"But wait. ICANN already decided, more than a year ago, that ICM Registry had sufficient support from the relevant “community” to be classified as a sponsored domain. The test for sponsorship was part of the original process. So that issue is over. Or should be. What kind of a resource allocation organization can just say, “oh never mind, yesterday you met the criteria, today you don’t.” And what is with this public comment business? Where is the policy value in this modern version of the public stoning? If you held a public comment on whether Milton Mueller should be allowed to write another book the verdict might be negative if my enemies caught wind of it. Anything having to do with pornography is bound to be controversial. Negotiating an agreement and then blithely asking for public comment about it simply gives the proposal’s enemies time to organize lots of negative comments. " ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I would look into these facts to ensure they are truthful statements. There are many questions about community support, and there are many negative statements coming from both peoplewithin and outside of the sponsored community. Domain Name Registrars, International Governments, Internet Commerce Trade Groups, etc. have come out against this TLD citing variety of DIFFERENT flaws and problems that range from public policy to the scope & responsibilities of ICANN. The tone of your editorial (I hope this isn't considered a fact piece) shows through a strong opinion, rather than objectively discussing the facts. Overall, your comments are very shallow and incredibly simplify the whole scenario.