Comments on: Domain Tasting in the Spotlight http://domainnamewire.com/2006/12/15/domain-tasting-in-the-spotlight/ News and Views for the Domain Name Industry Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:34:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: 10 US Laws Every Domainer Needs to Know - Brilliantly Compiled by AVIVA Directory : Domain Name CEO http://domainnamewire.com/2006/12/15/domain-tasting-in-the-spotlight/comment-page-1/#comment-96087 10 US Laws Every Domainer Needs to Know - Brilliantly Compiled by AVIVA Directory : Domain Name CEO Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:43:19 +0000 http://domainnamewire.com/2006/12/15/domain-tasting-in-the-spotlight/#comment-96087 [...] DomainNameWire - Exploring domain name tasting. [...]

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]]> By: 10 US Laws Every Domainer Needs to Know - Brilliantly Compiled by AVIVA Directory : Domain Name CEO http://domainnamewire.com/2006/12/15/domain-tasting-in-the-spotlight/comment-page-1/#comment-96086 10 US Laws Every Domainer Needs to Know - Brilliantly Compiled by AVIVA Directory : Domain Name CEO Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:43:07 +0000 http://domainnamewire.com/2006/12/15/domain-tasting-in-the-spotlight/#comment-96086 [...] DomainNameWire - Exploring domain name tasting. [...]

[...] DomainNameWire – Exploring domain name tasting. [...]

]]> By: Editor http://domainnamewire.com/2006/12/15/domain-tasting-in-the-spotlight/comment-page-1/#comment-21562 Editor Sun, 24 Dec 2006 01:07:14 +0000 http://domainnamewire.com/2006/12/15/domain-tasting-in-the-spotlight/#comment-21562 Mike, quick question: what are the "questionable" activities Afternic has been involved with? I haven't seen anything questionable from them. Mike, quick question: what are the “questionable” activities Afternic has been involved with? I haven’t seen anything questionable from them.

]]> By: Editor http://domainnamewire.com/2006/12/15/domain-tasting-in-the-spotlight/comment-page-1/#comment-21561 Editor Sun, 24 Dec 2006 01:06:23 +0000 http://domainnamewire.com/2006/12/15/domain-tasting-in-the-spotlight/#comment-21561 The ICANN meeting example was GoDaddy claiming the whois data is getting sniffed somewhere outside of GoDaddy, not at the registrar. It's getting sniffed on the way to the registry (or at the registry). That said, GoDaddy has been involved with some questionable activites, including <a href="http://domainnamewire.com/2005/12/30/is-godaddy-typosquatting/" rel="nofollow">massive retention of typosquatted domains after they expire</a>. The ICANN meeting example was GoDaddy claiming the whois data is getting sniffed somewhere outside of GoDaddy, not at the registrar. It’s getting sniffed on the way to the registry (or at the registry). That said, GoDaddy has been involved with some questionable activites, including massive retention of typosquatted domains after they expire.

]]> By: Mike http://domainnamewire.com/2006/12/15/domain-tasting-in-the-spotlight/comment-page-1/#comment-21546 Mike Sat, 23 Dec 2006 15:41:27 +0000 http://domainnamewire.com/2006/12/15/domain-tasting-in-the-spotlight/#comment-21546 Editor - Of course they're not going to come right out and say they've been doing that. Would you? It may bot be illegal in terms of breaking any LAW but its definitely unethical. That is the opinion of a lot of folks: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=godaddy+whois+steal Some say its pure capitalism at its finest. I am not too sure about that. Say I am the patent office and my clerks take dozens of applications each per day, but some of them know a few with access to a lot of cash and they photo copy those patents and develop the products themselves. Are they not stealing someone's idea? Some call it extortion. I search, you steal the WHOIS query and register the name and then put it up for sale for 100x or more of its reg cost PLUS you earn PPC from the ads while it sits. If I want it, I need to pay you 100x of the cost it would have been if I had blindly registered it without doing the normal homework (trademark/patent violation checks, company name checks, etc) Ah well, if you're looking for SPECIFIC proof then maybe they gets pretty darn close (if not all the way there): http://www.icann.org/meetings/marrakech/captioning-dn-27jun06.htm Its a bit to read but pay special attention to the comment beginning with: "And the customer says, hi, Bob, I've been doing business with you for many years." Its about 1/2 way down and it begins to describe the huge problem we have going on with WHOIS searching. If, in fact, there is a market to mine the WHOIS data then expose it. Either make it freely available or charge for it - whatever. If there isnt a market or should not be, then secure it. When I ask GoDaddy customer service and then get replies to the effect that they tell me there arent enough hard drives to store all that data - I laugh. Without going into the technicalities - its certainly possible to intercept that search data and its certainly possible to store it, aggregate it and mine it. And then - sell it or give it away. DirectNIC.com and its arms of questionable sidekick companies are very well known for this and its already been sent to court in a number of cases with them - where they've lost nearly every case and had to give up the stolen name. The way I see it (and others too from what I read everywhere), is, that the level of fraud and corruption in the domain name business has already far exceeded that of the traditional real-estate industry which is very well know for its eye-raising under-the-table garbage. You'd think with electronic trackback, footprints, tracability that people would be less likely to do things like this. My confidence in GoDaddy is now ZERO. My confidence in the domain name business is fast approaching ZERO. I basically dont want much to do with this industry anymore. The fraud and corruption in advertising is increasing every day. Look at Afternic and its questionable activities. People are writing more and more about unknown PPC and CPM, inflating traffic, lifting and pocketing off the top from its customers - but never informing the customers of its policies. But I digress... or do I? ;-) The domain name world is getting darker by the day. Editor -

Of course they’re not going to come right out and say they’ve been doing that. Would you? It may bot be illegal in terms of breaking any LAW but its definitely unethical. That is the opinion of a lot of folks:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=godaddy+whois+steal

Some say its pure capitalism at its finest. I am not too sure about that. Say I am the patent office and my clerks take dozens of applications each per day, but some of them know a few with access to a lot of cash and they photo copy those patents and develop the products themselves. Are they not stealing someone’s idea?

Some call it extortion. I search, you steal the WHOIS query and register the name and then put it up for sale for 100x or more of its reg cost PLUS you earn PPC from the ads while it sits. If I want it, I need to pay you 100x of the cost it would have been if I had blindly registered it without doing the normal homework (trademark/patent violation checks, company name checks, etc)

Ah well, if you’re looking for SPECIFIC proof then maybe they gets pretty darn close (if not all the way there):
http://www.icann.org/meetings/marrakech/captioning-dn-27jun06.htm

Its a bit to read but pay special attention to the comment beginning with:
“And the customer says, hi, Bob, I’ve been doing business with you for many years.” Its about 1/2 way down and it begins to describe the huge problem we have going on with WHOIS searching.

If, in fact, there is a market to mine the WHOIS data then expose it. Either make it freely available or charge for it – whatever. If there isnt a market or should not be, then secure it.

When I ask GoDaddy customer service and then get replies to the effect that they tell me there arent enough hard drives to store all that data – I laugh. Without going into the technicalities – its certainly possible to intercept that search data and its certainly possible to store it, aggregate it and mine it. And then – sell it or give it away.

DirectNIC.com and its arms of questionable sidekick companies are very well known for this and its already been sent to court in a number of cases with them – where they’ve lost nearly every case and had to give up the stolen name.

The way I see it (and others too from what I
read everywhere), is, that the level of fraud and corruption in the domain name business has already far exceeded that of the traditional real-estate industry which is very well know for its eye-raising under-the-table garbage.

You’d think with electronic trackback, footprints, tracability that people would be less likely to do things like this.

My confidence in GoDaddy is now ZERO. My confidence in the domain name business is fast approaching ZERO. I basically dont want much to do with this industry anymore. The fraud and corruption in advertising is increasing every day. Look at Afternic and its questionable activities. People are writing more and more about unknown PPC and CPM, inflating traffic, lifting and pocketing off the top from its customers – but never informing the customers of its policies. But I digress… or do I? ;-)

The domain name world is getting darker by the day.

]]> By: Editor http://domainnamewire.com/2006/12/15/domain-tasting-in-the-spotlight/comment-page-1/#comment-21545 Editor Sat, 23 Dec 2006 15:07:36 +0000 http://domainnamewire.com/2006/12/15/domain-tasting-in-the-spotlight/#comment-21545 Mike, I have yet to have anyone provide me with good evidence that this is going on. The only evidence I've seen is for domain registration queries performed at a non-register site associated with CNET. Mike, I have yet to have anyone provide me with good evidence that this is going on. The only evidence I’ve seen is for domain registration queries performed at a non-register site associated with CNET.

]]> By: Mike http://domainnamewire.com/2006/12/15/domain-tasting-in-the-spotlight/comment-page-1/#comment-21503 Mike Sat, 23 Dec 2006 03:04:57 +0000 http://domainnamewire.com/2006/12/15/domain-tasting-in-the-spotlight/#comment-21503 When are we going to see an article about people who sniff WHOIS searches and register the domain prior to anyone getting their themselves. I have to say that I only do my WHOIS searching at GoDaddy and if I want that name I had better register it within a day or two because otherwise some dumb schmuck will sell or give that search data to their friend or some business partner thing - and register it. Any way you slice that, its fraud. When are we going to see an article about people who sniff WHOIS searches and register the domain prior to anyone getting their themselves. I have to say that I only do my WHOIS searching at GoDaddy and if I want that name I had better register it within a day or two because otherwise some dumb schmuck will sell or give that search data to their friend or some business partner thing – and register it.

Any way you slice that, its fraud.

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