I second what Mitch said. The idea seems like a good one, and there's no denying that it's interesting and has such huge potential. But the downside, especially a lot of those you mentioned, just make everything come off so bad and too much of a hassle.

Don't even get me started on the costs.

Mitch, - I tend to agree that most of those private gTLDs aren't necessary nor much easier to publicize a site with. maybe it would have been better to expand the public list i.e. the .com, .net and the other ones not owned by companies. Its more like a luxury good to some extent, just because one can afford it. reminds me of when a person gets a car identification plate with his/her name on it....but its all in the spirit of democracy i guess.

Well, first of all, somebody still has to manage the name space.

Second, we need domains for the same reason we need indices and area codes and exchanges and country codes and so on -- to help determine who "belongs" to who and to make them easier to remember by having some sort of structure.

slfisher - If it cost less there would be even more domain-squatting going on? Makes sense. 

I wonder why we need gTLDs at all anymore. They seem like an artifact of the pre-1992 Internet. Just let every device and entity on the Internet be repesented by a unique string of alphanumeric characters, and be done with it. The Internet would then have only one gTLD. 

What purpose do gTLDs serve?

It really does, but on the other hand, if they'd made it less, they'd have an even bigger problem to deal with.

I can see the value for big business here, particularly companies with a great many brands who therefore need to manage a great number of domains. But the cost seems ridiculous. 

Yes, Kim, it's certainly not a one-time cost. And another reason this seems slanted toward large conglomerates, without much room for midsize organizations. I think we may see more backlash - there was some on the ICANN call - once people truly understand the full extent of this.

That's a good thought, Alison. It's a shame we didn't see more of that sort of coalition forming.

Thanks for the info, Sharon.  That's an expense which is often overlooked: once you've paid for your gTLD, you then have to actually maintain it, which is an ongoing expense.

I agree, Sharon. This has the potential to do a lot of harm to midsize organizations and their copyrights. It seems a good opportunity for industry organizations - those serving small retailers, farmers, pharmacies, manufacturers, etc. - to band together and buy a few domains they can all share/lease. At least that way they have some control over certain key words. But even spread among hundreds, the price is steep.