Russia’s Pro-Kremlin Youth Group Threatens ICANN

[261275]

Russia’s Pro-Kremlin Youth Group Threatens ICANN With Lawsuits If Soviet Era Domain Is Scrapped

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (icann.org) said last week it was considering eliminating some outdated domain name extensions, according to reports.

ICANN began accepting public comments in Sao Paulo, Brazil this week on how to revoke certain outdated suffixes, primarily those assigned with countries that no longer exist. ICANN currently controls 265 domain name extensions.

The corporation says the Soviet Union’s .su is on the top of the list for deletion and the former Yugoslav republic’s .yu is also being taken into consideration.

Some domain names that have already become obsolete include Great Britain’s .gb, which has been replaced by .uk, East Germany’s .dd and Zaire’s .zr after the country became the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

ICANN said it wanted to establish a formal policy and will be accepting comments online until Jan. 31 2007.

Kommersant Daily wrote Monday that if the corporation goes ahead with its plan many Russian companies may suffer losses. Some of them have already threatened ICANN with lawsuits.

The domain .su was registered in September 1990. But in 1994 when Russia’s .ru was introduced the registration of .su names was suspended to be resumed in December 2002 only for brand owners. A year later the .su extension again became available to all users.

The Soviet-era domain name is five times more expensive than .ru. Registering a domain name with the ’outdated’ suffix costs $100 excl. VAT while .ru, .com and .net domains cost only $20 each.

Today, there are approximately 8,000 domain names registered with the .su ending in the Internet. Elimination of the Soviet-era suffix may cause considerable damage to their owners, who have already put up cash for advertising of their websites. Some of those companies have already said that they could sue ICANN.

One of those is the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi, whose website is registered with the .su suffix. “Should the domain be eliminated our lawyers will examine the issue and will stand up for the movement’s rights in court,” Nashi spokesman Robert Shlegel told Kommersant.

[Rubber Duck]

Perhaps as the soul surviving representatives of the Soviet Union, these domain owners should be sued for all the damage caused by that legal entity?

[261275]

Easier to order coffe with 2 cyanide...

[Burnsinternet]

Or polonium.... Watch out, RD. Carry a geiger counter.

[Rubber Duck]

Originally Posted by Burnsinternet

Or polonium.... Watch out, RD. Carry a geiger counter.

They won't recognise me without the sunglasses, and besides all us ducks look the same to them, don't we?

[Rubber Duck]

What would SU look like in Cyrillic?

Anyway what are any of these names going to be worth once Cyrillic Names become the Norm?

[261275]

.su would be .су and imo they are nothing more then novelty domains for a while

[Rubber Duck]

Originally Posted by 261275

.su would be .су and imo they are nothing more then novelty domains for a while

Cyprus might not see it that way.

I suppose they could always ask for CCCP. At least that still has some recognition for those us over about the age of 30.

[261275]

Since the USSR is not "active" since 1991 i think Russians today have so much more to be concerned about , but you're right...wont look good if it would co exist with .cy..Luckily same is the case with .ru - .ру

[Burnsinternet]

This begs that question.... What is to be done with IDN.IDN for .ru? Has anyone heard anything more than speculation?

I suppose that a Cyrillic .py is not really the same as an ASCII .py (same could be said for any Romanized Cyrillic domain like ytpo.com vs утро.com or so on) so .py Cyrillic might work anyway. That is my assumption.