I don't normally sit on the fence, but on this occasion I can't for the life of me decide whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.
Here is a summary of my thoughts:
Good
- It allows companies to turn their brands and individuals to turn their names into domain names
- It will allow for new domain names to be internationalized meaning support for Asian and Arabic languages
Bad
- The creation of hundreds and thousands of new domain names making it harder for us to find what we are looking for
- Less regulation means more potential for fraud
- The application fee to register a domain name is expected to be at least several thousand dollars
It sounds like, maybe, the big fish will benefit, I think!!
Update: Chris Green says "I think the ICANN proposal is a bad move. It will create a cyber squatting war, cost ISPs millions and won't solve the problem"