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While
many view new gTLDs as being
competitors to the long established .com,
Westerdal said that because of its unique
characteristics, that is not the
case with .feedback . "New
registries use phrases such as
"non-com revolution" and
"unCOMplicate your life",
Westerdal noted. "While battling
for market share is a hard but
rewarding struggle, we at the
.feedback registry know we are not
competing against ".com".
You will not find hot new startups in
the .feedback namespace. However you
will find a domainer's dream, "direct
navigation" lives and
breaths. The registry has a policy
that all registered domains need to resolve
to a webpage that takes feedback.
Considering that in ".com" 22%
of domains have real websites and
that in new TLDs only 11% have
real websites, it would be a huge
struggle to achieve 100% live sites.
However the .feedback registry has
provided a default website with
each domain sold that does exactly
this."
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Feedback
image from Bigstock
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Westerdal
added, "Companies are not
forced to use the default
platform but we are solving
the problem that 80% or more
of all domains have after
being registered. By placing
the requirement that 100%
of all domains in .feedback resolve
or redirect to a feedback
websites we allow for
direct navigation to happen. A
few great cases that we have
seen so far are nike.feedback
and yahoo.feedback.
Try finding those locations
with a search engine."
"Have
a problem with something? Want
to give feedback? Just type SOMETHING
dot FEEDBACK into your
browser. If the site doesn't
exist, then do the world a
favor and register it
and start giving feedback on
the new website in less
than 2 minutes,"
Westerdal said. |
Westerdal
pointed out another interesting aspect
of the .feedback universe. "Sites
not owned by the company will
make up a vast majority of the
registrations in the registry. As an
example Microsoft.feedback, Google.feedback
and Facebook.feedback got
acquired by a passionate customer.
This practice is considered
cybersquatting, illegal and against
ICANN's UDRP rules in almost all
circumstances. However in .feedback
the sites are being run to gather
and share public opinions and are
protected by free speech laws.
In fact the Program Manager in charge
of Microsoft's Domains, Cole Quinn,
stated that Microsoft missed the
window to register and had been beaten
to the domain registration. They
acknowledged free speech trumped
their own use of the domain and
that they would not fight the
registration," Westerdal said.
Jay
Westerdal at the .feedback
booth at last week's NamesCon conference
in Las Vegas.
Still,
Westerdal wants .feedback domains used
in the right way. "We encourage
everyone that registers in .feedback
to use the domains for public good.
With great powers comes great
responsibility. Use the .feedback
platform and try out the great tools
that have been made available for free
to domain owners."
Westerdal
also cautioned, "It is possible
to be be the target of a UDRP,
even if the site is operated as a free
speech site. If the site owner shows bad
faith they can lose a UDRP. So
far, bad faith only happens in two
ways: One, negotiating to sell the
domain. Two, using proxy/privacy
service and hiding your real
information on the whois. While I
personally disagree about privacy
rights, WIPO on the other hand has
found that privacy constitutes bad
faith. The .feedback space is a trademark
bully-free zone. Free speech is
everyone's right and sharing thoughts
and ideas is what makes the Internet
great."
"We
encourage everyone to take back the
Internet, voice your praise or
concerns about a company using the
public .feedback platform. Next time
you feel like giving feedback ask
yourself if you will be heard. Voicing
your concern on a corporate website
may fall on deaf ears but it is far
more likely that a corporation will
respond to your feedback if it is
public and everyone has access to read
it," Westerdal said.
In closing, Westerdal noted, "To
register in the space we have signed
up over 100 registrars. If your
registrar is not included yet give
them feedback that you want them to
carry .feedback. Here is a full
list of registrars that
accept registrations now."
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