Re: [registrars] FW: Registrar Accuses VeriSign Of Predatory Marketing

["Tim Ruiz" <tim@godaddy.com>]

Exactly! There are two issues, the presentation of the piece and whether or
not it is misleading, and then just how they got the data in the first
place.

They did not have our bulk whois and even though many of us get concerned
about their close relationship with VeriSign-GRS, the registry does not
have this information. We have never, and will never, sell or rent our list
otherwise.

The mail piece that I got myself at home was for three domain names that I
registered through Go Daddy directly and have never moved, yet they had the
correct expiration date AND contact info.

That doesn't leave a lot of other possibilities besides mining our whois
data. If anyone has any other theories I'd certainly be interested in
hearing them.

Tim

 -------- Original Message --------
   Subject: [registrars] FW: Registrar Accuses VeriSign Of Predatory
Marketing
   From: "Bhavin Turakhia" <bhavin.t@directi.com>
   Date: Wed, March 27, 2002 9:35 pm
   To: "Registrars@Dnso. Org" <registrars@dnso.org>

   My concern is

   * How are they getting the name, mailing address and expiry date of
   these domain names??

   bhavin

   -----Original Message-----
   From: all.internal-owner@lists.directi.com
   [mailto:all.internal-owner@lists.directi.com]On Behalf Of Saurabh
   Pande Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2002 2:48 PM
   To: Internal List
   Subject: Registrar Accuses VeriSign Of Predatory Marketing


   Registrar Accuses VeriSign Of Predatory Marketing

   by David McGuire

   Go Daddy Software, an Internet address seller and Web hosting company,
   says that addressing giant VeriSign Inc. is attempting to dupe Go
   Daddy customers into transferring their domain name registrations to
   VeriSign.

   In a letter to its customers, Go Daddy accused VeriSign of sending out
   domain name "renewal notices" to Go Daddy users. The fine print of the
   direct mail notices reveals that signing and returning one of them
   authorizes VeriSign to transfer a customer's Internet address from Go
   Daddy to VeriSign.

   "The domain expiration notices are designed so that it is not obvious
   that the notices are from VeriSign Inc. as opposed to Go Daddy
   Software," Go Daddy President Bob Parsons wrote in the letter.

   "What it relies on is deception. It relies on the individual to be
   unsuspecting (and) uninformed. It's a trick," Parsons told Newsbytes.
   "To me, that's no way to do business."

   Go Daddy has posted an electronic image of one of the VeriSign notices
   - which Parsons says went out to Go Daddy customers - on its Web site
   at http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/private_vsrn.asp?display=letter .

   VeriSign spokesman Pat Burns confirmed that his company had sent out
   the notices as a mass mailing, but said that there was nothing
   improper about them.

   "Everything we send has our name on it," Burns said. "It's a
   competitive marketplace. We reach out to a variety of different
   customers to make them aware of our services."

   But while Parsons conceded that the VeriSign mailing did bear
   VeriSign's corporate logo, he said the notice contained no pitch to
   customers about why they should switch their service away from Go
   Daddy.

   Parsons said he has received notes from several Go Daddy customers who
   thought it was a simple renewal form.

   Parsons said that Go Daddy executives are still attempting to
   determine whether they can or should take action against VeriSign over
   the notices.

   The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) -
   which manages the Internet's addressing system and accredits Internet
   registrars like Go Daddy and VeriSign - will look into the matter,
   ICANN spokeswoman Mary Hewitt said today.