this comes to me from the Linkmeister, who found it at Tara‘s site:
Verisign has made a proposal to ICANN, in which they would set up a waiting list service for domains. the service would have a trial period of one year and — guess who is the sole registrar responsible for this list? got that right, verisign. the waiting list would allow people to ‘subscribe’ to a domain, so that if it becomes available, it automatically transfers to them.
there is a great deal of protest against this, of course there is. the consumers hate it. the length of the list of Verisign/Network Solutions horror stories demonstrates that. Dotster hates the idea too, since this would allow Verisign to provide an exclusive service, one that no other registrar is authorized to provide.
it’s monopolistic, of course. it also smacks of desperation. Verisign, sinking under the weight of its own failings, grasping at anything to keep from going under. asking for a complete monopoly on the waiting list business. (and as a side note, i’m forced to wonder just how lucrative this would be? the demand for domains has gone down, and there are so many domains right now being relinquished because speculators aren’t willing to keep buying something that won’t sell). i think that any hugely inflated income projections based on this proposal that Verisign management may be presenting to its beleagured stockholders, are just more sleaze and lies, from a business that has given us heaps and gobs of that already, along with a steaming helping of incompetence.
what can you do? register your opinion here, or just read the opinions of others. a quick scan of the current comments shows an overwhelming majority in opposition of this proposal. also, there is a petition at petitionsonline.com.
you know what would be really funny? if it went through anyway. i have serious doubts over the fitness of ICANN as a governing board. but, we’ll just have to wait and see, now won’t we?
this makes ratty VERY cranky… *ping*
i am astounded. surely after all their public incompetence, no one could seriously be considering extending their powers? if they can’t keep track of the one owner of a domain name properly, how the elvis could they control a queue?!!!
I can’t see how they could possibly get away with it, but then, there are many things that happen in this world that leave me slack-jawed and open-mouthed.
I would think the outcry (from those of us that have personal domains) would be large and loud. I hope it is, at least.
if they get their way, in spite of the petition and the message board, we’ll know that ICANN is crookeder than a salt lake city olympic committee. sheesh.