Ernie Smith wrote an article for Associations Now titled New Co-Op Aims to Take Over .Org Registry Operations.
« The recent debate over the announced sale of the .org top-level domain to a private-equity firm has led a number of prominent figures in the world of digital nonprofits to offer up an alternative solution. »
« This week, the group—which includes Esther Dyson, the founding chairwoman of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)—announced its efforts to create a co-op that would replace the existing organization structure for the management of .org. The Cooperative Corporation of .ORG Registrants, a nonprofit incorporated this week in California, wants to both stop the sale of .org to Ethos Capital and convince ICANN to let it manage the top-level domain instead. »
« The new organization, which has also gained early support from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, comes less than a month after ICANN delayed the attempt to sell the Public Interest Registry (PIR), which is managed by the Internet Society, and asked for more information about the sale. »
«The deal is controversial in part because it’s believed that Ethos Capital could raise prices for nonprofit domain owners. Groups in the association and nonprofit space, including ASAE, have also spoken up about the efforts; ASAE has asked federal officials to step in to block the sale. »
« For its part, the Internet Society said this week that it is looking to sell its stake in PIR in part because its goals are beyond its current mission. »
Articles of Interest 