IDN backers get their wish.
Applicants for internationalized domain names will get prioritized to the front of the new top level domain name queue, ICANN confirmed today.
ICANN confirmed this information in a webinar about the gTLD prioritization draw.
The prioritization draw, which will determine the order in which initial evaluation results are released, as well as the priority applications go through other stages of the process, takes place in Los Angeles on December 17. It’s essentially a lottery in which applicants buy a $100 ticket to the draw.
Getting an early spot may give applicants a leg up against competing top level domains.
No other applications, such as geographic applications, will receive prioritization to the front of the line.
In order to be prioritized at the front of the queue, IDN applicants must purchase a ticket in the draw. Otherwise they’ll be sent to the back of the line with other applicants that didn’t buy tickets.
Jay says
I don’t get it – how can be something prioritized, when it is a lottery. Am I missing something?
IDNhost says
So now its really down to the idn applicants to purchase their tickets on time. Cannot see that as being an issue.
Andrew Allemann says
@ Jay – basically all of the IDN applications with a ticket will get drawn from a separate bucket first, then all of the other tickets.
Jay says
@Andrew – Thanks for clarifying.
Steve says
Finally, after letting idn.cctlds go ahead of idn.com, idn.net’s etc it’s nice to see this actually happening. More than 50% of internet users don’t speak English so forcing them to surf in English was ridiculous. Great news for a truly “Internatonal” internet.
Nice Xmas present.
Dave Hunt says
I thought this was already confirmed/common knowledge
Andrew Allemann says
@ Dave Hunt – there were some questions in the IDN community if this would actually happen. There was also the possibility that other types of applications would be thrown in with IDNs, which would have pushed some IDNs down.