Re: [ga] Why Bret Fausett likes WLS?

[Don Brown <donbrown_l@inetconcepts.net>]

Bret,

Being confused and frustrated due to multiple and varied choices,
doesn't, in itself, make having only one choice most beneficial. In
looking for a mortgage, there are many brokers who have a multitude of
plans. I'd much rather have the confusion and frustration than being
forced to deal with only one source. That's particularly true when I
know to expect a high price, not to expect any real value in return
and when I know that the sole vendor doesn't have the best reputation
in terms of customer service, ethics and scruples.

Indeed, this is the same corporation which is under at least two
TRO's, the last I checked, and which is reportedly being investigated
by the USPS for mail fraud. This is the same corporation which does
not honor the standard practice for domain transfers between
Registrars. This is the very group which is known to offer to expedite
almost anything for an additional $$, although it probably should have
already been done or been done correctly and, I submit, most probably
imposes artificial or calculated delays in order to cause the
consumer' frustration and desperation necessary to extort the
additional funds. I think their innovation and creativity is focused
on, and limited to, all the ways that a consumer can be gouged. Hello,
WLS.

I wonder what WLS will really be, or look like, with this corporation
at the switch. I think it's like having the fox guard the hen house.

Even worse, there will be no option to take your business elsewhere,
given an unpleasant experience. Going to a different Registrar won't
do a bit of good, since the real corporation at the switch will be the
very same.  WLS eliminates the consumer's choice of vendors.

WLS is only more efficient, in one sense, if you happen to get the WLS
option. There is still no way to be certain of that, unless you get
the option at the same instant that you register the domain name.
Hmm, could this evolve to a new standard -- taking us back to those
magical numbers of $35 or $50 per domain year?  A bit of nostalgia for
someone, but not I.

Like the other available services, having a WLS option doesn't
guarantee you'll get the domain name.  It does, however, guarantee
you'll pay the fee.  There are some of us who would like to retain the
option of not having to pay for something when we get no real value.
WLS will eliminate that choice.

During the sunrise of WLS, how can Joe consumer with limited financial
resources and time, compete for a WLS option with speculators and
others with more significant budgets and time.  Just like with the
launch of some of the TLD's, the chances rise if you have the means
and time to purchase through multiple sources.  How does Joe consumer
benefit?  On the other hand, Joe consumer can participate in the
current market and get his money back, if he doesn't get the domain
name.

I respect your opinion about the efficiency of WLS. Equally, it could
be argued that having only one auto manufacturer, like Volkswagen for
example, would be more efficient. That would certainly be
uncomplicated and not very confusing to the consumer. What a terrible
world it would be, though, if you didn't like VWs. I wonder what the
employees, stockholder and dealers of GM would think about this
concept. Moreover, how about those consumers who wouldn't buy anything
but a Chevrolet?

What, I wonder, would happen to the price, if the sole VW manufacturer
made the available supply scarce or only produced one red VW in every
200,000 manufactured. Would the warranty be any consideration to the
manufacturer? How about service? What's their incentive to be consumer
friendly, innovative and lower the price, when they are the only game
in town?

Monopoly has been shown, time and again, to be detrimental to
consumers. WLS will not be any different. In fact, it could even be
much worse, with a certain corporation at the switch. I think the hens
should be really scared, at the mere thought of it.

Thanks,


Monday, July 15, 2002, 12:24:13 AM, Bret Fausett <fausett@lextext.com> wrote:
BF> Boris Passer wrote:
>> Now, Bret, look at http://forum.icann.org/wls/. Who are all these people who
>> made these hundreds of posts in opposition of WLS? Aren't they that very
>> consumers who you thought should benefit from WLS?
>> Wouldn't you like to revoke your pro-WLS argument? Are you still a supporter
>> of WLS?

BF> Boris,

BF> Thanks for the nice words about my weblog.

BF> You're correct that I have no connection to Verisign or Snapnames, and when
BF> I write that I like the WLS proposal, I'm speaking only from my own
BF> experience. I've used the existing available services a handful of times to
BF> register one expiring domain name for myself and perhaps three or four for
BF> clients. In doing so, I found the current system confusing and frustrating.
BF> What's worse is that under the current system you can increase your odds of
BF> getting an expiring domain name by using the services of multiple
BF> registrars; I can understand why the registrar industry would like that, but
BF> I don't see the benefit to consumers. Based on my own experience, I like
BF> what I've read about the WLS and think it might well be an improvement over
BF> the status quo. That's me speaking as a consumer.

BF> Speaking as someone who watches ICANN and the companies it accredits, I'm
BF> sympathetic to the view that the WLS might usurp current registrar service
BF> offerings. The Board might be justified in rejecting a superior service in
BF> order to preserve existing business models, but I'll leave that judgment to
BF> the Board. As a consumer, I'd prefer the WLS.

BF>      -- Bret

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