Subject: RFC 3071 on Reflections on the DNS and RFC 1591

From: RFC Editor <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 16:51:32 -0800

A new Request for Comments is now available in online RFC libraries.

        RFC 3071

        Title:	    Reflections on the DNS, RFC 1591, and Categories
                    of Domains
        Author(s):  J. Klensin
        Status:     Informational
	Date:       February 2001
        Mailbox:    [email-masked]
        Pages:      10
        Characters: 24892
        Updates/Obsoletes/SeeAlso:  None

        I-D Tag:    draft-klensin-1591-reflections-04.txt

        URL:        ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc3071.txt

RFC 1591, "Domain Name System Structure and Delegation", laid out the
basic administrative design and principles for the allocation and
administration of domains, from the top level down.  It was written
before the introduction of the world wide web (WWW) and rapid growth
of the Internet put significant market, social, and political pressure
on domain name allocations.  In recent years, 1591 has been cited by
all sides in various debates, and attempts have been made by various
bodies to update it or adjust its provisions, sometimes under
pressures that have arguably produced policies that are less well
thought out than the original.  Some of those efforts have begun from
misconceptions about the provisions of 1591 or the motivation for
those provisions.  The current directions of the Internet Corporation
for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and other groups who now
determine the Domain Name System (DNS) policy directions appear to be
drifting away from the policies and philosophy of 1591.  This document
is being published primarily for historical context and comparative
purposes, essentially to document some thoughts about how 1591 might
have been interpreted and adjusted by the Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority (IANA) and ICANN to better reflect today's world while
retaining characteristics and policies that have proven to be
effective in supporting Internet growth and stability.  An earlier
variation of this memo was submitted to ICANN as a comment on its
evolving Top-level Domain (TLD) policies.

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Joyce K. Reynolds and Sandy Ginoza
USC/Information Sciences Institute

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