The further I got into that email - and thank you for posting it, it's this
kind of transparency that makes me a big fan of Tucows - the more the
question burned in my head: What if Register.com lose their accreditation and
apply to become an OpenSRS RSP?
There's a doozy for ya! :)
adam
"Ross Wm. Rader" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said:
>
> This morning's announcement concerning Register.com's purchase of
> Afternic, a secondary market speculator, has touched off a small flurry of
> off-list email to our staff concerning our position on secondary market
> speculation.
>
> The comments have ranged from "Doesn't ICANN view this as illegal?" to "Is
> Tucows going to have to get into this space to remain competitive with
> Register.com?".
>
> OpenSRS is, and always has been, a mechanism by which Tucows acts as a
> facilitator to the business transactions that third parties engage in with
> their customers. The aggregate of these third parties is what we refer to
> as our sales channel - you, our business partners. Above all else, we view
> this relationship as sacred. In other words, you, the channel are our
> customers and your customers are your customers. No if's and's or but's.
>
> Which leads me directly to my first point. Secondary market speculation is
> a function relegated to the retail front. To be more precise, retail is
> retail whether the product is offered on a primary or secondary market
> basis. Tucows is a wholesaler. Ergo, it is safe and logical to assume that
> we have no designs on entering the secondary market space. In fact, I am
> confident in saying that our firm would view a diversification of this
> nature as being distractive, defocused and in direct competition with our
> resellers. With that being said, we will fully support the efforts of any
> of our partners that choose to participate in the secondary market with
> the same enthusiasm that we facilitate the business models of our partners
> participating in other segments of the industry.
>
> Other wholesale registrars may have a different twist to this logic, but
> ultimately I suspect that it will be these same firms that also compete
> directly and aggressively against their channel.
>
> As far as ICANN goes, we can only conjecture what their next actions will
> be. They have officially stated for the record that they will under no
> circumstances accredit a firm that actively engages in, or knowingly
> facilitates cybersquatting. Further, they denied accreditation to AfterNIC
> on this basis. Bystanders can only assume that they will review
> Register.com's accreditation in light of this new information.
>
> I know that this doesn't answer all of the questions that I've received,
> but I hope it puts a finer point on our view of the more significant ones.
> Please feel free to contact me either on or off-list if you want to
> explore these comments further.
>
> Thanks,
>
> -rwr
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Ross Wm. Rader
> Director Product Management,
> Channel Platform Group
> Tucows Inc.
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> t. 416.535.0123 x335
> f. 416.531.5584
>
> "Embrace the cow, love the cow.
> And remember, Winsock means love."
>
>
>
>
>
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