In the RWI, I could forsee an extra radio button being added when viewing a domain:
Normal Notification Auto Renew Let Domain Expire without further notification Allow domain name to be auctioned prior to delete Some of our customers that are letting their domain names go, would be interested in having it auctioned off to make a few bucks before it gets tossed back into the public queue -- this is a definate good thing for those that want it, and explicitly have to opt-in to the idea (no defaults for inclusion into the program) One interesting question, is that a portion of the funds go to the old registrant. What happens when the old registrant is no longer reachable, deceased, moved, overseas on military leave, or sailing around the world? How do we ensure payments get processed in "all" circumstances? This is the ugly part that I forsee. Once you start dealing with money changing hands, there are all kinds of potentials for abuse, for mistakes to present themselves, for lawsuits, disputes, and more. I sincerely hope that the domain auction is thoroughly disputed on discuss-list prior to implementation. In addition it is vital to have a BETA phase introduced where only a select number of large scale OpenSRS resellers take part in the program so that we can have an opportunity to see what types of problems surface (a couple months should give a clear indication). This way if there are any legal disputes that arise, they can be handled by those that have a large enough legal budget to handle it (ie: large scale OpenSRS resellers) rather than causing the small web hosting company to get caught up in a legal trap if things go sour in the beginning. The marketplace NEEDS this -- but it's an extremely sensitive concept that must never be rushed when it is introduced. I also see issues of trademark infringements -- "right to sell certain names" (irregardless of past registrant consent) and a whole other avalanche of issues coming forward in a short amount of time when this launches. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Loren Stocker Sent: March 8, 2005 1:00 PM To: Robert L Mathews; discuss-list@opensrs.org Subject: Re: NSI-- What Arrogance! None of this illegal or unethical, WITH consent. Best, Loren ------ Original Message ------ Received: 12:55 PM PST, 03/08/2005 From: Robert L Mathews <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: discuss-list@opensrs.org Subject: Re: NSI-- What Arrogance! James M Woods wrote: > This scenario is the one that gets played out if the previous registrant is > AWOL during the renewal process and has not explicitly asked for the name to > be auctioned. Gosh, I certainly hope Tucows is not considering such a thing, because such behavior is expressly forbidden by Section 3.7.5 of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (aka the EDDP), a legally binding contract that Tucows has signed: "3.7.5 At the conclusion of the registration period, failure by or on behalf of the Registered Name Holder to consent that the registration be renewed within the time specified in a second notice or reminder shall, in the absence of extenuating circumstances, result in cancellation of the registration by the end of the auto-renew grace period (although Registrar may choose to cancel the name earlier). 3.7.5.1 Extenuating circumstances are defined as: UDRP action, valid court order, failure of a Registrar's renewal process (which does not include failure of a registrant to respond), the domain name is used by a nameserver that provides DNS service to third-parties (additional time may be required to migrate the records managed by the nameserver), the registrant is subject to bankruptcy proceedings, payment dispute (where a registrant claims to have paid for a renewal, or a discrepancy in the amount paid), billing dispute (where a registrant disputes the amount on a bill), domain name subject to litigation in a court of competent jurisdiction, or other circumstance as approved specifically by ICANN." Perhaps my eyes are getting bad in my old age, but I don't see "Tucows didn't hear back from the registrant so they decided to grab it and auction it off" listed as an extenuating circumstance. In fact, it explicitly says that "failure of a registrant to respond" is NOT an extenuating circumstance. Tucows has no right to auction off a domain name and change the registered name holder unless the registrant gives explicit consent for that. And as I've said before, burying "we have the right to auction off your domain name" eighteen paragraphs deep in Exhibit A does not count as explicit consent. Anyway, Tucows obviously can't insert terms into the end user agreement that conflict with the RAA. Even if the EDDP didn't require that domain names be deleted when not renewed by the original registrant, other parts of the RAA would still prevent Tucows from changing the registered name holder without the registrant's consent. I'm not going to bother to further retype the reasons why this would be both unethical and a violation of ICANN policy; they're all in this thread if anyone is interested: http://www.opensrs.org/archives/discuss-list/0409/0094.html You know, I honestly can't believe we're still discussing this. What was the internal Tucows discussion after the last time this came up? "Our resellers overwhelmingly think this is a terrible, unethical, possibly illegal idea, but we're going to do it anyway because we can make some money on it?" Tucows should be ashamed that I need to post this message. I would like to hear Elliot say (on this list) that Tucows will not auction any domain name and change the registered name holder unless the registrant gives explicit consent for Tucows to do so. -- Robert L Mathews, Tiger Technologies http://www.tigertech.net/
