Securing the .app gTLD for the mobile app software development community

I use ".me" for my personal domain/email and I still get strange looks about this TLD from anyone outside the tech community. E.g. I give my email address to a clerk at a clothing store and I have to convince him that .me is a valid domain ending.

This makes me think it will take a while before it makes sense for companies to embrace the new anything-TLDs as their main web presence. The last thing you want to do is confuse potential customers who are trying to go to your website.

Perhaps .app customers are savvy enough for this not to be a problem, though I don't see why any company would want to take this risk unless there were really no acceptable .com's.

I have to wonder if this wouldn't be better if investors had some expectation of what they can expect from their money other than handing the .app domain to this ... organization.

Can anyone explain why ICANN is charging $185K? Where did they get this number from and why is it so high?

Something about paying so much for something that I feel should cost next to nothing to produce seems like a scam. I really can't wait for the day when the DNS is open and distrubuted so one central body (or Verisign) can't have a monopoly on a public good.

I betcha this project would have more legitimacy if it were hosted on Kickstarter, which previously raised tons of money for Diaspora.

What this really highlights to me is that the web needs a well-made transaction service that is geared toward contingent pledges -- essentially, you pledge money contingent on, say, some minimum total raised, and if the goal isn't hit, you get your money back.

Currently, the major credit card companies' policies make this type of service difficult; there is a relatively short permitted window of time between payment authorization and payment processing.

But if there were an escrow-type service that could collect conditional pledges; hold on to the money in an interest-bearing account; and process payments/refunds, depending on whether the condition is fulfilled ... it would open up a world of possibilities for fundraisers by giving potential donors/investors confidence that their money will only go to viable projects.

why not use it for general apps, i.e. simple application packages installable on any number of platforms? I see no reason why mobile apps should be privileged in any way, and really, aren't we witnessing a general movement towards making the same apps available on many platforms?

The project as it is will fail big time. 1.Nobody will top up some $500k to an anonymous. 2.There's not much details for any legal matter, are we making some kind of an association or what? 3.In the end this .app domain might make profits, if so, will we see any?

Sounds like someone didn't read the guidelines for this. Raising the $185k is peanuts compared to what else you need. Over the 6+ months you have to prove to ICANN that you have the technical and financial ability to run a registrar which will be able to handle the number of customers you expect.

No group of donators will be able to do this without the support of a major company.

The thing about TLDs is that everyone thinks this one will be the next big thing...then when it comes out people just shrug and continue to use .com. Remember .name? .mobi? .biz? .info? .xxx? .tel?

There needs to be some disclosure regarding the team behind the initiative. Who am I trusting with my money? Put a list of team members on the site, links to their linkedin/twitter etc.

Why pay more money to the ICANN? obscure names+google+app marketplaces for the win.