Dmitry Kokhmanyuk: The .ORG.UA registration system is ten years out of date.

We continue to share market participants' opinions regarding the situation in the .ORG.UA domain with Infonic readers. Today, the .UA domain administrator answers the publication's questions.Dmitry Kokhmanyuk

— What are the domain problems?.ORG.UAWhat do you consider the most pressing issues? For example, the difficulty of registering such a domain for free, the unjustified blocking of individual name servers (their inclusion on the so-called "blacklist"), the deletion of individual domains without explanation, different rules and standards for different market players, etc.

D.K.: I prefer the word "tasks" to "problems." So, about priorities: I consider the most painful issue for the .ORG.UAThe presence of a stop list for domain servers, as well as for mail servers (the administrator developed a distrust of some mail providers). Then there's the inconvenience of the domain registration service (this is essentially the first version of the Hostmaster application system from 2001, with some improvements; since then, a generation of technologies has changed, and the introduction of an EPP system is now on the agenda).

Regarding the different rules for different participants, this is a consequence of the practice of blacklists: if a registrar provides a free domain hosting service (or provides it at a nominal price) and ends up on this list, it suffers.

— Have you tried registering a .ORG.UA domain for free? If so, did you encounter any inconveniences?

D.K.: Yes, I tried it for two domains, these are projectsipv6day.org.uaand  isoc.org.ua.  Both times I encountered a combination of slow response to requests coupled with unclear error messages.

— In your opinion, can a second-level domain administrator establish his own rules, procedures, and standards within the domain?

D.K.: I believe that unifying domain registration services will help all market participants—and registrants first and foremost. Therefore, the rules can only be clarifying (for example, the maximum renewal period), financial (prices and discounts), and additional features (for example, additional registration protocols). This should primarily apply to domain registrars. For the end user—the registrant—the rules should be uniform, clear, and, preferably, short. We need a bill of rights for domain registrants, with delineated responsibilities (a list of duties is also necessary).

— How, in your opinion, should monopoly in the administration of Ukrainian domains be combated?

D.K.: A monopoly on domain registration is necessary at the registry level (it's a natural monopoly). To serve registrants, for example, in .ORG.UA, a registrar institution should be introduced (as in all other major .UA domains) – and market relations will correct the situation.

— Do you think Ukraine needs a free .ORG.UA domain, and if so, why?

D.K.: Do you think free hosting or phone services are necessary? Services can only be free if subsidized (for example, through volunteering or government funding). Secondly, given the developed ICT industry, it's inappropriate, and the first was outdated back in 2001, when Hostmaster was actually created. Only small domains (up to 4,000-6,000 registrations—one percent of the total in .UA) can operate in a "sharely free" mode—the flow of applications is small, and the registration cost is difficult to recoup. But such domains are always sponsored by their administrator, who carries out this work in parallel with their main one.

If the volume of work increases, but the staff still consists of one volunteer, then the quality declines.

The .ORG.UA domain's service quality remains unchanged, but thanks to Hostmaster's infrastructure support, users can still obtain a domain for free (with some effort and patience). Unfortunately, the mechanism for transitioning the domain to market conditions has not yet been fully established. I hope that after the EPP launch in Poltava domains is complete, the largest "sharely free" public domain will also be able to access it.

I believe that the most appropriate course of action would be to repeat the steps of the pilot project with a symbolic registration fee at the first stage and then unify the regulations with those developed at the meetings of the registrars' working groups since September 2011.

Currently, within the framework of the same working groups, regulations and rules are being improved, which together will constitute a set of reform measures relating to all links in the processes associated with domains.