WASHINGTON INTERNET DAILY

                                 JUNE 21, 2001

SECTION: Vol. 2, No. 120

LENGTH: 590 words

HEADLINE:  Report Questions Timing of Rollout of Alternate .biz TLD

BODY:

   An analysis intended to provoke discussion of the controversial issue of
 colliding top-level domain names (TLDs) is doing just that in one ICANN public
 comment forum. A report posted Tues. to the Domain Name Supporting
 Organization's (DNSO) mailing list by Ben Edelman of Harvard's Berkman Center
 for Internet & Society, examined registrations in the AtlanticRoot Network
 Inc.'s (ARNI) TLD .biz from Nov. 15, 2000 -- when ICANN approved NeuLevel
to run
 a .biz TLD -- to June 15. Edelman said most registrations in ARNI's ".biz"
 occurred after ICANN gave the nod to its own .biz TLD. Edelman's research is
 intended "to spur discussion on related issues," he said in his report.

   As of mid-day Fri., Edelman said, there were 3,778 2nd-level domains (SLDs)
 in ARNI's .biz. Data showed, however, that only 297 of the SLDs were
registered
 on or before Nov. 15, he said.  Moreover, Edelman said, there was "substantial
 'clumping' of registrations with a few registrants," with the top 5
registrants
 holding 1,179 domain names. When ICANN approved its .biz, there were only 5
 registrants in the ARNI TLD, he said.

   The analysis prompted accusations by ARNI Pres. Leah Gallegos that Edelman
 "mined and misused" the Whois database and neglected to consult her. ARNI took
 over management of .biz in May 2000, she said, and any registrations
before then
 were done manually.  Edelman's research results "are based on the assumption
 that no registrations took place prior to the launch of the automated
 registration system," Gallegos said. "The oldest registrations are actually
 months prior to" the Oct. 2000 launch date. The statistics are indicative of
 very little about TLD collisions, Gallegos said, since ARNI's .biz has been
 around since before ICANN gave any hint it would okay the same TLD.

   "Had anyone from Berkman consulted with us regarding your research, we would
 have been happy to cooperate," Gallegos said, adding that the results were
 subjective because of faulty assumptions about start dates and registration
 methods.

   Edelman's research was "purely factual" and was intended to answer his own
 personal questions, he told us. His analysis answered those questions
 satisfactorily, he said. However, he said, "you'll have to draw your own
 conclusion regarding the significance of my findings." While his results could
 be read to mean that people didn't start registering in .biz until ICANN
 approved NeuLevel's application, and that .biz was such a small operation it
 wasn't a threat to ICANN's .biz, Edelman said, "there are other
interpretations
 also."

   Edelman's picture of the ARNI registrations is helpful, Syracuse U. Prof.
 Milton Mueller said, but his treatment of the facts was incomplete and
"borders
 on the selective" in certain areas. Among other problems, he said, is that the
 data didn't show how Gallegos could have known that NeuLevel's application
would
 be selected when she formally opened .biz in Oct., and why the "vast majority"
 of registrations happened after ICANN's action.

   But another poster to the mailing list said the analysis shows Gallegos's
 claim that ICANN had created a colliding TLD wasn't backed up by the evidence.
 Her contention that ARNI's .biz was here to stay and that many people would
 consider buying domains from her was incorrect, said Thomas Roessler.

   Edelman responded to Gallegos Wed., posing further questions, stressing that
 the research was his own, not Harvard's, and saying he would revise his report
 if his key assumptions were faulty. -- Dugie Standeford