RE: [ga] Registrants

["Roberto Gaetano" <roberto@xxxxxxxxx>]

Joop,

Then came the coup that dispossessed them, usurped this right and gave it to
the registries. Domains then became a "right or licence to temporarily use"
as long as payment was made to a registrar or a "thick" TLD registry.  ICANN
was born around this time. 

Actually, the fees for domain names were introduced in 1995 by NetSol, the
then monopoly Registry/Registrar, well before ICANN.
For the record, in 1995 registrants were paying $50 for a domain name under
.com, 30% of which of tax. The tax was later lifted, but the $35 remained
until ICANN introduced the separation between registry and registrar that
made the prices drop.
Which was a great benefit for the registrants.
Cheers,
Roberto