The InterNIC handles domains without the checks and maintenance that is common practice of the majority of European NICs, whether they apply fees to recover their costs or not.

Ok, this legalizes a one-time setup fee, we all charge one. But not 390 bucks year after year. And what kind of maintenance is done to a Name-Server Record ?

Service may be free of charge or not. This has been intentionally left out of RFC1591. It is up to the TLD administrator to decide such a delicate matter.

This is usually done with the consensus of national ISPs. I know this is

As I stated befor, I do NOT WANT free services. This would only lead to abuse of the registries .But I except a TLD to apply a fee that covers their costs, not to make money. RFC1591 does not discuss commerce in any way. Giving the date this RFC was written, that is no surprise. And that may be one problem. the

case of DE-NIC.

Yep, DE-NIC is founded by the BIG 8 ISPs in Germany called IV-DENIC. I wonder what the other german providers have to say about this topic. But this is not my point. As you wrote, this should be left to the organizations founding such TLD agencies, so I would propose a >e.V< which is (in Austrian and German law) a strict non-profit organization. My Question once again: What task that DE-NIC does and that can't be done by a Ripe member is worth 390 US$ a year? Regards Max Gutberlet -- ~\\|//~ -(o o)- +--------------------oOOOo--(_)--oOOOo---------------------+ | _ _ _ | | _ __ ___| |_| || | _ _ ___ _ _ | | | '_ \ / _ \ __| || |_| | | |/ _ \| | | | | | | | | | __/ |_|__ _| |_| | (_) | |_| | | | |_| |_|\___|\__| |_| \__, |\___/ \__,_| | | |___/ | | http://www.net4you.co.at/ | +----------------------------------------------------------+ | Max Gutberlet Address: NET4YOU | | NetMaster Net4You Ringmauergasse 8| | Tel.: +43-4242-257367 A-9500 Villach | | Fax.: +43-4242-257368 Carinthia | | email: M.Gutberlet@net4you.co.a Austria | +----------------------------------------------------------+