ICANN/DNSO
DNSO Mailling lists archives

[ga-full]


<<< Chronological Index >>>    <<< Thread Index >>>

[ga] Afternic Auctioning register.com expireds


"With this in mind, Afternic is launching a test bed. The concept is simple: When a registrar's names expire, they become Afternic auctions. During the auction, members can claim any names they find valuable. Those unclaimed at the end of the auction are returned to the pool of available names. The first registrar participating in the test bed will be Register.com. We hope to add more registrars in the coming weeks." (Taken from the Afternic "Urly Indicator" Friday 10.19.01)
 
Is it me, or does this appear to be a violation the registrar accreditation agreement insofar as unpaid domains should be cancelled:
 
"3.7.5 Registrar shall register Registered Names to Registered Name Holders only for fixed periods. At the conclusion of the registration period, failure by or on behalf of the Registered Name Holder to pay a renewal fee within the time specified in a second notice or reminder shall, in the absence of extenuating circumstances, result in cancellation of the registration. In the event that ICANN adopts a specification or policy concerning procedures for handling expiration of registrations, Registrar shall abide by that specification or policy."
 
By auctioning the domains, aren't Afternic transferring the original domain to a new owner and thus the original registrar retains the domain registration outside of the period paid for by the original registrant?
 
Also, what rights do afternic have (and register.com for that matter) in auctioning the domain rather than selling at a fixed price (even though this too would appear a violation)?  The additional value in the domain over and above the registration fee is surely a product of the original registrants efforts and not those of afternic/register.com - so what happens to this and where has the registrant consented to allow this?
 
I know afternic and greatdomains have for some time sold at fixed price  the neverpaids with a view to recovering the admin costs, but this is the *auctioning* of expireds where the domain was indeed paid for and the contract period ended.
 
Regards
 
Paul Cotton


<<< Chronological Index >>>    <<< Thread Index >>>