18(b) How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?

Prototypical answer:

i. .scholarships is to be an Internet extension specifically for the scholarship industry. Unlike some of the most common and more general top levels such as .com, .net and .org, .scholarships will be the definitive domain for those offering scholarships and information about scholarships. The .scholarships domain is reserved for companies, organizations, associations, government agencies, and individuals in scholarship-related fields. As such, there would be many benefits to using .scholarships domain. .scholarships names would also generate great search engine results. The descriptive nature of the gTLD will benefit those with 2nd level domains under the gTLD and visitors to their websites as well, as it serves to further inform the user session and innately clarify the nature of the information and⁄or services available on the site. Businesses that register .scholarships domain names would be instantly seen by Internet users as recognized scholarship sites. This serves the industry as well, since .scholarships enables the trade to confidently conduct business with other .scholarships domain name holders that they may not know while informing Internet users at large of its legitimacy as well.

As far as service levels are concerned, our initial implementation would include registration itself and technical support for those who need assistance with any technical aspects of registering a second-level domain that might require our assistance.

Reputation would be built-in to the domain in the same way other descriptive, exclusive gTLDs exemplify. There would be a requirement to the registrant of the 2nd level domain and subsequent understanding by the public that .scholarships websites are to be used only for scholarship related content⁄services.

ii. It is clear there’s a market for certain domain names, particularly those naming a particular type of organization or industry. We feel this qualified gTLD will prove informative and benefit the world of scholarship providers as well as seekers, offering not just specificity, but also security to all those involved. This would be built-in to the “.scholarships” gTLD. Certainly, there would be thousands, perhaps tens or hundreds of thousands of prospective clients for such domain names.

iii. From the user’s perspective our goals are based in technical efficiency and security as well as ease and comfort of use. To address the former, we have retained the services of a company specializing in registry services and DNS to ensure that all technical aspects of the gTLD are professionally and efficiently addressed. The latter is built-in to the gTLD.

iv. As is detailed elsewhere in this document, in a more technological language and structure, the registration policies we would employ would very closely follow those which have proven successful to this point in ICANN and registry history. Quite simply, we intend to run a registry that will open domains for 2nd level registration by appropriate, eligible applicants. As is also detailed elsewhere in this document, only those qualified by criteria laid-out in the technical registration section of this application would be able to register 2nd level domains. What this basically means is that we would reserve the right to deny registration to those not qualifying for registration based upon a set of rules and requirements against which all applications would need to be compared. To that end, we would refer to those successfully created and managed in the past and consult with professionals in the field to ensure that best practices are employed.

v. As per the New gTLD Registry Agreement, we will make domain contact data (and other fields) freely and publicly available via a WHOIS server. This default set of fields includes the mandatory publication of registrant data. Our Registry-Registrar Agreement will require that registrants consent to this publication.
We shall notify each of our registrars regarding the purposes for which data about any identified or identifiable natural person (“Personal Data”) submitted to the Registry Operator by such registrar is collected and used, and the intended recipients (or categories of recipients) of such Personal Data (the data in question is essentially the registrant and contact data required to be published in the WHOIS). We will require each registrar to obtain the consent of each registrant in the TLD for the collection and use of such Personal Data. The policies will be posted publicly on our TLD web site. As the registry operator, we shall not use or authorize the use of Personal Data in any way that is incompatible with the notice provided to registrars.
Our privacy and data use policies are as follows:
- As registry operator, we do not plan on selling bulk WHOIS data. We will not sell contact data in any way. We will not allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission by e-mail, telephone, or facsimile of mass unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations;
- We may use registration data in the aggregate for marketing purposes;
- DNS query data will never be sold in a way that is personally identifiable, and;
- We may from time to time use the demographic data collected for statistical analysis, provided that this analysis will not disclose individual Personal Data and provided that such use is compatible with the notice provided to registrars regarding the purpose and procedures for such use.
As the registry operator we shall take significant steps to protect Personal Data collected from registrars from loss, misuse, unauthorized disclosure, alteration, or destruction. In our responses to Question 30 (“Security Policy”) and Question 38 (“Escrow”) we detail the security policies and procedures we will use to protect the registry system and the data contained therein from unauthorized access and loss.
Please see our response to Question 26 (“WHOIS”) regarding “searchable WHOIS” and rate-limiting. That section contains details about how we will limit the mining of WHOIS data by spammers and other parties who abuse access to the WHOIS.
In order to acquire and maintain accreditation for our TLD, we will require registrars to adhere to certain information technology policies designed to help protect registrant data. These will include standards for access to the registry system and password management protocols. Our response to Question 30, “Security Policy” provides details of implementation.
We will allow the use of proxy and privacy services, which can protect the personal data of registrants from spammers and other parties that mine zone files and WHOIS data. We are aware that there are parties who may use privacy services to protect their free speech rights, or to avoid religious or political persecution.ʺ
Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits.
Having been in the scholarship industry for as long as we have, there exists a network over which we would be able to publicize the availability and accessibility of this new gTLD. For the initial release, there may be some need for explanation of the benefits of securing a 2nd level domain name with us. Through email, direct mail and telecommunications – possibly even a series of webinars or published videos on the topic - we are confident in our ability to successfully disseminate this information.

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