[ga] .travel registry near death

["Edward Hasbrouck" <edward@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/001264.html

Aside from any of the other problems with the way that the franchise to 
"sponsor" the ".travel" top-level Internet domain name was awarded by 
ICANN to what is now the Tralliance division of theglobe.com, a travel 
business would have to be run by a real speculator to risk their Internet 
brand on a registry run by a compnay this close to liquidation:

"Fort Lauderdale firm, once a high-flying dot-com, is set to go out of 
business  (By Ian Katz, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, May 18, 2007):

"... In a quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange 
Commission last week, theglobe.com said management does not think the 
company can fund its operations beyond this month unless it receives more 
money. As of May 4, the company had a cash balance of $480,000. Last 
quarter it reported a net loss of $2.8 million on revenues of $431,742.... 
The company's finances took a big hit in April when it paid $2.55 million 
to settle allegations that it sent 400,000 spam e-mail messages to users 
of MySpace, the popular social networking Web site.... Theglobe has 
abandoned Voiceglo, an Internet phone business, and a computer games 
operation. It now runs Tralliance, a wholesale seller of Internet domain 
names ending in dot-travel. Theglobe acquired Tralliance in 2005...."

Does ICANN have a plan to deal with a registry liquidation?

My request for an independent review of the (lack of) transparency of 
ICANN's original decision to create a .travel domain with Tralliance as 
registry remains pending after more than two years. All of ICANN's 
mechanisms for so-called accountability have proven meaningless when I've 
actually tested them.


----------------
Edward Hasbrouck
<edward@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<http://hasbrouck.org>
+1-415-824-0214

"The Practical Nomad: How to Travel Around the World"
(3rd edition, 2004, 4th edition forthcoming 2007)
"The Practical Nomad Guide to the Online Travel Marketplace"
<http://www.practicalnomad.com>

Around-the-World and multi-stop international air tickets:
http://www.airtreks.com/tools/landing.php?ref=main&dst=eh