Re: [ga] VeriSign Proposal a Done Deal??

[Bret Fausett <baf@fausett.com>]

>> Registrants, for one. The principal improvement of the Waiting List Service
>> proposed last week is that if you buy a subscription, then you're certain to
>> get your desired domain name if and when it lapses.
> 
> C'mon, Bret, that's crap and you know it.  What is the basis, FCFS?

Yes. My understanding of the proposal, is that it's first-come,
first-served, just as in registering a new domain name.
 
> So you join a queue of 20 people all waiting for the domain name?

If I read the proposal correctly, it's not certain whether there will be
more than one person allowed to take a subscription. I believe that's still
under discussion.

> For example, if you know who is in the queue above you, what's to stop you
> from contacting them and buying out their interest?

Nothing that I can see. So what? Nothing to stop you from contacting any
domain name owner and buying out their registration contract either.
 
>> Under a registrar-based model, you'd have to purchase a subscription with
>> all of the various registrars who offer a competing service in order to get
>> close to the same guarantee.  It would cost more, in both money and
>> aggravation, and still not guarantee that you would get the name.
> 
> I'm amazed that you fall for VeriSign's FUD.  There are no guarantees.

No, if the system works the way it's intended, you should be guaranteed the
name. Of course, on the registrars list, you can already see companies
exploring the idea of using the window of time after the customer has lost
rights in the names for non-renewal but before the name actual deletes to
offer their own service. If that's permitted, it would significantly devalue
the WLS. 

Guarantees and predictability are generally good for registrants.

If you've tried to pick up a deleting name over the last year, you've faced
two problems:

   1. knowing when it was going to drop
      (expiration date seems to have virtually nothing to do with
      when a name is actually deleted); and

   2. knowing how to get it first, when it dropped
      (before Snapnames and other commercial services, this was
      a dark art that bordered on the occult)

Even with Snapnames or some of the other registrar offerings, you were
playing the odds. $49.00 got you a Snapback. Dotster's Namewinner service
was an auction, which cost another $25.00 minimum to play. eNom and some
other registrars had their own services. All of those services were
competing against each other for the name you wanted. As a consequence, if
you REALLY wanted a name, you had to play all the games to maximize your
chances. Add up all the fees and you're well over whatever it is that VGRS
and the registrars will charge for this WLS.

So from the perspective of someone who has paid for these services in the
past, I don't particularly care what system the registrars adopt, but I do
think these two features are important:

   (a) the person first-in-line with a subscription always gets the domain
name when it deletes; and

   (b) change of ownership always happens at a defined time after the
previous owner's registration has lapsed (i.e. no more random periods
between expiration and deletion).

I hope the registrars will keep those in mind as they are evaluating the
VGRS proposal.

         -- Bret

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