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dotShabaka Diary — Day 23, Wrap-up and Top Tips

Kevin Murphy, November 5, 2013, 15:57:17 (UTC), Domain Registries

We’re wrapping up the dotShabaka Diary series today with this, the final entry from general manager Yasmin Omer.
It’s been an interesting ride, and I thank Yasmin and the dotShabaka team for the time and effort they’ve put into sharing their experiences with DI readers.

Tuesday 5 November 2013
After four months of journal entries, the dotShabaka Registry Diary is wrapping up today following the delegation of شبكة. and official commencement of Sunrise.
The journey has been long and challenging at times. After all the blood, sweat and tears, I strongly believe our experience will be to the benefit of other applicants to follow.
Along the way we experienced the joys of passing pre-delegation testing and commencing Sunrise, but we also documented the lows of name collisions and difficulties in writing a Registry Registrar Agreement.
Throughout the journey it was helpful to receive feedback and comments from the community supporting our cause. This dialogue helped get us to where we are today and a special thank you must be made to IBM’s TMCH team, ICANN, the Pre-Delegation Testing team at IIS (and the PDT Helpdesk) and the many Registrars who have connected with us along the way. Also, a big thank you to Domain Incite and Kevin Murphy for making this journal series possible.
As our delegation journey comes to an end, our TLD launch strategy begins. We have strong ambitions for شبكة. to be the centre of all things Arabic online and we encourage you to continue to watch our progress via our website.
As a parting message, below are our top five tips for other applicants:
1. Communication
Communication is vitally important throughout the process. Be prepared for important emails at any time of the day. When in doubt, always clarify with ICANN and your advisors first. If you are not sure ask ICANN through the CSC portal and if you don’t get a good answer from ICANN ask again through the CSC portal.
2. Seamless integration with RSP
Ensure you have open lines of communication with your Registry Services provider to avoid hiccups and delays. We received technical communications that should have been intended for ARI Registry Services, but our close working relationship with them helped ensure a smooth process.
3. Sort out your product and strategy
Registrar community, potential Registrants, media and interest groups will want information about your TLD. Be ready to describe your TLD, the primary market, eligibility, the launch strategy and other key information.
4. Expect the unexpected
This goes without saying, especially in the ICANN ecosystem. Be flexible and prepare for the worst.
5. The ICANN interface is improving
We understand that many of the frustrations with ICANN occurred because we were the first, and we were pushing hard to go to market. However, it is improving. ICANN are now sending a media kit and hopefully one day someone will get a Welcome Pack.
Good luck to all the other applicants, we’ll be closely watching your progress through delegation.
Regards
Yasmin Omer
General Manager
dotShabaka Registry

Read the full series here.

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Comments (1)

  1. Colin says:

    Thanks for sharing and being the trail blazer!
    Colin.club

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