What irritates me about this, and the reason that it is so patently "wrong" is that Verisign is using for "personal gain" a capability that it has been given by virtue of a public trust.
Because they manage the registry, they have the capacity to do things that nobody else could do. But because they manage the registry on behalf of the entire internet community, there is an implied (or is it spelled out explicitly?) responsibility to do so in a way that benefits the entire internet community.
Instead, they have elected to manage it in such a selfish way that it works to their own financial advantage at the expense of the rest of the community.
Businesses can and should find creative ways to snare business. But their approaches should be within the realm of ethical behavior. I get irritated when little companies lament the well-funded approaches of the big guys as "unfair" -- since typically that's actually an example of the big guy using his (superior) resources creatively. If the little guy could find a way to get sufficient funding, he could do the same thing.
But in this case, Verisign's actions truly are unethical and inappropriate. NOBODY but Verisign could use this approach, and the reason is that Verisign has exceptional and unusual access to the registry because the government saw fit to have them manage it on behalf of everybody. To use that position for personal (corporate) gain is, in my opinion, despicable, and reveals the true nature of Verisign's management.
NASA's "flawed culture" has nothing on Verisign's.
--
Regards, Eric Longman Atl-Connect Internet Services
+-------------------------------------------------------+ | Atl-Connect Internet Services http://www.atlcon.net | | 3600 Dallas Hwy Ste 230-288 770 590-0888 | | Marietta, GA 30064-1685 [EMAIL PROTECTED] | +-------------------------------------------------------+
