SECOND LEVEL DOMAINS

1. Statement of Purpose

1.1 This policy will cover all aspects relating to Second Level Domains ("2LDs"), including what 2LDs are currently offered, how moderation operates, and how 2LDs are established.

1.2 It will act as a guide to prospective name holders in selecting the most appropriate domain name, and as a resource for registrars to aid prospective name holders in this process.

2. Background

2.1 InternetNZ has responsibility within New Zealand for the .nz domain name space ("DNS"), and has implemented a shared registry system ("SRS") for the management of .nz domain name registrations and the operation of the DNS.

2.2 A SRS establishes a single register for registering domain names and associated technical and administrative information. .nz Registry Services ("NZRS") operates the register. The registration of domain names, and modification of information associated with that name on the register can be effected only by authorised registrars.

2.3 Registrars are responsible for managing their relationship with registrants. There is no communication between NZRS and registrants.

3. Principles

3.1 This document details a set of guiding principles describing 2LD names. Central to these principles, is the notion of "communities of interest":

3.2 There should be a clear statement of a common interest shared by entities that reside within the domain, e.g. tertiary educational institutions.

3.3 Communities of interest should not overlap. This means that minimum ambiguity should exist between different 2LDs.

3.4 The 2LD name should be an obvious derivative of a word that properly describes the community of interest, e.g. .ac for academic.

3.5 The community of interest should be long lived, e.g. tertiary education is long lived, the 2000 America's Cup race is not.

3.6 InternetNZ may grant permission for moderation of membership of a community of interest to be managed by that community of interest, in some circumstances.

4. Permissible 2LDs

4.1 There are currently 12 2LDs in the .nz DNS. The description of the communities of interest that each represents is as follows:

4.2 InternetNZ has granted permission to four organisations to moderate membership of specific 2LDs. These are .cri.nz, .govt.nz, .iwi.nz and .mil.nz. Moderation means that applicants need to meet specific additional criteria in order to be included in each community of interest.

4.3 Those that do not meet these criteria will be excluded.

5. Selection of an Appropriate 2LD

5.1 Prospective name holders are strongly encouraged to select the 2LD that matches the most appropriate community of interest. Applicants choosing 2LDs that might be viewed as inappropriate by the general Internet community do so at their own risk.

5.2 For use of a moderated 2LD, permission must be sought from the moderating organisation. Conditions may apply to the applicant and/or to the name requested.

5.3 For the unmoderated 2LDs the final choice of the appropriate 2LD to use, and the name chosen, rests with the applicant.

5.4 Prospective name holders should talk with their registrar prior to application, to establish an appropriate 2LD.

6. Moderation of Existing 2LDs

6.1 InternetNZ retains management authority of all listed 2LDs. Under specific circumstances, authority to moderate membership may be granted to another organisation, by InternetNZ, through the Office of the Domain Name Commissioner ("DNC").

6.2 For the DNC to consider granting authority for an existing 2LD, the following principles are important. The community of interest proposing to accept responsibility for moderation must:

• 6.2.1 Comprise a well-defined set of organisations with a strong community of interest.

• 6.2.2 Develop acceptable policies for allocating domains within that 2LD space.

• 6.2.3 Provide a "designated 2LD moderator" with authority to implement policy.

6.4 Moderation entails the following activities:

• 6.4.1 Registrants seeking to register a domain name within the 2LD being moderated will be evaluated to ensure that they meet the organisational criteria set out for the 2LD. This moderation is to ensure that only those registrants that meet the organisational criteria are permitted to obtain a name in the domain as sought.

• 6.4.2 For those registrants that are deemed to have met the organisational criteria, the moderator will further determine whether the domain name sought is acceptable.

• 6.4.3 The moderator must notify the applicant of the acceptance or rejection of the domain name sought within an agreed number of working days.

• 6.4.4 The responsibility for accepting a name and a registrant lies with the moderating organisation.

• 6.4.5 The number of working days will be agreed by InternetNZ with the moderator in each case and form part of the terms of the Moderation Agreement.

• 6.4.6 Additional rules for moderated 2LDs, to those described in the .nz policies and procedures, may be determined by the moderator in discussion with the community of interest. The DNC must also be consulted in this process.

• 6.4.7 A period of three months is required for either party of the Moderation Agreement as notice of termination.

6.6 Existing moderated domains are .cri.nz, .govt.nz, .iwi.nz, and .mil.nz

6.7 Where a domain name has been accidentally registered in a moderated domain space, and it clearly does not meet the organisational criteria for that domain, the moderator can apply to the DNC for the domain name to be cancelled. Note - the moderator needs to have consulted with the registrant prior to approaching the DNC.

6.8 Where the DNC agrees to consider the application by the moderator, the DNC will consult with the moderator and the registrant before making a decision.

6.9 The operating principles for moderated domains are:

• Approval for use of the moderated name occurs prior to the registrar registering the domain name in the register.

• NZRS will not be involved in that approval process.

• Moderators will either need to establish themselves as a registrar or set up a relationship with a registrar(s).

• Moderators will be responsible for notifying the DNC and NZRS of their accredited registrar(s).

6.11 If acceptable under the moderator’s policy, a moderated 2LD can be transferred to a registrar that is not designated to register that moderated 2LD. However, they will not be able to change the registrant of the domain name. The domain name will need to be transferred to a designated registrar to be processed.

7. Creation of New 2LDs

7.1 InternetNZ views the creation of new 2LDs as a very serious matter. Such domains, once created, are likely to never be removed. Consequently the following procedure is "conservative".

7.2 It will be necessary for the 2LD name space to evolve over time to reflect the changing needs of society. These needs will be ascertained through a consultative process. It is agreed that there will be a review of the 2LD name space following the implementation of the SRS. Until that time, there will be a moratorium on all new applications, though all current applications will continue using the procedure below.

7.3 Any individual or organisation may initiate the process of creating a new 2LD, or changing the definition of a current 2LD within `.NZ', by sending a proposal to the Domain Name Commissioner at PO Box 11881, Wellington, or by email to info@dnc.org.nz

7.4 The onus is on the proposer to justify the domain and ample opportunity is provided for both supporters and opponents to provide input to the process.

7.5 Proposals for new 2LDs will be expected to:

• 7.5.1 Provide a substantive description of the community of interest requiring the domain.

• 7.5.2 Justify the requirement for a new 2LD for this community of interest.

• 7.5.3 Justify the selection of a new domain with respect to the following principles.

• 7.5.4 Associated with each second level domain should be a clear statement of a common interest shared by entities that are expected to request names within the domain, e.g. tertiary educational institutions.

• 7.5.5 Proposals for new second level domains should provide a proposed statement describing the community of interest for the domain and an argument indicating why this community requires a new second level domain.

• 7.5.6 The abbreviation used to represent the domain should be an obvious derivative of a word that properly describing the domain, e.g. .ac for academic.

• 7.5.7 Minimum ambiguity should exist between different second level domain names, i.e. ideally their communities of interest should not overlap.

7.7 InternetNZ will post appropriate proposals on the Internet and advertise a Request For Discussion (RFD) on its mailing lists and appropriate discussion groups.

7.8 Not less than 60 nor more than 90 days after the RFD, InternetNZ will issue a Request For Votes on the proposal. This straw poll is intended to measure support for the proposal. The outcome will be non-binding.

7.9 The poll will take place by electronic mail with all voters submitting a standard ballot which will be distributed on relevant mailing lists and discussion groups. Votes will be accepted for the following 14 days.

7.10 Votes will be counted by InternetNZ or an agent appointed by InternetNZ. Ballots will be declared invalid if

• 7.10.1 They do not conform to the standard; or

• 7.10.2 More than one ballot is received from the same person (email address).

7.12 If the poll succeeds, the applicant will be required to pay a non-refundable application fee of NZ$1000.00 (one thousand NZ dollars) to advance the proposal.

7.13 InternetNZ will issue a Request For Submissions on its mailing lists and appropriate discussion groups and other appropriate outlets.

7.14 The period for submissions will be not less than 30 nor more than 60 days.

7.15 All submissions will be posted on the Internet for public review.

7.16 As soon as practicable following the close of submissions, the InternetNZ Council will issue an Interim Decision.

7.17 The interim decision will be widely distributed to the Internet community, to the community associated with the proposed domain, and to the wider public.

7.18 Further submissions on the interim decision will be accepted for a period which will end 14 days before the following InternetNZ Council meeting.

7.19 A final decision will be made by the InternetNZ Council at the first meeting following the meeting which issued the interim decision. This decision will be binding.

8. General Information

8.1 A range of information about .nz policies, the SRS, registrant rights, and domain names in general is publicly available on the Internet. This includes:

• A list of all authorised registrars, with links to their home pages;
• A list of 2LD moderators and their contact details;
• Current policy about domain names in .nz, dispute resolution, etc;
• Frequently asked questions;
• Links to other relevant sites.