Blog: Alliance for Climate Protection

Recently, Dot Eco released a comprehensive Green Paper (PDF here) detailing its principles and its mission. (Hint: Al Gore, the Alliance for Climate Protection, the Sierra Club and Surfrider think it can help save the planet.)

As the registry provider for .ECO, I decided that we need to support that mission. As I’ve already reported, Minds + Machines DNS services are carbon-neutral and do not contribute to global warming.

Now we’ve undertaken a major initiative within Minds + Machines to make sure we contribute less to global warming, and that to the extent we do, we do something else to offset it. Our goal is to ensure that none of our operations contribute to the destruction of the planet.

Here’s what we’re doing and plan to do:

• As we add or replace servers, replacing them with energy-efficient “green” machines
• Encouraging telecommuting and online communication in our company, and when we must travel, whether long-distance or for commuting, purchasing carbon offsets for each employee.
• At our offices, taking steps to reduce our energy consumption and emissions by upgrading insulation, air-conditioning systems, and (of course) our habits.
• For all of our business, purchasing carbon offsets for our activities that emit greenhouse gasses.
• Doing all of the above for our sister company CoCCA.
• Providing credits to registries and registrars using our systems for specific steps they take to make their operations greener.

The Internet is global, and it’s our view that Internet companies should do what they can to make sure their operations have minimal impact on the planet — because “global” doesn’t make much sense if there isn’t a habitable globe.

Some resources for green operations:

• Green IT: Framework for Building a “Hyper-Green” Virtual Server System
• Interview with Matthew Wheeland, author of the new book The Greening of IT: How Companies Can Make a Difference for the Environment
• Tapping into the Value of Being Virtually Green
• Purchase carbon offsets at Terra Pass
• Purchase carbon offsets at the Carbon Fund

We challenge every top-level domain registry provider to take responsibility, make a difference, and — especially for those registry operators backing ecologically-themed top-level domains — to put their money on the line.

The current version of ICANN’s draft Application Guidebook (currently in Draft 2, awaiting Draft 3) allows an applicant for a new gTLD to choose whether they want to be considered as a Community or an Open TLD. An Open TLD is completely open to anyone, without any restrictions. .COM is an example of an open TLD.

To qualify as a Community TLD, you must pass some tests. Most qualifications concern the TLD sponsoring organization(s) and or the requirements placed upon potential registrants. A perfect example of a Community TLD is the .ECO TLD. They have obtained a flood of strong community support from a number of environmental organizations, individuals and supporting organizations such as the Surfrider Foundation, the Sierra Club, and most notably Al Gore and the Alliance for Climate Protection. (Disclaimer: .ECO is a Minds + Machines customer.) .ECO will be somewhat restrictive in its allocations and qualifications to register. For example, corporations with horrific track records on pollution and environmental destruction will not be able to register.

ICANN’s current draft of the Applicant Guidebook indicates that a Community TLD will trump an Open TLD applicant trying for the same name. Does that mean you should always file as a community? Not necessarily.

ICANN has set up a point system for deciding whether an application qualifies as a Community TLD. One must score very high to be considered as a community TLD, and part of that qualification means creating a restrictive process for registrations or qualifications. These barriers to entry may mean lower registration numbers, and there may be additional fields that a registrar needs to capture in their registration process — which makes them less likely to want to offer the TLD.

There are three really good reasons to file as an Open TLD instead of as a community. First and foremost, you might not actually be a community — .ADULT, for instance, really can’t be considered a community. The other reason is that once you set the restrictions on applications that help you qualify as a community, you have to stick with them. You can’t file as a community, limit registrations to a particular community, then change the rules to let everyone register. Finally, an Open TLD might attract more registrations because there are no restrictions. There are many who view Open TLDs as more attractive commercially.

In deciding whether to file as a Community TLD or an Open TLD, you need to balance commercial viability against your application’s chances for success.

In a marketplace where registrars are going to have to make choices as to which of the TLDs they offer, those that are simplest are more likely to appeal to them. They will make exceptions for popular domains, such as .ECO. That said, if a registrar can easily implement a TLD that (from an implementation perspective) is a clone of .COM, they are more likely to do so. Therefore, Open TLDs may be more widely adopted by registrars.

Most of the potential applicants that I’ve seen describe their key metric of success as wide adoption and use of their TLD. Picking the right focus, Open or Community, will be an important decision.

I’m pleased to report that Minds + Machines client Dot Eco has announced a partnership with former Vice President Al Gore and the Alliance for Climate Protection.

This is obviously very good for the .eco initiative and for Minds + Machines. Hopefully it will help ICANN as well by encouraging some of the many TLD initiatives we’re aware of to announce themselves and build the momentum for new top-level domains.

Congratulations Dot Eco!

Dot Eco Selects Minds + Machines to Provide Registry Services

MEXICO CITY (March 4, 2009). .ECO, a new top-level domain initiative for people who care about the environment, has selected Minds + Machines as their domain name registry operator. Minds + Machines will help .ECO with the ICANN application process, and handle .ECO’s domain registry services after ICANN approval.

“After comparing all the registry platforms, our choice was easy,” said Fred Krueger, CEO of .ECO. “Minds + Machines impressed us with their technology and their knowledge of the industry, as well as their commitment to sustainable development. They have a vision that goes beyond the technical aspects, and matches our vision of what the Internet can do for the environment and for world.”

.ECO will be established for individuals to express their support for environmental causes, for companies to promote their environmental initiatives, and for environmental organizations to maintain their websites in a namespace that is more relevant to their core missions. Dot Eco recently announced an integrated partnership with former Vice President Al Gore and the Alliance for Climate Protection.

“.ECO is an important next step for the Internet,” said Antony Van Couvering, CEO of Minds + Machines. “By claiming this important Internet identity, and backing it up with a real plan for action, .ECO is fulfilling the promise of the Internet to make a real difference for the planet. We could not be more pleased that they selected Minds + Machines.”

Minds + Machines has its roots in CoCCA Tools, the open-source shared registry platform for over twenty-five country-code top-level domains. By supporting CoCCA with funding and development, Minds + Machines is helping bring the Internet and an important Internet identity to many smaller countries in the world.

Minds + Machines, based in Los Angeles and New York, provides consulting and technology to corporate, community, and entrepreneurial new top-level domains.

Contact Antony Van Couvering, avc[at]mindsandmachines.com