Re: [ga] Domain Registry of America - Domain slamming

[Karl Auerbach <karl@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Yes there are some of us still here.

I also have received a lot of those DoA solicitations.

It is quite clear that they are data minining the whois database to get 
their information.
If they are an accredited registrar it is not clear that violates their 
ICANN contract.
But even if it does ICANN has refused to give internet users a thing 
called "third party beneficiary rights" - without those we have no power 
to require ICANN to enforce the terms of its contracts because, simply, 
we are not a party to those contracts.
It is a slap in the fact of the community of internet users for ICANN to 
refuse third party beneficiary status.  ICANN claims that they do so in 
order to maintain uniformity of resolutions to contract matters.
But that argument would have force only if ICANN actually enforced its 
agreements so that it had something to be uniform about.
Getting back to DoA - they are so much a scam that I am surprised that 
the FTC has not gone after them.  They charge 3x, 4x, or more what other 
registrars do.  (And I'm not sure that they even provide anything 
equivalent to the maintenance tools that real registrars provide.)
I've noticed over the years that they keep adding more disclaimers to 
their small, and it is very small, print.  I suspect that they are 
trying to dance around the enforcement agencies.
ICANN should initiating an inquiry, and if necessary, pull their 
accreditation and perhaps initiate a civil action or a criminal 
complaint if the facts suggest that that those actions are warranted.
ICANN exists to protect domain name stability for our benefit.  They 
don't do it in the technical arena, and as DoA indicates they don't do 
much on the business practice side that ICANN has chosen for its work.
        --karl--