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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>David Recordon wrote:<font color=navy><span style='color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>&gt;</span></font><font size=2 color=navy
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&gt;</span></font><font size=2 color=blue
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>So
catching up on this thread, in order so haven't read it all, but I don't think
Greg and Dmitry are referring to the IP being free.&nbsp; Rather the cost of
the i-name registration.&nbsp; I think the reason this is called out, versus a
domain registration fee, is that i-names are a new technology unlike URLs which
are quite established as being a key part of Internet infrastructure. :)</span></font><font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Right &#8211; it&#8217;s never quite clear
what folks mean when they say &#8220;free&#8221; in this context. For example, a
common misconception is, &#8220;URLs are free but XRIs cost money.&#8221; As I
hope we&#8217;ve established in this thread, URLs and XRIs have exactly the
same cost structures. Global URLs (i.e., domain names registered in DNS TLDs) and
global XRIs (i.e., i-names/i-numbers registered directly in the = and @
registries) both cost money to register at the global level. Thereafter any
identifier *<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>delegated</span></b>* from these
global identifiers (i.e., third+ level domain names or local URL paths, or community
i-names and local XRI paths) are &#8220;free&#8221; from the standpoint of the
registrant of the global identifier, i.e., that registrant has complete control
of that namespace.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>That does not mean that identifiers
delegated within that namespace will necessarily be: a) free-of-cost, or b) free-of-control.
Typically it *<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>does</span></b>* mean (a), but
it almost never means (b). <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>To be crystal clear, let&#8217;s provide examples
using real URLs and XRIs of OpenID providers -- myopenid.com and @freeid. Both myopenid.com
and @freeid cost money themselves -- myopenid.com has to be registered with the
DNS .com TLD and @freeid has to be registered with the XRI @ registry.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Once registered, myopenid.com can delegate
either: a) third-level domain names, or b) local paths. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; http://drummond.myopenid.com<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a
href="http://myopenid.com/drummond">http://myopenid.com/drummond</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>(As I understand it right now,
myopenid.com only does the former.) For both these options, myopenid.com
completely controls all rules and policies for how this happens, i.e., how much
it costs, who gets to register, what the terms of service are, how persistent
the identifiers are, etc. etc. You can check their site and determine these
policies.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>@freeid (since it has the synonymous i-number
@!4E3C.6E35.633A.FD2A) actually has three options: a) delegate community i-names,
b) delegate community i-numbers, or c) delegate local paths.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; @freeid*drummond<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; @!4E3C.6E35.633A.FD2A!1234<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; @freeid/drummond<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>(As I understand it right now, @freeid
only does the first two.) For both options, @freeid also controls the rules and
policies for how this happens. Currently, @freeid will provide &#8220;free&#8221;
community i-names and i-numbers to anyone who asks, as described at <a
href="http://linksafe.wordpress.com/2006/09/19/get-a-free-i-name-from-linksafe/">http://linksafe.wordpress.com/2006/09/19/get-a-free-i-name-from-linksafe/</a>.
I&#8217;m cc&#8217;ing @freeid proprieter Owen Davis in case anyone wants to
ask him questions directly. However even though such delegations are
free-of-cost, that doesn&#8217;t mean they are free-of-control, i.e., there
will still be terms of service that apply, just as they do to free-of-cost third-level
domains from myopenid.com. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Net net: when we talk about &#8220;free&#8221;,
we need to be specific about what&#8217;s free to whom.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>=Drummond <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></font></p>

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