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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I am interested in this topic. I chaired
the Transfers TF, and we dealt with a variety of topics in that TF… <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>But, the Redemption Grace Period emerged
as a safeguard for registrants. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>In those days, I worked for AT&T, and
they had a portfolio of over 500 names, including .net; .com; .org; several
dozen country codes where they had market facing presence, and when the “proof
of concept” TLDs were introduced, they also defensively registered in
info and .biz in particular. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Managing the portfolio was part of an assignment
to a particular part of the corporation, but still, it was challenging and not
simple to keep track of. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I registered a name or two that I wanted
to use, for organizing ad hoc coalitions, and managed them myself. And, then,
when I left AT&T, I registered two names, one to use, one to defensively
protect my “name”. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I am now an “average registrant”
-- I need all the safeguards I can get. My registrar is extremely responsible –
wait, BOTH my registrars are responsible. BOTH of them remind me, and remind
me, and REMIND me… but you know, I travel, I have a 90 year old father
and I get distracted… and I am the CEO of a small business with a lot of
other distractions… and focusing on my domain name doesn’t always
rise to the top of my agenda…. Yet, I depend on it…. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>So, I need all the safeguards I can get. …
</span></font><font size=2 color=navy face=Wingdings><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;color:navy'>J</span></font><font size=2
color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'> within reason. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I’ll try not to extrapolate from my
own experience and ineptness, but still, I think about the ‘average’
registrant. … and thus, consensus policy for RGP seems fully appropriate.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Marilyn <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
owner-council@gnso.icann.org [mailto:owner-council@gnso.icann.org] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Sophia B<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Saturday, March 04, 2006
7:16 PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> ross@tucows.com<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Cc:</span></b> GNSO Council<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [council] Agenda
Request</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>I believe that the current policy is fine.
It gives enough time in any way it is implemented for registrants to
renew. </span></font><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Many people are
irresponsible and that is why they loose their domains. I don't think giving
them more time would change it. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Choosing a better registrar that does a
good job of protecting them is more important. </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Sophia</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=gmailquote><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>On 03/03/06, <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Ross
Rader </span></b><<a href="mailto:ross@tucows.com">ross@tucows.com</a>>
wrote:</span></font></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;
margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Bruce, fellow Councillors,<br>
<br>
At our next meeting, I would like to propose the initiation of a new<br>
policy development process concerning the Redemption Grace Period and<br>
request that this topic be added to our agenda.<br>
<br>
It has recently come to my attention recently that the current<br>
implementation (detailed at <br>
<a href="http://www.icann.org/bucharest/redemption-topic.htm">http://www.icann.org/bucharest/redemption-topic.htm</a>)
is an optional<br>
registry service which may not be meeting the needs of registrants as<br>
originally envisaged when it was implemented. Recent press reports (see <br>
below) and registrant complaints indicate that names are being lost<br>
despite the implementation of this registry service.<br>
<br>
I have spent a lot of time considering whether or not Council can afford<br>
to take on additional work given our current workload and have come to <br>
the view that because of the widespread support for the Redemption Grace<br>
Period amongst the constituencies (as documented on the ICANN website)<br>
and the pre-existence of strong policy and implementation proposals that <br>
already have consensus support of the stakeholders, we should be able to<br>
confirm the Redemption Grace Period proposals as consensus policy fairly<br>
quickly and without much additional effort or contentious debate. <br>
<br>
Because of the pre-existing consensus on this issue, I will propose to<br>
move this forward without creating a task force per Annex A, Section 8<br>
of the ICANN Bylaws once we have agreed to initiate a PDP and been <br>
provided with an issues report by the staff.<br>
(<a href="http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#AnnexA-8">http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#AnnexA-8</a>).
i.e. the fast-track.<br>
<br>
In the very least, creation of an issues report will gather up <br>
substantive data on this subject and allow us to make an informed<br>
decision regarding whether or not circumstances like those detailed<br>
below are widespread enough to justify launching a full-fledged PDP.<br>
<br>
Your consideration of this matter would be extremely appreciated. If you <br>
have any questions, please don't hesitate to drop me a note (or give me<br>
a ring).<br>
<br>
-ross<br>
<br>
'Drop Catchers' Buy and Sell Web Names Others Let Slip<br>
By DAVID KESMODEL<br>
Wall Street Journal<br>
February 22, 2006; Page B1 <br>
Last month, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chicago</st1:place></st1:City>
real-estate agent Judy Orr discovered that a Web<br>
site she used to showcase area homes had gone off-line. It turned out<br>
she had failed to pay the $9 annual renewal fee for her Web address,<br>
<a href="http://oak-lawn-real-estate.com">oak-lawn-real-estate.com</a>.<br>
<br>
But getting her site back online wasn't as easy as she had hoped:<br>
Another company had snapped up the domain name and wanted nearly $2,500<br>
to return it to her. "I was sick to my stomach," Ms. Orr says. It
took<br>
two years of work to build up the site so it would rank prominently in<br>
Google's search results, and that time "went down the drain," she
says. <br>
<br>
The new owner of the address was Lease Domains Inc., which is run by a<br>
21-year-old graduate student, Anthos Chrysanthou, who works out of his<br>
parents' house in a <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chicago</st1:place></st1:City>
suburb. Mr. Chrysanthou says his<br>
two-year-old company owns more than 2,000 domain names, many obtained <br>
through a process called "drop catching" -- snagging names owners
have<br>
let expire, either accidentally or because they no longer want them.<br>
<br>
"I liken the whole situation to tangible real estate," says Mr. <br>
Chrysanthou, who is pursuing his master's in business administration at<br>
<st2:Sn w:st="on">St.</st2:Sn> <st2:middlename w:st="on">Xavier</st2:middlename>
<st2:Sn w:st="on">University</st2:Sn> in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Chicago</st1:place></st1:City>.
"If you're not paying your mortgage or<br>
your taxes on it, it's going to get taken away."<br>
<br>
Mr. Chrysanthou is one of hundreds of drop catchers who either resell<br>
names or use them for Web sites loaded with advertisements. (Ms. Orr's<br>
former site now features text ads for real estate.) Many drop catchers<br>
have learned the trade in the past year, seeking a piece of the booming<br>
market for domains spurred by a surge in online advertising. The<br>
practice also has gotten a lift from providers of domain services, such<br>
as SnapNames.com Inc., <a href="http://Pool.com">Pool.com</a> Inc. and
GoDaddy.com Inc., which have<br>
introduced tools aimed at helping people grab expiring domains.<br>
<br>
The services circulate lists each day showing which domains are about to <br>
go up for grabs. Auctions are held for particularly in-demand names, and<br>
prices can go sky-high: <a href="http://A1.com">A1.com</a> sold for $260,250 in
December, after its<br>
previous owner let the registration lapse. <br>
<br>
Drop catching "has pretty much changed completely in a few years'
time,"<br>
says Michael Berkens, who runs MostWantedDomains.com, owner of about<br>
45,000 domains, which range from <a href="http://4nudepictures.com">4nudepictures.com</a>
to <a href="http://401kplans.com">401kplans.com</a>, out<br>
of his <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Fort Lauderdale</st1:City>, <st1:State
w:st="on">Fla.</st1:State></st1:place>, home. "There's more people,"
he says, and<br>
"prices have just escalated."<br>
<br>
DNJournal.com , a publication that tracks the domain industry, reported<br>
2,291 sales of expired domains in auctions last year, with winning bids<br>
totaling a combined $11.5 million. That was up from 885 sales totaling<br>
$4.2 million a year earlier. Auctioneers don't report all deals to <br>
DNJournal, and the site doesn't track deals valued at less than $500.<br>
<br>
Roughly 20,000 expired domain names become available each day, according<br>
to industry executives. While many were consciously discarded by their <br>
owners, others, like Ms. Orr's, are the product of a domain-registration<br>
system that many users don't understand well.<br>
<br>
When a user registers a domain name, it can be reserved for as many as<br>
10 years, typically for $80. But many choose a one-year registration <br>
because it is less expensive, often about $10, and because they may not<br>
want the site for a longer period. At the end of the year, the domain<br>
registrar generally sends renewal notices to the owner, but such<br>
messages can be missed if the owner has changed email addresses in that <br>
time.<br>
<br>
Under rules administered by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names<br>
and Numbers, the group that oversees the assignment of Web addresses,<br>
domain registrars such as GoDaddy and Network Solutions LLC have as many <br>
as 45 days after the expiration date to notify the official domain<br>
registry whether a name is being renewed or deleted. Typically,<br>
registrars have given users a grace period -- sometimes as long as 45<br>
days -- to renew their name. <br>
<br>
If a name is deleted, ICANN guidelines then call for a 30-day<br>
"redemption grace period," during which the original owner can still<br>
claim the name. If there is no claim in the redemption period, the name <br>
is dropped from the registry after a five-day holding period, and anyone<br>
is entitled to seek it.<br>
<br>
For the .com and .net registries, managed by VeriSign Inc., names drop<br>
starting around 2 p.m. Eastern each day, all year long. What follows is <br>
a process that some in the industry call "pounding." As the names
drop,<br>
Internet companies that help users acquire expired names send rapid<br>
computer commands to the registry, seeking to grab the most valuable <br>
names. It is "a mad rush," says Dan Rubin, who runs <a
href="http://justdropped.com">justdropped.com</a>,<br>
which helps people identify and acquire expired domains. Registries for<br>
other domain suffixes drop names at different times of day. <br>
<br>
The drop process underwent a key shift starting in late 2004. That is<br>
when SnapNames started a new service for grabbing domains. The company<br>
has signed exclusive agreements with more than a half-dozen registrars, <br>
including Network Solutions and <a href="http://Moniker.com">Moniker.com</a>,
under which the registrars<br>
transfer expired domains to SnapNames, and SnapNames auctions them off.<br>
That way, names that people are interested in don't go through the <br>
traditional drop process that is open to anyone.<br>
<br>
GoDaddy, the largest domain registrar, has introduced its own auction<br>
service for expired names that were registered with it, as have other<br>
registrars, as they seek a cut of the action for expired names. They <br>
begin auctions for names even before the names have officially expired<br>
but warn auction participants that the original owner could still redeem<br>
the name.<br>
<br>
For domain owners, the new system means names can be grabbed from them <br>
even more quickly than they could before. Instead of going through the<br>
full deletion cycle -- which went as long as 75 days -- names are being<br>
transferred to new owners in 30 to 45 days.<br>
<br>
Paul Twomey, chief executive of ICANN, says some people in the domain <br>
industry recently have raised concerns that the guidelines governing<br>
expired names are "being utilized in ways that were not originally<br>
intended." But Mr. Twomey says no one has proposed a formal change in <br>
policy to address the issue.<br>
<br>
Ms. Orr's name, <a href="http://oak-lawn-real-estate.com">oak-lawn-real-estate.com</a>,
is one of those that was<br>
transferred before going through the full deletion process, says Jay <br>
Westerdal, who runs Name Intelligence Inc., a <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Bellevue</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Wash.</st1:State></st1:place>,
company<br>
that tracks the industry.<br>
<br>
Tim Ruiz, vice president of domain services for GoDaddy, which<br>
transferred the name, says, "We make every attempt to give ample <br>
opportunity for registrants to renew." He says the company gives<br>
registrants 30 days to claim a name after it has expired.<br>
<br>
If a corporation loses a domain name that it believes is copyrighted or<br>
trademarked, it can seek to recover the name by appealing to an <br>
arbitration panel under ICANN's dispute-resolution policy. It also could<br>
take the domain's new owner to court, though that can be more expensive.<br>
<br>
<br>
Ms. Orr says she lost her site's name, which wasn't copyrighted or <br>
trademarked, because she made the mistake of relying on her Web-hosting<br>
company to keep track of her registration. She says she didn't see<br>
renewal notices from GoDaddy because it had an old email address for<br>
her. Ms. Orr plans to use another site -- <a href="http://oak-lawn-il.com">oak-lawn-il.com</a>
-- to replace<br>
the one she lost.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</blockquote>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><br>
<br clear=all>
<br>
-- <br>
Sophia Bekele<br>
Voice/Fax: 925-935-1598 <br>
Mob:925-818-0948<br>
<a href="mailto:sophiabekele@gmail.com">sophiabekele@gmail.com</a><br>
<a href="mailto:sbekele@cbsintl.com">sbekele@cbsintl.com</a><br>
SKYPE: skypesoph<br>
<a href="http://www.cbsintl.com">www.cbsintl.com </a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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