourg two days ago! The EurID promoters, specially its president  Marc Van Visamel (see  interview) gave finally more details about .EU. Still without date but with tested details and practical information: from the dossiers sending for the “Sunrise period”, it wasn’t necessary to “use nippers” for winning time in the treatment (in the opposite, according to Waterhouse Cooper in charge of the Sun, it would have taken a several years!). Details, maybe, but with consequences for Goodyear, Bridgestone and Michelin. The three wanted to register ”Tire,eu” (in English), the first let the time goes for giving the documents that were the proof of the rights of protection on this word; the second one didn’t have good information; then Michelin took advantage on the situation and was the beneficiary.

Once more again…This “community” puts in value all its sense when Internet goes in second plane. The two minutes of silence in memory of the outrage victims in London watched standing for the approximately 400 people present, from nationalities, religions and ages so different, put the mark in the spirits even those who had been in the ICANN meeting of Rio, on September,11 of 2001.

JCV & SB