Rick, WLS is everybody's problem -- everyone on these relevant lists and everyone with a domain.
Are you writing your critter?.. Or just suggesting I discuss this elsewhere? Best, Loren If you haev a problem I suggest you contact your congress critter (look them up at http://www.congress.org ) and write letters. -rick On Sat, 15 Jun 2002, Loren Stocker wrote: > Hi All, > > Now SnapNames has wrapped themselves in the flag of equal opportunity for the > helpless public. Duh? > > How is John Q Netizen going to feel about equal access when the same > speculators put their "substantial cash payments" towards buying all the best > WLS options? How naive does Mr. Holmberg think we are? > > All that's really needed is for Verisign to take uncertainty out of the domain > drops -- shorten the window, publish the times, and let everyone know when to > quit. That's transparent, fair, first-come-first-serve, and it's free, free, > free! > > Best Regards, > > Loren Stocker > www.evil.biz! > > PS: We love Snapnames! But they should stay at the Registrar level > and compete like everyone else -- and quit sucking up to Verisign! > > Petition follows>>> > > --- kjel holmberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > From: kjel holmberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: kjel holmberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > CC: "'[EMAIL PROTECTED]'" > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Subject: Your voice counts right now - sign brief > > petition for equal acces > > s to Internet domain names. > > Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2002 14:03:58 -0700 > > > > > > June 12, 2002 > > > > Dear Domain Name System Users (and Friends of > > SnapNames), > > > > The purpose of this letter is to ask your support > > for a critical improvement > > to the domain name system that solves the following > > problem: Typical domain > > name users have almost no access to the over 800,000 > > valuable domain names > > that expire and should be available for > > re-registration every month. > > > > Please take a moment to review the attached > > petition. If you agree, please > > reply with comments to: > > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > Please reply as soon as possible. The Internet > > Corporation for Assigned > > Names and Numbers (ICANN), the domain name > > industry's oversight > > organization, will consider this issue at its next > > meeting, June 24-28. > > Those opposing your access to previously-owned > > domain names have made their > > case strenuously, so it's critical that ICANN hear > > from supporters of equal > > access, who have yet to be heard. > > > > Thank you for your time and input. > > > > Sincerely, > > > > SnapNames.com, Inc. > > Portland, Oregon > > > > > > > > Please circulate this petition to anyone else who > > may be concerned about > > this important issue. > > > > > > P E T I T I O N > > > > To the Board of Directors of the Internet > > Corporation for Assigned Names and > > Numbers (ICANN): > > > > We, the undersigned domain name and Internet users, > > intellectual property > > owners, members of the general public, and > > representatives of the same, are > > writing to urge the Board of Directors of the > > Internet Corporation for > > Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to endorse the > > proposed Wait Listing > > Service (WLS) at the ICANN meeting in Bucharest, > > Romania, June 24-28, 2002. > > > > The WLS is a fair and sensible system that lets > > legitimate mainstream users > > acquire expiring domain names. The WLS represents a > > tremendous improvement > > over the status quo in which a handful of > > professional domain name buyers > > purchase preferential access to expiring names from > > registrars and exclude > > the general public. The WLS represents the first > > significant innovation in > > the domain name system since the establishment of > > formal Internet > > governance. The WLS is necessary to ensure the > > general public equal access > > to all domain names. > > > > There is currently no orderly, transparent, and fair > > system for allocating > > the approximately 800,000 domain names that expire > > every month. Instead, > > here is how most domain name consumers are locked > > out today: > > > > 1. The registry for .com, .net, and .org deletes > > expired domain names > > from its system every day, and places those names > > into a special pool. All > > ICANN-accredited domain name registrars have an > > identical level of access to > > this pool, regardless of the size of their customer > > bases. > > 2. Instead of making access to the deleted name pool > > available to the > > general public, some registrars serve only a handful > > of customers, often in > > return for substantial cash payments. > > 3. These privileged customers, using advanced > > hardware and software to > > query the deleted name pool thousands of times per > > second, are constantly > > ready and waiting to intercept expired domain names > > the millisecond they are > > deleted from the registry. The registry has > > reported that there can be up > > to 500,000 registration requests per name. > > 4. There is virtually no way for the typical user to > > compete > > effectively for deleting names in this environment. > > 5. Some domain name buyers operate as speculators > > who attempt to > > "ransom" acquired names to legitimate domain name > > users. Because the > > minimum cost of pursuing a domain name dispute is > > $1,500 (the typical > > minimum dispute resolution filing fee), this figure > > is often an unaffordable > > starting point for negotiations. > > 6. Because this status quo is so beneficial to a few > > individuals and > > companies, it is in their interest that the Internet > > community not be aware > > of their operations. That's why it's virtually > > impossible to find their > > services advertised. To this point: A recent study > > of nearly 1300 valuable > > deleted domain names determined that fully 97.9% had > > been re-registered by > > only a small handful of professionals using means > > not available to > > mainstream users, while a mere 2.1% had been > > registered on registrars' > > public websites. (See article entitled "Of, By, and > > For a Mere Handful of > > People." State of the Domain, April 2002, pp. 19, > > 22. Available online at > > www.sotd.info). > > 7. The WLS solves the problem of unequal access by > > creating a > > transparent, fair, first-come-first-served system. > > ICANN should not be > > distracted from the real problem-providing equal > > public access to expiring > > names-by red herring issues, such as: > > a. "Inadvertent deletion": the accidental failure > > of a > > registrant to renew a registration, despite multiple > > warnings from its > > registrar. (An emotional issue, to be sure, but one > > affecting just a > > miniscule fraction of the 800,000 names that expire > > monthly-and one that is > > easily solved by registrars themselves); > > b. "Competition": the imaginary claim that the > > WLS > > would eliminate something that does not actually > > exist today, except to the > > extent that professionals compete with each other in > > a closed environment > > that excludes over 99% of the public; > > c. "Price": the self-contradictory argument that > > the > > WLS's proposed $35 wholesale price would be too low > > to deter speculators, > > but too high for mainstream users. > > > > Without the support of Internet users, we believe > > the current situation will > > further deteriorate as more domain name registrars > > unfairly devote their > > registry connections solely to just a few privileged > > customers. Without the > > WLS, mainstream consumers such as trademark holders, > > businesses, > > individuals, and charitable organizations will > > continue to be denied the > > possibility of acquiring valuable expired names. > > > > ICANN should therefore endorse the WLS immediately. > > > > To make your voice heard in favor of equal access, > > please reply with > > comments to: > > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > > > Please circulate this petition to anyone else who > > may be concerned about > > this important issue. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Kjel P. Holmberg > > Business Development Manager > > SnapNames > > 115 NW 1st Ave, 3rd Floor > > Portland, Oregon 97209 > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > 503.219.9990 ext. 236 > > > > > -- > This message was passed to you via the [EMAIL PROTECTED] list. > Send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to unsubscribe > ("unsubscribe ga" in the body of the message). > Archives at http://www.dnso.org/archives.html >
