.best Pre-Register Domain - .best Domain Information

The mission/purpose of the .best TLD is to establish a cohesive, clear, dedicated and immediately identifiable online identity, experience, and sales channel for BestTLD Pty Ltd.

BestTLD Pty Ltd. will combine PeopleBrowsr's Kred's influence and outreach measurement, real world rankings and other information feeds to provide a comprehensive guide of the best and most influential brands, industries, locations and people across the globe.

BestTLD Pty Ltd. is excited to have the opportunity to take a lead in this new, expanded Internet environment as one of the first brand TLDs. The .best TLD enables us to offer our cutting edge technology products to individuals, brands, locations and industries in a clearer way than is currently possible. It will bring BestTLD Pty Ltd.'s online presence together into one clear channel of communication and experience, thus clearly distinguishing the company and its products from competitors.

BestTLD Pty Ltd. intends to bring clear benefits to its visitors by being a dedicated, trusted, easily located online space for those seeking the very best in the categories that interest them. The .best TLD will utilize Kred's community-based influence and outreach measurement products along with real world rankings and other information feeds to deliver a dedicated channel for the discovering the best and most influential brands, industries, locations and people.

The .best TLD will help individuals discover and build brand loyalty for the most influential brands, industries, locations and people. All registrations in the .best TLD will be controlled by BestTLD Pty Ltd. to protect and prevent abuse of BestTLD Pty Ltd.'s valuable commercial reputation.

The greatest benefit of the .best TLD to visitors will be the increase in trust and confidence about the legitimacy of information accessed through .best sites. The direct and exclusive connection between .best and BestTLD Pty Ltd. is the foundation of this trust and confidence for the users of the .best TLD. The naming convention to be employed in the .best TLD (for example, product.best, places/location.best, or industry.best) will enable online users to find the information they seek quickly and reliably while reducing confusion.

Finally, the following benefits are expected to be enjoyed by the broader Internet community from the establishment of a .best TLD. By providing a space in which Internet users can feel confident of the legitimacy of the information they seek, the .best TLD promotes awareness and contributes to a visitor confidence in the service provided by BestTLD Pty Ltd.

(2i) Level of Service and Reputation

BestTLD Pty Ltd. intends to be both Registry operator and the sole registrant in the .best TLD. The .best TLD will be used to register domain names exclusively by Best. The primary service offered by the .best TLD will therefore be the immediate distinction of legitimacy and authority conferred by the direct relationship between information and products found on .best sites and BestTLD Pty Ltd. The identifiable BestTLD Pty Ltd. brand is the glue that holds all these things together, making the Company and its products more visible and easily locatable on the Internet.

Among Internet users the .best TLD will have the reputation of being the official influence and outreach platform for those seeking the best brands, locations, and industries, and people associated with them. We consider that being one of the first brand TLDs is consistent with our current reputation as dedicated to innovation and the maximization of the benefits of technology in our day-to-day lives.

As the core branding and service platform for BestTLD Pty Ltd. and its affiliates, we require best-in-class registry services and have hired a highly experienced TLD operator, Neustar Inc., as our registry services provider.

(2ii and 2iii) Differentiation to existing TLDs, and are these differences aimed at addressing a specific need of the targeted user

An important distinction between the .best TLD and existing TLDs is the vertical integration of our TLD Model. The .best TLD intends to be one of the first TLDs in which domain names are not commercially available, but rather are registered and in complete control of the Registry Operator. This will bring added benefits to the DNS in terms of preventing abuse and infringement, increasing reliability and trust, and contributing to a heightened level of trust and confidence in content within the .best TLD.

Another important difference between the .best TLD and existing TLDs is the brand-specific nature of our TLD. The .best TLD will be one of the first TLDs in which PeopleBrowsr's Kred brand and the values of that brand are clearly communicated by and through the TLD to provide a well-defined and concise space for discovering the best in brands, locations, and industries.

The content within the .best TLD will be readily available to all Internet users in an intuitive and beneficial manner. Due to our exclusive registration policy and the many rights protection mechanisms described in this application, BestTLD intends that online users will be reasonably assured that information obtained from .best sites is legitimate and can be trusted.

(2iv) Provide a complete description of the applicants intended registration policies in support of the goals listed above.

Eligibility to register domain names in the .best TLD is intended to be restricted to BestTLD Pty Ltd. in accordance with internal processes regarding domain name registration. All registrations will be owned and controlled by BestTLD Pty Ltd., though use of .best domains may be licensed to affiliates under terms and conditions which ensure BestTLD Pty Ltd.'s ongoing control of all such domains.

Apart from reserved names listed in Specification 5 of ICANN's draft Registry Agreement (further addressed in response to Question 22), no restrictions will be imposed on which domain names may be registered in our TLD. We envision that domain names will most commonly take the form of products.best, places/location.best, and industry.best, but other forms of names could also be utilized provided that these are consistent with the mission of our TLD as described above.

(2v) Will your proposed gTLD impose any measures for protecting the privacy or confidential information of registrants or users? If so, please describe any such measures.

BestTLD Pty Ltd. intends for users to perceive the TLD as indicator of the trustworthiness of online information and services provided by us and our affiliates. User trust is enhanced when users are confident that they are interacting with the website and service they intend to interact with, and that their private or confidential information is securely protected. BestTLD Pty Ltd. intends to use advanced technical and policy measures to reasonably ensure the security of online transactions and communications, and to reasonably ensure that domain names in the TLD are only used for purposes authorized by us.

BestTLD Pty Ltd. intends to deploy DNSSEC and to comply with all of the other policies and practices required by ICANN in the Registry Agreement and/or via any Consensus Policy. BestTLD Pty Ltd. intends to comply with all applicable laws and regulations relating to Internet security and the privacy of users' confidential information. We already employ commercially reasonable practices with respect to the security of online transactions and users' private or confidential information in our existing Kred and PeopleBrowsr businesses.

Further policies to protect information from abuse are stated in response to Questions 28 and 29.



(2vi) Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits.

Marketing and promotion activities on behalf of our TLD will be conducted and targeted at Internet users. We will utilize existing communication channels to inform existing and potential clients and affiliates to the existence of our TLD as a new online means of communicating our brand message, delivering our valuable services, and creating awareness among our users and the broader internet audience.

A formal marketing campaign with the objective of generating awareness of the .best TLD amongst internet users will be managed by our Marketing Department and include initiatives such as:

1. Informing consumers of the .best TLD through content developed for our existing web sites.
2. Promotional events at PeopleBrowsr HQ to generate awareness amongst existing users
3. Participation in technology product fairs including having a booth and distributing promotional products and materials. Best Pty Ltd. already participates in these events to launch and advertise its product range, so greater awareness of the .best TLD could be achieved simultaneously.

The awareness generated among internet users from the activities described above are critical to achievement of the goals of the .best TLD. We plan to utilize existing relationships and marketing opportunities by which we and our affiliates promote and deliver our services today. Utilizing existing relationships and marketing opportunities should efficiently and effectively generate awareness of BestTLD Pty Ltd.'s new online presence.

The TLD is intended to be the online branding and services platform for BestTLD Pty Ltd. and its affiliates. It is intended to function with leading-edge technologies and business practices, ensuring a trustworthy and positive user experience. Best's online infrastructure, services and marketing are intended to encourage Internet users to interact online with us and our affiliates. Precise details are set forth in answers to Questions 26, 28 and 29.

In general, BestTLD Pty Ltd. intends for users to perceive the TLD as a trustworthy and intuitive indicator of the source of Best's online information and services. BestTLD Pty Ltd. intends to use advanced technical and policy measures to ensure the security and reliability of online transactions and communications taking place on domains within the TLD and to ensure that domain names in the TLD are only used for purposes authorized by Best.

Domains within the TLD will only be used for purposes authorized by The Company. Policies to define and prevent abuse of TLD domain names will be established and enforced to ensure the integrity of users' .best experience and the reputation of the TLD. These policies are described in further detail in answer to Questions 28 and 29.

In addition, the TLD will provide an easily navigable and predictable domain name space. For example, geographicnames.best for locations of the Company's localized websites, function.best for websites related to that company function, product.best for websites related to that product. All of this will reduce user confusion when visiting BestTLD Pty Ltd's products and services online.

(3i) How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-com/first-serve basis?

Best Pty Ltd. intends to be the sole registrant of all domain names in the TLD and will decide the most appropriate use for each domain in the interests of Internet users who wish to interact or communicate with us, our affiliates and each other. Thus, we do not expect conflicting applications for a particular domain name. Best Pty Ltd. will maintain control over the registration and use of all domain names in the TLD to ensure a trusted and legitimate user experience for our customers, our affiliates, and the broader internet audience.


(3ii) Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g. advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).


(3iii) Note that the registry agreement requires that registrars be offered the option to obtain initial domain name registrations for periods of one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar, but no greater than ten years. Additionally the Registry Agreement requires advance written notice of price increases. Do you intend to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation? If so, please describe your plans.

In the interests of Internet users who wish to interact or communicate with the Company, BestTLD Pty Ltd. intends to be the sole registrant of all domains in the TLD. There will be tangible benefits to those users from simpler navigation and trustworthy interactions with BestTLD Pty Ltd. Visitors should intuitively come to know and use .best domain names as a method for directly navigating to their intended destination. There may be less reliance on search engines, lowering consumers' time to get where they wish to go. Visitors will have enhanced confidence that they are dealing directly with BestTLD Pty Ltd and its affiliates.

To the extent BestTLD Pty Ltd. licenses use of the domain names to affiliates, it is likely that the domain name license will be a small part of a larger relationship, and thus ‘price' of the domain registration would be insignificant. Instead we will offer our customers and the broader Internet audience the ability to take advantage of our products and services in an easier, more intuitive and thus valuable way than is possible today. Price is further insignificant since the domains would have no value if registered or used in a manner unauthorized by BestTLD Pty Ltd.

We have engaged Neustar, Inc. to deliver registry services for this TLD.
This response describes protection of geographic names as implemented in the managed TLD registry service.
1. PROTECTION OF GEOGRAPHIC NAMES
a. Initial Reservation
BESTTLD Pty Ltd. is committed to complying with all of its obligations under the Registry Agreement and as such will meet its obligations to initially reserve all of the enumerated geographic names. More specifically, in accordance with Specification 5 of the New gTLD Registry Agreement, the Registry Operator will initially reserve all geographic names at the second level and at all other levels within the TLD at which the Registry Operator provides for registrations.
The Company will support this requirement by using the following internationally recognized lists to develop a comprehensive master list of all geographic names that will be initially reserved:
-The 2-letter alpha-2 code of all country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166-1 list, including all reserved and unassigned codes [http://www.iso.org/iso/support/country_codes/iso_3166_code_lists/iso-31661_ decoding_table.htm];
-The short form (in English) of all country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166-1 list, including the European Union, which is exceptionally reserved on the ISO 3166-1 List, and its scope extended in August 1999 to any application needing to represent the name European Union [http://www.iso.org/iso/support/country_codes/iso_3166_code_lists/iso-31661_ decoding_table.htm#EU];
-The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, Technical Reference Manual for the Standardization of Geographical Names, Part III Names of Countries of the World. This lists the names of 193 independent States generally recognised by the international community in the language or languages used in an official capacity within each country and is current as of August 2006 [http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/ungegn%20tech%20ref%20manual_M87_combined.pdf]; and
-The list of UN member states in 6 official UN languages prepared by the Working Group on Country Names of the United Nations Conference on the standardization of Geographical Names [http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/9th-uncsgndocs/ econf/9th_UNCSGN_e-conf-98-89-add1.pdf]



b. Release Mechanism
Notwithstanding the above, BESTTLD Pty Ltd. believes that the use of geographic designations in connection with .BEST will significantly benefit BESTTLD Pty Ltd.'s customers, end users, partners and the global Internet community in that it will assist them in locating BESTTLD Pty Ltd.'s content by physical geography. Given the goodwill of the Company itself, there is little likelihood of confusion between the second-level geographic registration and the country or country-code designation. For example, few consumers would be confused that us.BEST is associated with the country-code TLD of the United States administered by the United States Department of Commerce. Therefore, although the geographic names will initially be reserved, BESTTLD Pty Ltd. does believe that at the appropriate time, certain geographic names should be able to be released from reservation.
This is especially true of the two character second level domain names. BESTTLD Pty Ltd. recognizes that there have been several successful and non-misleading use of two character second level names by gTLD operators such as AA.com, ge.com, and my.biz, to name a few. In the event that BESTTLD Pty Ltd. wishes to use the two-character strings, or any other geographically reserved names, for its own purposes related to the mission of the TLD, BESTTLD Pty Ltd. shall propose to ICANN the release of such strings in accord with the Registry Agreement.