A vital part of ICANN's processes is the opportunity for there to be public comment on each substantial piece of work before it is put forward for final approval. This is an archive of one month's public comment periods, arranged according to the month in which the comment period was closed.

Each box below provides a brief explanation of what the comment period hoped to achieve, as well as: links to relevant reports and/or webpages; a link to the official announcement of the comment period; a link to where all existing comments can be found; and an email link for anyone that wished to send in a comment. A "summary/analysis" objectively reviews the comments.

Forums closing this month	Public comment	Archived forums:
Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy Issues (ends 29 Sep 08) SSAC Review Draft Terms of Reference (ends 5 Sep 08) Economic Case for Auctions in New gTLDs (ends 7 Sep 08) Independent Review of the ALAC - Final Report (ends 12 Sep 08)	Return to main public comment page	December November October September August July June 2008 2007 Prior to July 2007

Closed forums

Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy Issues

Open:	5 Sep 08
Closed:	29 Sep 08

Explanation: The Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP) aims to provide a straightforward procedure for domain name holders to transfer their names from one ICANN-accredited registrar to another. As part of a broader review of this policy, a Policy Development Process (PDP) is currently ongoing on new Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy issues. These new Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy issues include questions relating to registrar exchange of registrant e-mail information, the potential need for including new forms of electronic authentication and potential provisions for "partial bulk transfers." The Working Group is requesting your input for its deliberations to answer the following questions:

Issue I - Is there a way for registrars to make Registrant E-mail Address data available to one another? Currently there is no way of automating approval from the Registrant, as the Registrant Email Address is not a required field in the registrar Whois. This slows down and/or complicates the process for registrants, especially since the Registrant can overrule the Admin Contact .

Issue II - Whether there is need for other options for electronic authentication (e.g., security token in the Form of Authorization (FOA)) due to security concerns on use of email addresses (potential for hacking or spoofing) .

Issue III - Whether the policy should incorporate provisions for handling "partial bulk transfers" between registrars - that is, transfers involving a number of names but not the entire group of names held by the losing registrar .

For further details, please visit http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-08sep08-en.htm.

Staff member responsible: Marika Konings

Announcement | Comments | Summary/analysis of comments

Independent Review of the ALAC - Final Report

Open:	25 Jul 08
Closed:	12 Sep 08

Explanation: ICANN invites comments on the Final ALAC Review Report [pdf] submitted by Independent Reviewer, Westlake Consulting.

The report is available in Arabic [PDF, 940K], Chinese [PDF, 881K], English [PDF, 561K], French [PDF, 629K], German [PDF, 611K] and Spanish [PDF, 629K].

ICANN is now seeking the views of the community on the recommendations contained in the report.

Westlake Consulting was selected by ICANN's Board to conduct the independent review of the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) and related structures. Key objectives of the review include:

[To determine] whether the ALAC has a continuing purpose in the ICANN structure; and, If so, whether any change in structure or operations is desirable to improve its effectiveness.

This review is part of ICANN's ongoing commitment to its evolution and improvement. ICANN's bylaws require periodic, independent examinations of the role and operation of key elements of ICANN.

Staff member responsible: Denise Michel

Announcement | Comments | Summary/analysis of comments

Economic Case for Auctions in New gTLDs

Open:	8 Aug 08
Closed:	7 Sep 08

Explanation: During the ICANN meeting in Paris, France, ICANN staff made a commitment to release a paper describing the economic case for auctions as a tiebreaking mechanism for resolving contention among identical or confusingly similar applications for new gTLDs. The paper [PDF, 52K] was prepared by ICANN's auction design consultant PowerAuctions LLC with support from ICANN staff. The paper notes that auctions as a tiebreaking mechanism accomplish a goal of allocative efficiency through a transparent, objective and scalable process for the resolution of gTLD applications.

Staff member responsible: Patrick Jones

Announcement | Comments | Summary/analysis of comments

SSAC Review Draft Terms of Reference

Open:	13 Aug 08
Closed:	5 Sep 08

Explanation: As part of ICANN's commitment to its ongoing improvement, the Board approved a comprehensive plan for independent review of ICANN's structures, as well as of the Board itself. The reviews are intended to ensure an independent examination of the role and operation of key elements of ICANN.

As part of this process, the draft Terms of Reference for the Review of the Security and Stability Advisory Committee are being posted for public comment.

Comments will close on 5 September 2008.

Revised Terms of Reference will be prepared based on the comments received.The revised Terms of Reference will form the basis for a Request for Proposal for an independent reviewer to undertake the review. It is anticipated that the review will commence later this year.

Staff member responsible: Denise Michel

Announcement | Comments | Summary/analysis of comments