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Re: [ga] Registerfly loses approximately 75,000 customer domains

Ted and all,

  Your right.  And what I mean when I say/write "ICANN" IS the
ICANN's Board of Directors as well as executive staff.

Prophet Partners Inc. wrote:

> Hi Jeff,
>
> To the contrary, ICANN itself should not be offering any financial
> compensation. Damages paid by ICANN would just be passed along to the
> registrant community, which has done nothing wrong. Rather, damages should
> be paid personally, by ICANN's Board of Directors, who have negligently
> failed in their fiduciary capacity to protect the public community. ICANN
> staff members who were responsible for informing the Board of the situation,
> but failed to do so should be fired. By ICANN's own admission in their RAA
> breach letter to Registerfly dated February 21, 2007, "In late 2005 and
> early 2006, ICANN began seeing a large number of complaints from Registerfly
> customers. (...)" Given the large number of complaints alleging ***
> FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY ***, it would have been logical for ICANN to launch
> their own investigation of Registerfly, as an ICANN accredited registrar.
> Instead, ICANN just passed the entire responsibility to eNom and shirked
> their own responsibility.
>
> We're thankful that ICANN was not appointed by the US Government to oversee
> Homeland Protection and prevent terrorism. Metaphorically, ICANN wouldn't
> get involved until it saw evidence that 75,000 people were murdered. At that
> point, ICANN would just give the terrorists a 3-week notice of possible
> retaliation, while innocent people continue to be murdered.
>
> Sincerely,
> Ted
> Prophet Partners Inc.
> http://www.ProphetPartners.com
> http://www.Premium-Domain-Names.com
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jeff Williams" <jwkckid1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: "Paul Stahura" <stahura@xxxxxxxx>
> Cc: "Prophet Partners Inc." <Domains@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>;
> <ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "icann board address" <icann-board@xxxxxxxxx>; "icann
> staff" <icann-staff@xxxxxxxxx>; "Paul Twomey" <twomey@xxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, February 26, 2007 4:15 AM
> Subject: Re: [ga] Registerfly loses approximately 75,000 customer domains
>
> > Paul and all,
> >
> >   Well done Paul, and thank you.  I still have the concern for those
> > registrants that were damaged by Registerfly's mismanagement?
> > What if anything is going to be done for them? Seems ICANN's
> > approach is lack luster.  Seems to me that both ICANN and
> > Registerfly should be offering financial compensation for those
> > damaged registrants.  I recognize the ramifications if they did so,
> > as in doing so their might be a resulting flud of damage suits asking
> > for even more financial restitution from those same registrants.  However
> > showing an effort in good faith may also have the effect of stemming
> > the tide of even higher $$ ask for in damage suits by Registerfly
> > registrants...
> >
> >   In any event it seems reasonable to me that even ICANN staff members,
> > and executives bare at least in part some liability for knowingly allowing
> > this mess to go on for so long and damage increasingly more registrants
> > as a result of not taking more direct action much sooner than they did
> > knowing at least to some degree early on something was seriously amiss...
> >
> >   It again now looks as though that ICANN's "Accreditation" is more paper
> > than substance.  However I have been declaring this refrain sense such
> > was conceived....
> >
> > Paul Stahura wrote:
> >
> > > I didn't know that number came from their website.  Obviously, *I*
> > > believe it is inaccurate.  The purpose of my email was to contribute my
> > > opinion which I believe more accurately states the magnitude of the
> > > impact of this event on the registrant community, which is part of what
> > > this GA email list is about.
> > >
> > > Knowing the number of names that remain in the registerfly eNom account
> > > (yes, we recently terminated their reseller agreement, but this is after
> > > approx one year since they've become ICANN accredited and moving names
> > > out of eNom; there are now less than 90K names left), and knowing the
> > > number of names in their ICANN accredited registrar, and a decent guess
> > > of how many of those .info names are registered to registerfly itself
> > > (or one registrant), the impact is still sizable, but VERY much less
> > > than 2 million names.  300-400K customer-registered names?
> > > If 1/12 expire per month, that's about 30K names in the next 30 days
> > > (this does not count updates).  Unfortunately, the vast majority of
> > > those are not at eNom so we cannot help those registrants.
> > >
> > > Regarding your valid comment about registrant confusion: eNom's customer
> > > service dept is working overtime and diligently with any registrants we
> > > can reach (or who reach us), and who have names in the registerfly eNom
> > > account, to minimize the impact of the registerfly situation on those
> > > registrants... and we have been for a very long time.  It's difficult to
> > > directly reach all the registrants who would be potentially affected,
> > > and I think it would also be appropriate to make a more detailed
> > > statement to this list on this subject, so I will have our customer
> > > service folks prepare one and send it out tomorrow.
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Prophet Partners Inc. [mailto:Domains@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> > > Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 2:59 PM
> > > To: ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > Subject: Re: [ga] Registerfly loses approximately 75,000 customer
> > > domains
> > >
> > > Hi Paul,
> > >
> > > The 2 million figure comes from Registerfly's own website.
> > > http://registerfly.com/info/about.php
> > > Quick Facts
> > >
> > >   a.. Founded in 2000
> > >   b.. ICANN Accredited
> > >   c.. 100% Debt Free
> > >   d.. Customers in all 50 states and 120 Countries
> > >   e.. 1,000,000 paying customers
> > >   f.. 300,000 + sites hosted on our Flyservers.com
> > >   g.. Over 2 million names registered
> > > >From what we understand, the 2 million figure includes names that are
> > > directly registered through Registerfly's ICANN accreditation, as well
> > > as
> > > names registered through the eNom reseller relationship. As eNom only
> > > recently terminated their relationship with Registerfly, many of the
> > > domains
> > > registered under this arrangement would appear to be in some type of
> > > limbo.
> > > Given the large number of registrants, it is axiomatic that some level
> > > of
> > > registrant confusion exists, especially regarding paid renewals that are
> > > now
> > > in redemption period or pending delete. As the President of eNom,
> > > perhaps
> > > you could clarify the situation and set the record straight.
> > >
> > > Sincerely,
> > > Ted
> > > Prophet Partners Inc.
> > > http://www.ProphetPartners.com
> > > http://www.Premium-Domain-Names.com
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Paul Stahura" <stahura@xxxxxxxx>
> > > To: "Prophet Partners Inc." <Domains@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>;
> > > <ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > Cc: "John M.R. Kneuer (U.S. Department of Commerce)"
> > > <jkneuer@xxxxxxxxxxxx>;
> > > "Vint Cerf" <vint@xxxxxxxxxx>; "Anick Jesdanun (Associated Press)"
> > > <netwriter@xxxxxx>; "Arik Hesseldahl (BusinessWeek)"
> > > <Arik_Hesseldahl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "Paul Sloan (Business2.com)"
> > > <psloan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "Scott Ard (c|net)" <sard@xxxxxxxx>; "Rachel
> > > Rosmarin (Forbes)" <rrosmarin@xxxxxxxxxx>; "Adam Gaffin (NetworkWorld)"
> > > <agaffin@xxxxxxx>; "Brian Krebs (Washington Post)"
> > > <brian.krebs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "CNN News Tips" <ireport@xxxxxxx>; "NY
> > > Times News Tips" <news-tips@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2007 4:24 PM
> > > Subject: RE: [ga] Registerfly loses approximately 75,000 customer
> > > domains
> > >
> > > um, I do not believe they manage anywhere near 2 million domains.
> > > Why does the 2 million number keep circulating?
> > >
> > > According to Webhosting.info
> > > http://www.webhosting.info/registrars/reports/total_domains/tld/REGISTER
> > > FLY.COM/
> > > they have 882K names in their cred, of which 563K are .info names.
> > > I suspect the vast majority of those .info names are not registered to
> > > customers (but to rfly itself).  Only about 300K are .com .net .info and
> > > .biz names.  If each customer has on average 3 names, thats 100K
> > > customers, that's still a ton of registrants but a far cry from 2
> > > million.
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Prophet Partners Inc. [mailto:Domains@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> > > Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 12:50 AM
> > > To: ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > Cc: John M.R. Kneuer (U.S. Department of Commerce); Vint Cerf; Anick
> > > Jesdanun (Associated Press); Arik Hesseldahl (BusinessWeek); Paul Sloan
> > > (Business2.com); Scott Ard (c|net); Rachel Rosmarin (Forbes); Adam
> > > Gaffin (NetworkWorld); Brian Krebs (Washington Post); CNN News Tips; NY
> > > Times News Tips
> > > Subject: Re: [ga] Registerfly loses approximately 75,000 customer
> > > domains
> > >
> > > Hi Jeff,
> > >
> > > That's correct, no one on this mailing list sees this as being a
> > > surprising
> > > event.
> > >
> > > Registerfly with an estimated 2 million domain names, is one of the top
> > > 10
> > > domain registrars in the world, as measured by the total number of
> > > domains
> > > under management. By their own admission in the court document mentioned
> > > earlier, they recently failed to register or renew approximately 35-40 %
> > > (75,000 / 200,000) of their customers' domains. Complaints are rampant,
> > > with
> > > customers that paid for timely renewals later receiving notification
> > > that
> > > their domains were expiring. To compound the problem, many people
> > > complain
> > > that their domains are now locked at Registerfly, without the ability to
> > > transfer out to another registrar. Customer accounts of customer support
> > > being unresponsive or unreachable are also widespread. This is far from
> > > being a small problem and certainly not representative of a secure and
> > > stable DNS.
> > >
> > > Given that Registerfly is ICANN accredited and ICANN's primary objective
> > > is
> > > to maintain and ensure the security and stability of the DNS, what has
> > > ICANN
> > > done and what should they do to protect domain registrants who are
> > > customers
> > > of Registerfly? Note that Danny Younger's message was sent to Vint Cerf,
> > > Chairman of ICANN's Board, nearly 3 months ago. What consumer benefits
> > > are
> > > there to choosing an ICANN accredited registrar over one that is not?
> > > What
> > > is ICANN doing to earn the $0.25 "tax" (without representation) for each
> > > annual domain registration / renewal paid by domain registrants (who
> > > have no
> > > influence on the shaping of ICANN policies)?
> > >
> > > ICANN wants to eventually gain autonomy from the U.S. Department of
> > > Commerce, but what have they demonstrated through past actions to prove
> > > that
> > > they are capable of being autonomous? To the contrary, ICANN has
> > > repeatedly
> > > shown that they do not act in the best interests of the public community
> > > of
> > > domain registrants.
> > >
> > > Sincerely,
> > > Ted
> > > Prophet Partners Inc.
> > > http://www.ProphetPartners.com
> > > http://www.Premium-Domain-Names.com
> > >
> > > CC: John M.R. Kneuer (Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications
> > > and
> > > Information, U.S. Department of Commerce - NTIA)
> > >     Vint Cerf (Chairman of the Board, ICANN)
> > >     Anick Jesdanun (Associated Press)
> > >     Arik Hesseldahl (BusinessWeek)
> > >     Paul Sloan (Business 2.0)
> > >     Scott Ard (c|net)
> > >     Rachel Rosmarin (Forbes)
> > >     Adam Gaffin (NetworkWorld)
> > >     Brian Krebs (The Washington Post)
> > >     CNN News Tips
> > >     The N.Y. Times News Tips
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Jeff Williams" <jwkckid1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > To: "Prophet Partners Inc." <Domains@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > Cc: <ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > > Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 12:30 AM
> > > Subject: Re: [ga] Registerfly loses approximately 75,000 customer
> > > domains
> > >
> > > > Ted and all,
> > > >
> > > >   Interesting, but not all that surprising.  On the surface it would
> > > seem
> > > > that the allegations are more based on poor expense reporting
> > > mechanisms
> > > > and even worse employee supervision or Registerfly is trying to cover
> > > > up some mistakes in registrar management.
> > > >
> > > > Prophet Partners Inc. wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > A February 12, 2007 complaint was filed by UNIFIEDNAMES, INC. d/b/a
> > > > > Registerfly and JOHN NARUSZEWICZ v. KEVIN MEDINA in the U.S.
> > > District
> > > Court
> > > > > of New Jersey. It states that as of December 2006, roughly 200,000
> > > domains
> > > > > were registered on behalf of customers and that approximately 75,000
> > > of
> > > > > these customer domains were lost since January 2007, due to the
> > > actions
> > > of
> > > > > the Defendant, which resulted in failure to pay the required
> > > registry
> > > fees.
> > > > >
> > > > > The Plaintiff alleges that the Defendant wasted company money to pay
> > > for
> > > a
> > > > > personal escort, rent on a Miami penthouse, personal credit card
> > > bills
> > > and
> > > > > liposuction, in addition to withdrawing thousands of dollars from
> > > company
> > > > > accounts for personal spending.
> > > > >
> > > > > http://registerflies.com/docman/cat_view-2.html
> > > > >
> > > > > This would certainly explain the Registerfly problems addressed by
> > > Danny
> > > > > Younger on November 30, 2006.
> > > > > http://gnso.icann.org/mailing-lists/archives/ga/msg05232.html
> > > > >
> > > > > However, ICANN's failure to act and protect Registerfly customers
> > > remains
> > > > > unexplained.
> > > > >
> > > > > Sincerely,
> > > > > Ted
> > > > > Prophet Partners Inc.
> > > > > http://www.ProphetPartners.com
> > > > > http://www.Premium-Domain-Names.com
> > > >
> > > > Regards,
> > > > --
> > > > Jeffrey A. Williams
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > --
> > Jeffrey A. Williams
> > Spokesman for INEGroup LLA. - (Over 134k members/stakeholders strong!)
> > "Obedience of the law is the greatest freedom" -
> >    Abraham Lincoln
> >
> > "Credit should go with the performance of duty and not with what is
> > very often the accident of glory" - Theodore Roosevelt
> >
> > "If the probability be called P; the injury, L; and the burden, B;
> > liability depends upon whether B is less than L multiplied by
> > P: i.e., whether B is less than PL."
> > United States v. Carroll Towing  (159 F.2d 169 [2d Cir. 1947]
> > ===============================================================
> > Updated 1/26/04
> > CSO/DIR. Internet Network Eng. SR. Eng. Network data security
> > IDNS. div. of Information Network Eng.  INEG. INC.
> > ABA member in good standing member ID 01257402
> > E-Mail jwkckid1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >  Registered Email addr with the USPS
> > Contact Number: 214-244-4827
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >

Regards,

--
Jeffrey A. Williams
Spokesman for INEGroup LLA. - (Over 134k members/stakeholders strong!)
"Obedience of the law is the greatest freedom" -
   Abraham Lincoln

"Credit should go with the performance of duty and not with what is
very often the accident of glory" - Theodore Roosevelt

"If the probability be called P; the injury, L; and the burden, B;
liability depends upon whether B is less than L multiplied by
P: i.e., whether B is less than PL."
United States v. Carroll Towing  (159 F.2d 169 [2d Cir. 1947]
===============================================================
Updated 1/26/04
CSO/DIR. Internet Network Eng. SR. Eng. Network data security
IDNS. div. of Information Network Eng.  INEG. INC.
ABA member in good standing member ID 01257402
E-Mail jwkckid1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
 Registered Email addr with the USPS
Contact Number: 214-244-4827
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