Hi James, On Sat, 12 Nov 2005, James M Woods wrote:
>> Tucows wants >> to take all non-renewed names and automatically put them up for auction. >> This means the domain names never enter the redemption period. > > Not so. actually the name will be held in escrow, available to the former > registrant to renew for the full 80 days that is currently allowed. Any > deviation from this timeframe is unacceptable to me and us as a company. Even > if we have a winning bidder willing to pay 100K for a a domain, the former > registrant can get his name back through existing means. That's good to hear. But what I wrote is still true, isn't it, that the domain name doesn't get into redemption. What happens after 80 days if the former registrant doesn't renew? > Funny you should say "available pool". Because reality is that any decent > names goes to a "pool" of sorts just not a general one :-) :) > We have to do a better job of explaining to you what happens to a domain name > that has any perceived value. Currently it is not returned to a system that > has any fair rules, in fact it is returned to a system that is grossly gamed > and monopolized by registrars that control hundreds of accreditations in > order to ensure that they win up to 80% of dropped domains, which are > subsequently sold at auction at so called inflated prices. Our auctions allow > our resellers a chance to participate in this by "keeping it in the family" > so to speak. ... > That's a point that i cannot agree with given the steps we've taken to be a > good actor in the process and to account for our resellers and their > registrants rights and benefits. Ok. I understand and I appreciate what you're saying about having put thought into this system to make it more equitable for your resellers and end-users than other registrars have done. I'm also glad that it will be possible to opt-out for those of us who don't wish to be included. I know the system isn't exactly fair right now, but... > That's the point, the current system does not even have a semblance of > fairness. to simply let it be is not a responsible course to take. Regarding > our contracts with the registries and with ICANN we know them quite well and > they know what we are planing to do. No red flags have been raised > whatsoever. in fact select resellers seem more concerned about our contracts > than ICANN ;-) That's strange. ...well, I fear that this kind of reaction is only going to make a bad situation worse. It's really unfortunate that ICANN doesn't enforce its own rules, but if every registrar decides to start doing its own thing with expired names instead of dropping them, it can only lead to a bigger mess down the road. No names will be recycled anymore, they'll all be tied up in one auction/backorder system or another. I fear to think what we'll have to deal with from a customer support perspective. The current system may not be prefect, but at least it's predictable. The Expired Domain Deletion Policy (http://icann.org/registrars/eddp.htm) seems very clear about what is supposed to happen. I can't see how any registrar's post-expiry auction service can work and still abide by this policy. Is it not fair to say that these "alternate" methods of dealing with expired names are predicated on ICANN's non-enforcement, or at least a somewhat loose interpretation of the policy? The abusive registrars should be brought in line by ICANN, but even if they're not, my point is that I don't think it's a good idea for everyone else to go off in separate directions and abandon a long-established practice codified by policy which is still in effect. It's not that I'm concerned about your contracts with ICANN, but Tucows has always done things strictly by the book, and this is an unexpected departure from that. Anyway, I realize this is at base not a Tucows problem, but an industry-wide one to which Tucows is responding. I look forward to seeing where we go from here, albeit with some trepidation. I do appreciate your time and insights. -Alex _______________________________________________ domains-gen mailing list [email protected] http://discuss.tucows.com/mailman/listinfo/domains-gen
