RFC 3071 (rfc3071) - Page 2 of 10

Reflections on the DNS, RFC 1591, and Categories of Domains

RFC 3071          Reflections on the DNS and RFC 1591      February 2001


1.  Introduction

   RFC 1591 [1] has been heavily discussed and referenced in the last
   year or two, especially in discussions within ICANN and its
   predecessors about the creation, delegation, and management of top-
   level domains.  In particular, the ICANN Domain Name Supporting
   Organization (DNSO), and especially its ccTLD constituency, have been
   the home of many discussions in which 1591 and interpretations of it
   have been cited in support of a variety of sometimes-contradictory
   positions.  During that period, other discussions have gone on to try
   to reconstruct the thinking that went into RFC 1591.  Those in turn
   have led me and others to muse on how that original thinking might
   relate to some of the issues being raised.  1591 is, I believe, one
   of Jon Postel's masterpieces, drawing together very different
   philosophies (e.g., his traditional view that people are basically
   reasonable and will do the right thing if told what it is with some
   stronger mechanisms when that model is not successful) into a single
   whole.

   RFC 1591 was written in the context of the assumption that what it
   described as generic TLDs would be bound to policies and categories
   of registration (see the "This domain is intended..."  text in
   section 2) while ccTLDs were expected to be used primarily to support
   users and uses within and for a country and its residents.  The
   notion that different domains would be run in different ways --albeit
   within the broad contexts of "public service on behalf of the
   Internet community" and "trustee... for the global Internet
   community"-- was considered a design feature and a safeguard against
   a variety of potential abuses.  Obviously the world has changed in
   many ways in the seven or eight years since 1591 was written.  In
   particular, the Internet has become more heavily used and, because
   the design of the world wide web has put domain names in front of
   users, top-level domain names and registrations in them have been
   heavily in demand: not only has the number of hosts increased
   dramatically during that time, but the ratio between registered
   domain names and physical hosts has increased very significantly.

   The issues 1591 attempted to address when it was written and those we
   face today have not changed significantly in principle.  But one
   alternative to present trends would be to take a step back to refine
   it into a model that can function effectively today.  Therefore, it
   may be useful to try to reconstruct 1591's principles and think about
   their applicability today as a model that could continue to be
   applied: not because it is historically significant, but because many
   of its elements have proven to work reasonably well, even in
   difficult situations.  In particular, for many domains (some in
   1591's "generic" list and others in its "country code" category) the
   notion of "public service" --expected then to imply being carried out



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