IP: ICANN To Evaluate Internet Keywords

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> From: Richard Forno <rforno () infowarrior org>
> To: <farber () cis upenn edu>
> Organization: www.infowarrior.org
>
>
>
> Can anyone else say "mission creep"??
>
> rick
> infowarrior.org
>
>
> http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/14813-1.html
>
>
> > Addressing Authorities Will Tackle Internet Keywords
> > By David McGuire,
> > Newsbytes.com Staff Writer
> > Thursday, January 24, 2002; 8:30 AM
> >
> > Internet "keywords" and other devices that simplify Web navigation will 
> come
> > under the scrutiny of online naming authorities when the Internet 
> Corporation
> > for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) convenes this March in Africa.
> >
> > ICANN, which manages the Internet's worldwide addressing system, will - for
> > the first time - address the issue of "higher-layer" naming at its 
> meeting in
> > Ghana, ICANN spokeswoman Mary Hewitt said Wednesday.
> >
> > Higher-layer naming refers to Internet navigation tools that are 
> superimposed
> > on the existing addressing structure. Companies like RealNames Corp. 
> that link
> > "keywords" to traditional ".com" addresses are offering higher-layer naming
> > services.
> >
> > When RealNames links an Internet keyword to an existing Internet address,
> > Internet surfers using Microsoft's Internet Explorer can visit the 
> address by
> > simply typing in the keyword (e.g. ACME) rather than the entire name (e.g.
> > ACME.com).
> >
> > While such offerings don't come directly under ICANN's scope, Hewitt 
> said that
> > the ICANN Board will address potential concerns about how higher-layer 
> naming
> > systems interact with the underlying addressing architecture.
> >
> > The board, which makes all final ICANN decisions, will look to 
> determine how
> > and whether ICANN should craft addressing policies to account for the 
> growing
> > extent of higher-layer naming activities.
> >
> > Questions about whether some higher-layer names should be counted as 
> separate
> > Internet addresses and about the interactivity of higher-layer names 
> that use
> > non-Roman characters will be addressed at the meeting, Hewitt said

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