In the end, the board came to the conclusion that the sale would change “the fundamental public interest nature of PIR to an entity that is bound to serve the interests of its corporate stakeholders.” Also, the board cited concerns about the $360 million debt Ethos Capital would have to take for the sale. It raises “further question about how the .org registrants will be protected or will benefit from this conversion.”

It’s still unclear if control of the .org domain is changing hands — the internet pioneers looking to block the sale were hoping that ICANN would hand .org over to their new non—profit entity instead. What’s clear is that the board stands by its decision that “withholding consent of the transfer of PIR from the Internet Society to Ethos Capital is reasonable, and the right thing to do.”