<nettime> The .art TLD again: E-Flux are soliciting support for their bid

[allan siegel <allan@allansiegel.info>]

Hello,

well since I first received this request of support from E-Flux I have
been wondering about the implications; not good - not good at all.
This seems to me to be a rather blatant power grab on the part of the
E-Flux crew. The E-Flux service (which may or may not be non-profit)
has more than a slight elitist tinge about it especially considering
the high rates it charges which are deliberating skewed in favour of
museums (with good subsidies) or established galleries.

The tone of the letter requesting support is crudely self-aggrandising
once one manages to take the time to figure out exactly what is
going on; if you can manage to peruse their application you'll see
(aside from the application jargon) that the model for the 'selection
process' by which the .art domain name is awarded to prospective
applicants is not at all transparent but will be outfitted with
various 'experts' who will determine who is qualified to get the
domain name (and at what cost). In a concession to the reality that
not all applicants would be able to afford the top-shelf fees there is
the inclusion of a sliding scale for those not quite on the radar of
the New York cognoscenti.

What is also particularly disturbing about this is E-Flux's request
is its framing with the phrase 'wouldn't you want someone who REALLY
knows about art and the art world' determining who has the privilege
of acquiring the .art domain. Meaning that now the E-Flux brand
is really going global and seeking to position itself as the East
Broadway gatekeepers to the glorious and important world of art.

I have no idea who the other applicants are and to what degree they
are better or worse but this does not seem at all like a good way to
go.

allan



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