This morning in scanning Techmeme while having my early morning cup of coffee, I noticed two separate items about TLDs.  First up, a post from Techcrunch on how .cm domains are opening up for pre-order.  Second, an entry from Slate on how ICANN is planning to further expand the available TLDs.  Last year, I wrote that I believe “New TLDs Are Highway Robbery” – they are simply a tax on the system.

To some extent search is solving this problem as few people these days type domain names directly into their browser bar.  So one might argue that companies should not worry about typos or squatters, but that ignores other ways in which extra TLDs could be manipulated.  For instance, there is the problem of trademark dilution – if you let folks register your domain in other TLDs you are may be reducing your ability to enforce your trademark.  There is also the issue of phishing.  Additional TLDs make it easier to create links that look like the real thing but go to a phishing site.

So, ICANN, let’s please stick with the TLDs we already have!

This morning in scanning Techmeme while having my early morning cup of coffee, I noticed two separate items about TLDs.  First up, a post from Techcrunch on how .cm domains are opening up for pre-order.  Second, an entry from Slate on how ICANN is planning to further expand the available TLDs.  Last year, I wrote that I believe “New TLDs Are Highway Robbery” – they are simply a tax on the system.

To some extent search is solving this problem as few people these days type domain names directly into their browser bar.  So one might argue that companies should not worry about typos or squatters, but that ignores other ways in which extra TLDs could be manipulated.  For instance, there is the problem of trademark dilution – if you let folks register your domain in other TLDs you are may be reducing your ability to enforce your trademark.  There is also the issue of phishing.  Additional TLDs make it easier to create links that look like the real thing but go to a phishing site.

So, ICANN, let’s please stick with the TLDs we already have!