hehe Luc. The real winners in all this are those selling popcorn, as we munch away while watching this neverending soap-opera.
I just sent the following email to the ICANN mailing lists, to get them to do more:
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Hello,
As a followup to the prior news regarding the NSI anti-competitive move to hijack expired domains from their prior owners, ICANN has stepped up with 2 announcements:
1)
http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-21sep04-2.htm
This one attempts to implement an Expired Domain Deletions Policy (EDDP), with 3 months notice (won't take effect immediately). What have they been doing for the past *11 MONTHS*, as there has not been a single thing preventing them from doing this when it was approved in CARTHAGE, TUNISIA in 2003!
http://www.icann.org/announcements/advisory-31oct03.htm
The EDDP contains the interesting language:
http://www.icann.org/registrars/eddp.htm
"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***),"
I assume the part between *** and *** is there to put a stop to the abusive practice of NSI taking over their clients' expired domains.
2) ICANN issued an *advisory* regarding the NSI/SnapNames actions:
http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-21sep04-1.htm
However, they do not comment whether those auctions under the "old rules" (i.e until December 21, when EDDP is to take effect) have legitimacy. With the first auctions of NSI expiring on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 (today!), bidders need to know whether those auctions are legitimate, and will not be made void at some later date.
ICANN needs to do more, and quickly. It's not like they've not been on notice of this by me and others for the past 3 years, sheesh. This was drama that if ICANN had been doing its job, would have been pre-empted entirely. Instead, the market is shaken up for the next 3 months, or until NSI backs down, or is sued, etc.
I can see NSI upping the stakes by changing their agreement to transfer the domain to themselves BEFORE expiry, for example, to get around these changes. The guys at NSI are not going to give up --- they're constantly thinking up ways to abuse the marketplace, and recreate their former monopoly. The time has come to make iron-clad rules that put things back in registrants' favour, permanently.
Sincerely,
George Kirikos
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ICANN would be ever so popular if they just did everything I say.
arty:
