Your post is indeed very informative. These days not only amateur webmasters are doing internet marketing but also young grad students are promoting their less professional sites as their practice and projects. Articles on starting an internet marketing business are available on the internet easily.
bob i just read what you had to say about the domain drag and drop scheme and i thought it was a great article with a great point and all.
But what about those who are trying to make a living online but cant seem to get there domains unparked! say 0258one or two are being advertised as available and have already been bought why is it that they were parked for anyway your friend.
scot corbett
The drag and drop scheme is a way to make things easier for those who have problems with coding. Nice post Bob All Natural Penis Enlargement Program (http://www.penis-enlargement-products.biz) on Nov 27 2007, 09:31am Reply
Since it would only happen during the initial creation of the pointers legitimate users wouldn't be affected. Sure new domains wouldn't be usable as quickly as they are now, but how often do you need to set up a new domain right now www.accepted.co.uk (http://www.alwaysfinance.co.uk) on Oct 30 2007, 09:27am Reply
....Another solution would be to shorten the add/drop period while also delaying the initial creation of the DNS Another solution would be to shorten the add/drop period while also delaying the initial creation of the DNS Sohbet (http://www.cetsohbet.com) on Apr 29 2007, 08:20pm Reply
Wow! Very good idea, indeed! But I don't think anybody is willing to applicate it, nor ICANN will do...
Jean-Marie Sohbet (http://www.chatarkadas.net) on Apr 5 2007, 07:46am Reply
Since it would only happen during the initial creation of the pointers legitimate users wouldn't be affected. Sure new domains wouldn't be usable as quickly as they are now, but how often do you need to set up a new domain right now
i too was registering a domain using nameboy and added it to shopping cart and came to pay for it and it showed it sold! to CAPITOLDOMAINS, LLC, belguim entity or something, dug around and it was under psychic whois. i thought i made a mistake, but then found your info and felt some sense of relief. felt like doing it all day long to let them continue buying other domains. but more than anything, it felt like an invasion, a rudeness that upset me. how many people would buy a person's last name for a domain? their market it small for such domains. how horrible. thank you for letting me know i wasn't going insane. char koho (http://none) on Feb 21 2007, 12:08pm Reply
Since it would only happen during the initial creation of the pointers legitimate users wouldn't be affected. Sure new domains wouldn't be usable as quickly as they are now, but how often do you need to set up a new domain right now Sohbet (http://www.trsohbet.com) on Feb 15 2007, 09:39pm Reply
thankyou.! sohbet (http:// http://www.alemsohbet.net) on Feb 10 2007, 04:09pm Reply
It would be nice to have a spellchecker there to remind people to check their spelling sohbet (http://www.chat-sohbet.com) on Feb 7 2007, 04:14am Reply
Bob,
I posted on another thread talking about your super bowl ads, which I disagree with. But one reason I love your service is because you fight problems like this and i will point it out to anyone who complains about the ads. Thank you.
Look at this post form. You see the "spam-prevention image" there? It is called captcha, but a very easy-defeated one...
By simply requiring a little harder captcha to be entered if a domain should be purchased or dropped. And require that vision-imparied persons using screen reader should click on a voice link to hear the code.
And using different TYPES of captcha each time a domain should be registred or dropped.
And make captcha an requirement to register an domain, by letting VERISIGN's server send a captcha that the organisations that sell domains, must relay to the end user purchasing a domain.
And in the WHOIS record publish the captcha validation result so users can see that its not an bot that has registred the domain.
Yes this is very bad thing because a person paid for that link and various thing attached with that link and after some time you drop that name. Alexis Edwin (http://www.ukonlinemarket.co.uk) on Nov 23 2006, 02:59am Reply
Sohf Go Daddy is addressing a true problem and not omitting information or lying about this situation... if you had any business sense, you'd make that fee non-refundable and increase it to double... to fund research that stays in contact with the industry watchdogs... to hire young genius to stop the abusers in their tracks. Sohbet (http://www.cetsohbet.com) on Apr 29 2007, 08:22pm Reply
I appreciate that you keep your blog going and allow comments. To me feedback is an interesting part of a website. Melisse (http://allabouttheworld.com) on Dec 23 2006, 06:08pm Reply
Bob,
Don't know if you will reply to this, but belgiumdomains.com pounced on one of my client's domain name after they accidentally let it expire. They had thousands of dollars in advertising promoting their domain name, one of several, which all pointed to the same web site where they sell coins. The domain is 1866thecoin.com and, just as you said, it points to search engine links that sell coins, NONE of which point to my client's site. NICE.
Im sure that belgiumdomains.com used the add/drop scheme which ICANN allows registrars to utilize to steal web traffic, and belgiumdomains.com quickly discovered that this particular domain was profitable, so they pounced and purchased it... now what is my client to do? Pay thousands of dollars to get it back? It's outright theft. ICANN needs to provide a legitimate service to the users of the internet, not the thieves and scammers of the internet. I've watched ICANN for some years now continue to service scam artists until the public cry gets so loud they have to do something or face government action. Maybe it IS time for government action. What is ICANN's problem? IS ICANN making money on this ADD/DROP scam? OF COURSE THEY ARE! Which is why they won't address it until they are forced to.
Bob, please provide a forum for the public to address this problem to the regulators of ICANN directly. You are the only one I know of with the integrety and wherewithall who can actually pull this off. Don (http://prositeserver.com) on Aug 28 2006, 01:41pm Reply
Don,
Belgiumdomains just did the same thing to one of my clients domain names and we're in a tail spin to figure out how to get it back. Did you have any luck? Thanks Jay Jay on Jul 16 2007, 03:00pm Reply
I'm sure you are aware of the UDRP procedure which costs about $1500 and offers a fast and effective way to regain registrations which infringe trademark rights. We are intellectual property attorneys in the UK and have successfully handled a couple of UDRP cases recently, so let me know if you would like more information. The policy is here: http://www.icann.org/udrp/
Good luck! Steve Finch on Apr 26 2007, 04:33am Reply
I know a better idea, called CAPTCHA.
Look at this post form. You see the "spam-prevention image" there? It is called captcha, but a very easy-defeated one...
By simply requiring a little harder captcha to be entered if a domain should be purchased or dropped. And require that vision-imparied persons using screen reader should click on a voice link to hear the code.
And using different TYPES of captcha each time a domain should be registred or dropped.
And make captcha an requirement to register an domain, by letting VERISIGN's server send a captcha that the organisations that sell domains, must relay to the end user purchasing a domain.
And in the WHOIS record publish the captcha validation result so users can see that its not an bot that has registred the domain. sebastian nielsen on Aug 18 2006, 01:54pm Reply
Wow! Very good idea, indeed! But I don't think anybody is willing to applicate it, nor ICANN will do...
Jean-Marie Jean-Marie Le Ray (http://www.adscriptor.com) on Aug 20 2006, 12:48am Reply
Here is an article in eWeek describing another problem related to domain problem you describe: someone is somehow spying on WHOIS search results:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1991365,00.asp
r
The thing described in the article happened to me, too. I searched for a domain, and it was not taken. I tried to buy it a few hours later, and it was taken.
Here is what happened to me recently: I came up with a cool domain name, and I used the WHOIS at dnsstuff.com to check it. It was free. Then, later today, I tried to buy it.. and it was registered by a guy called Wang Lee:
Wang Lee Domains Ltd.
Suite 410, 4th Floor
Barkly Wharf
Le Caudan Waterfront, Port Louis
MU
+852.30149162
+852.30149162
contact@wangleedomains. com
I have searched the web. This happened to lots of people.
He seems to somehow SPY on WHOIS searches and buy the good-sounding domain names from them.
I have contacted him later and he asked for $995 for the domain name.
How is this possible? How can some guys spy on WHOIS searches?
Please write an article so that everybody is warned!
I have am unusual name, so it was easy for me to find {myname}.com available for registration a few years ago.
I checked domain name availability near 11 pm using Yahoo Small Business system, but I hesitated a bit, because I was looking for a great registrar and I didn't have any experience with Yahoo. The next day, at about 3am, the domain name was registered by another guy in the US, named Charles M. Hatcher. I Googled him by that time, and did not find anything. I recently checked him, and found some interesting results about his whereabouts.
I was so mad!!! How was it possible. I checked every internet source on domain felonies, but this kind of "robbery" was not described. SNIPING/SQUATTING was described everywhere, but it was related to EXPIRED DOMAINS being captured after the original owner missed the renewal. In my case, that domain name had never been registered before, so there was no way to prove that it was lost due to spying.
Sadly, I didn't learn the lesson the first time, and I lost not only my name, but also 3 great domain ideas, ALWAYS AFTER USING YAHOO to check domain availability. It has never happened to me using GoDaddy, but definitely I have learned the lesson: whenever you have a great idea on domain names, don't hesitate, don't take a nap, go register it and you won't be sorry. Never check availability and go away if that particular name is important to you.
I think that we, the victims of such spying, should organize the available info and make a website to expose these guys, wherever they are.
Note: I managed to acquire {myname}.com after bargaining it from $1000 to $250. So much for hesitating about a $19 registration (they weren't as cheap as nowadays). Lesson learned. VZ (http://www.vztools.com) on Oct 10 2006, 06:26pm Reply
I also came up with a unique name and did not search the whois register. I just did my search on godaddy. The name that I choose would not mean a hoot to anybody else. I am a stay at home mom with a small art hobby. I built my own web page and everything. When I tried to register my domain name it was taken that same morning by that shister Wang Lee. This is just not fair to every day people just needing a small web page like myself. I believe he has a tap on GoDaddy's search engine. To me, that sounds like a breech in security. I think they should invest in some type of firewall for their search engine. This shady shister needs to be stopped!!! andrea beeler on Aug 3 2006, 11:20am Reply
Same thing for me — located in Mauritius, an island off of Africa, known for its "offshore" biz capabilities — I too had a good domain looked up that was gone when I went to register it 20 minutes later (after receiving a go ahead from a client). Bob, can this fraudster be exposed!!?? stevo on Jul 31 2006, 11:36am Reply
Well I have a question? For some one to answer where do people get off on Domain names, and why do these guys own domains that are in other peoples names.
Where did they get the licences to sell our domain names. Did they just do what they did in the big land rush just go and claim everyones names and keep adding too it.
I mean really how does it work i thought air space was endless and that we will never run out of cyber space. scot corbett on Jun 23 2006, 08:42am Reply
Hi Bob and everyone here,
I'd like to name registrars and registrant who catch domains and then release them.
(#15 Krysti Mikkonen) is the registrant DOMAINBOT and registrars Belgiumdomains LLC, Domaindoorman LLC and Capitoldomains LLC ?
Because i had the same situation, and it is very strange im using DomainPunchPro for domain name check, and as soon as i check the domains, they are registered within a day by the same registrant ! after that i do not use this kind of applications to check domain availability, now around 50 software engineers in our company are analysing this application for spyware and if so we are going to start official investigation.
P.S. this is not for this article, but this is idea for Bob,
it is time to do something with SORBS, i think they are just extortioners, and the idea is to build AntiSORBS community, and i'm sure a lot of hosting providers will support this idea
WE need to get rid of the Add/Drop problem rivonne on Jun 8 2006, 01:03pm Reply
http://news.com.com/2100-1032_3-6079567.html
"The lawsuit, filed Thursday by high-end retailers Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, alleges that Dotster abused its status as a registrar by "checking out" hundreds of domain names that closely resemble the correct ones—and then keeping only the ones that were visited by Web users"
bob i just read what you had to say about the domain drag and drop scheme and i thought it was a great article with a great point and all.
But what about those who are trying to make a living online but cant seem to get there domains unparked! say 0258one or two are being advertised as available and have already been bought why is it that they were parked for anyway your friend.
scot corbett scot corbett (http://my msn.com) on May 27 2006, 01:47am Reply
I did just notice this,I was looking for a likeable domain name that might get alot of traffic for my site, and someone had the name I would have liked with a search engine and some ads, I wanted to put some soild content under that domain name and hopefully get some great traffic. I have been trying to make money on the internet for the past year, the old fashioned way with content and product not schemes, Excellent article! and yeah what the heck do we pay ICANN for anyway!!
Thanks Carolyn Carolyn (http://www.healthy7ph.com) on May 25 2006, 04:16pm Reply
Another solution would be to shorten the add/drop period while also delaying the initial creation of the DNS pointers. This would make the domain unreachable during the add/drop period. Since it would only happen during the initial creation of the pointers legitimate users wouldn't be affected. Sure new domains wouldn't be usable as quickly as they are now, but how often do you need to set up a new domain right now? Peter on May 25 2006, 04:09am Reply
I'd be interested to hear your theories on why ICANN has failed to act on this. The change you suggest seems fairly simple to implement, and the magnitude of the issue is sufficient that it's obviously been through a phase of discussion and critical evaluation over at ICANN - which resulted in a decision of inaction.
Why would ICANN decide not to act? Is it a legal issue? Are they under political pressure? Are they afraid of a backlash from legitimate registrars? Or are those who hold resposibility for the situation benefiting directly from the add/drop scheme? Matt Jacobson on May 21 2006, 02:08pm Reply
Jasmine,
Another thought,
If your fundamentals of life preclude you from paying 9 bucks a year to renew your precious "BABY", maybe you should consider using your domain to sell something with a slightly wider profit margin.
If you have to choose between your rent and your domain name, Bob giving you 5 days isn't going to help you. Your problems are much deeper. Fred on May 18 2006, 01:09am Reply
I like your article and your expalanaion. I just can't undersatnd why they pay so little attention to this situation... Maybe because small business and ordinary users are not organized to lobby this?....
Long time customer here, and I knew there was something I loved about this company! I appreciate how creative Mr. Parsons is, and that coupled with good business practices and an apparent firm grip on integrity...I recommend anyone to this company! The customer service is the best, and the technical stuff...well...I don't worry about it because they do such a great job.
thanks goDaddy! Connie Cooper on May 15 2006, 04:45pm Reply
This makes me grateful we have Nominet in the UK who would never a let a situation like add/drop exist.
Maybe I just need to get used to it, but I wish you'd come up with a better name than add/drop. I propose "poncing" instead.
Wow, I read this article a couple of times, and realize how on the money Bob is. I salute you for coming forward. Thanks. Sharon on May 14 2006, 02:45pm Reply
Aahhhhhhhhhh now I get it...
I had to re-read the article several times, before it became apparent, what you were referring to.
I agree in full....Absolutely NO REFUNDS. I think a registered name should be permanent for the length of time agrred to (usually 1-2 years). NO GRACE PERIOD, unless it has been in use for over a year.
And lets face it search engines aren't what they used to be.. To much steering.
Thanks for letting us know about this issue. With a little common sense (like your $0.25 suggestion) most of this can be stopped.
I'm usually frustrated when I try to get a domain name, because most of the best ones are taken. But you helped me realize that perhaps they are being "borrowed" instead.
Greetings Bob, and thank you for another informative post/
I would like to see a future article on "abuses" by registrars and agents such as selling domain name query results. All too many times I have checked on the availability of a domain name for a client, only to have it registered elsewhere within a short time of the query.
A list of registrars known to participate in the sale of this information, and a list of those known not to participate in the sale of domain name availability queries would be very valuable information to your customer base, IMHO.
Thanks and regards,
Tony Tony (North Central Texas, USA) on May 9 2006, 05:10pm Reply
I wasn't even aware that schemes like this were going on. It's rediculous that people can abuse the system that badly. If it was like 1-2% of the domains being refunded I could understand, but not 90%!
I just ready your article on people that buy many domain names and then drop them within 5 days. I want to thank you. Last month, I went to buy a domain name that was for legitimate use. The exact name I wanted had been purchased the day before by someone in Venezuela.
After reading your article, I decided to try it again on the off chance that name had been cancelled. Sure enough, the domain name was now available.
I hope you are right and ICANN considers implementing your idea of the $.25 fee. Who knows how many times this may have happened to me before but I didn't realize if I had waited, it may have been available just five days later.
I respect you and the life you have lived, the company you've built and your place in the industry; but you are so disconnected with the levers and mechanics that drive much of the high margin business relating to domains that I don't know where to begin.
Suffice it to say that Verisign could have shut down the catch and release (batch testing) process in November and it would not have made a hamburger-hill of beans difference to anyone who was savy enough to understand the space.
My .7881 EURO Frank S on May 8 2006, 07:50pm Reply
Frank, I humbly submit that, though I am studying internet technology nearly 24/7, my novice status leaves me unable to grasp your clearly vital response to Bob's blog.
I assume (shame on me) that you've already typed the entire length and girth of your observations and have it at your disposal. Would you be willing to send the whole argument to me? Whatever of it I don't understand, I'll research without annoying you. But I have a feeling that you know some vital things that I and all of us should become aware of, including your "suffice it to say" statement, which went over my head.
Have pity on this poor underling! ))) Help a guy out!
Thanks Frank!
Lou Morales, Orange County, CA Lou Morales (http://none yet) on May 10 2006, 06:37pm Reply
Hello Bob, As I've used godaddy.com and had as many as 700 domains with you at one time so I have a request. I know sex sells and your Super Bowl ads surely attracted attention to godaddy.com and most people now know who you are. Bravo on building your business. Being a homegrown girl your ads at first seemed a bit well.... I'm sorry to say that I figured you were some computer troll like geek that now had enough funds to probably hold your own auditions for your godaddy.com commercial girls. Sorry Bob! I've heard many different reactions from all kinds of people regarding your advertising. You're a brilliant man and it's quite refreshing seeing individuals run their businesses the way they want. Admitting past failures is a hard thing to do and I respected your honesty on one of your past blogs. I can't recall just how much money you said you lost but your belief in yourself and perseverance was what stuck in my mind. Now to my request, The Missouri Department of Conservation is having a Women In the Outdoors Event and I've been asked to help round up donations in goods, services, and find corporate sponsors. I'd really like godaddy.com to help with our event. What do you think Bob? I promise we're not just a bunch of manly type girls, all-though between you and I there might be a few of those who show up. I guess deep down "please don't tell anyone" I wish I could look like a godaddy.com girl but that's just not ever going to happen. The good thing is that if you ever found yourself stranded in the woods for days with me we would most likely survive! I'm not too sure you wouldn't parish with a godaddy.com girl however they'd probably find you with a big smile on your face after the spring thaws! LOL, Anyway, it's my wish that you would promote the outdoors to women and youth by helping in some way. I'd be happy to forward the Conservation's contact names for more information on the Women in the outdoors programs. Warm Regards, Sarah Trimbath 417-637-0088 Sarah M. Trimbath on May 8 2006, 04:06pm Reply
Gutsy "self-promotion" Sarah. (I understand, so please relax.)
I was a bit surprised to read a fundraising pitch in this forum that had nothing to do with your cause, but your bravado woke me up to the opportunity to use such venues to promote - meaning make people aware - of a good cause. When it comes to causes, it takes a very broad audience to come up with the scanty funding necessary to further the cause.
My thing is Russian orphans in today's post-USSR Russian Federation (very long story... no, I'm not Russian). I have no organization; I'm winging it on my own, and it's not enough. But I learned from you that, even if people like Bob Parsons doesn't give penny number one to your cause, you still reached countless other eyes, among which you are bound to find sympathetic supporters.
Thanks for having the guts to be politically incorrect. You gave my a grand idea in my solo plight to end an unspeakable horror, thanks to the capitalization of the FUS.
Sincerely,
Lou Morales Lou Morales (http://none yet) on May 10 2006, 07:12pm Reply
Nice page
As a good friend of mine ( Harald Seeley / EA ) would say:
"Mobbing of the century is tolerated and directed by me, what is not tolerated by myself is that others talk in my presence which could bring up their constructive ideas".
What ever - Keep the good work going ! Thomas D. (http://Priv) on May 17 2006, 07:13am Reply
Comment on the add/drop scheme which I too have believe has complete destroyed the integrity of the web and search. Now you search for a keyword and all you find is results from another dumb search engine wantabe site. Search engines like google, Yahoo and so on should band these sites. All they do is clutter the web with more garbage and not good sites. I tried to get and backordered http://buyenergydrinks.com/ for my business that is a major seller of energy drinks and sport drinks. didn't get the backorder that I set with godaddy, because of the add/drop scheme. And now look at the site that is live. http://buyenergydrinks.com/ worthless to everyone, but a way for someone to make a mess of the web and clutter it up, and also can't be used for good reasons.
Very frustrating to people and could put to good use Craig Gress Craig Gress (http://www.bodyconcept.com) on May 7 2006, 05:23pm Reply
Just take a look at HOSTGATOR.ORG, not exactly add/drop scheme, but also rather annoying... The most annoying is that there are too many of that king. Is not it possible to stop that???
Aha! I knew that a practice you described had to be going on, as it's happened too many times to me that I knew it could not be incidental ... domain registrars selling off search/query results to someone or else registering the names that were searched (but not purchased immediately) themselves.
Five years ago I queried the registry for "goldandblue.com". To my surprise it was available, but waiting 24 hours was a mistake I will not make again. Five years later, there is still no website at goldandblue.com. I have a couple more that this has happened to, but I'm still holding out for the names because I can use them. Goldandblue.com is a name that would have related nicely to a place I was working at the time but not now, which may explain why I no longer want it although I can see profitable uses for it.
While this is not an example of add/drop, but more of cybersquatting and selling of registry queries, it still seems very unfair. Thanks for the light — a conspiracy is going on! Scott McCain (http://www.athleticsite.com) on May 6 2006, 08:27pm Reply
Hi Scott.
I just read your post regarding Bob Parson's blog about the add/drop scheme.
Try as I may, I fail to find reference to any selling of registry queries businesses or offers online. Does this actually happen? Is godaddy or internic part of the problem, or do some smart guys have software that allows them to capture queries?
Please advise, as your point is super important!
Thanks,
Lou Morales Lou Morales (http://none yet) on May 10 2006, 07:17pm Reply
I don't have any proof, except for taking Bob's word on it. He is regarded as an expert in the Internet community, or at least in the domain registration business, and lying would not benefit him, so I took it at face value.
I seriously doubt you will find much written about it anywhere, because it's more of an underground practice that we've naively like to believe is not happening, but more than likely is. I could liken it to government conspiracy theories, but since there are far fewer subscribers to domain-registrars-selling-search-results-to-thieving-entrepreneur concepts, the lack of popularity of the subject would whittle down any online commentary on the subject to nothing.
Let's ask Bob to make this his next blog topic! Scott McCain on May 15 2006, 12:13pm Reply
Thankyou for you educating me on this subject,I used to pay a service to send me a list of expired domains on any given day and after investing 4 months @ 35.00 per month decided that it was a complete waste of time,as you know just about everything you try to register has already been snatched up by the people with the fancy software,Iguess I should have waited 5 or 6 days to look at expired lists then some of them or most of them would be available again,as if by magic darren crumbleholme (http://www.highbills.com) on May 6 2006, 12:04pm Reply
I don't think the $0.25 is enough of a barrier.
A host with a wholesale registration account is in a position to know exactly how much traffic a domain gets — and if they wanted to know; query / search keywords used, type in traffic, inbound links, Google PR and slew of other stats. It would be simple picking to flip the names that WILL generate a lot more than $0.25 in PPC revenue.
I vote with what others suggest: no grace period. You wanna play, register the name and pay the fees.
Alternately, a period where the name gets dropped from zone files and does not resolve would also stop the problem. Randy Harris (http://www.lexipixel.com) on May 5 2006, 08:17pm Reply
I would put the description of the add/drop scheme at the top instead of in the middle.
All through the article I had no idea what you were referring to, until I got to the point below:
How the add/drop scheme works - first they make a large cash deposit.
The registrars who participate in the add/drop scheme first make a large cash deposit with the VeriSign registry. David Lynch (http://www.techguide.ca) on May 5 2006, 05:05pm Reply
Making the 25-cent fee nonrefundable will help a little, and it should be done, but it won't help much.
I suspect that the folks committing this abuse are averaging more than five cents a day per domain name.
More effective, I suspect, would be
1. Steps to prevent automated registering of large numbers of names, and/or a limit to the number of orders that can be charged to any person or entity per day.
2. No more than ten refunds per day for any person or entity.
3. Severe financial penalties to folks caught using multiple accounts/identities to exceed these limits. Wes Groleau (http://www.northwestallentrails.org) on May 5 2006, 11:40am Reply
Actually, Wes, the $.25 fee might have a huge effect on the add/droppers.
Sure when you consider registering 100,000 domains at $.25 a pop - that's a cool $25,000 in non-refundable fees they have never had to pay before! When you consider that they were doing the same thing for free only a month before. that's a huge cut in the profit margin.
I think, though, that Bob missed the second tier effect that this fee would invoke - and that is the effect it would have on the registrars that allow Add/droppers to do their work.
As a registrar, honestly I don't know how he missed it. When you consider that the $25,000 fee is in fact ICANN's profit, it brings the whole deal into perspective. As a registrar you would suddenly be paying that fee on services not rendered! No profit margin - strictly working as a middle man moving the fees straight from the clients hands to ICANN. When you add in processing fees and other sundry costs, the registrars are suddenly losing money from these transactions. When you cut at the profits, you'll see fewer doors opening to this practice.
What would result would either be a stop at the registrar level of these types of transactions or you would begin to see non-refundable registrar fees to counteract the loss. Either way, it would be win-win for the common businessman.
Good article, I hope that someone at ICANN wakes up and takes notice, but I doubt it, it would mean they have to do some work for their money. Its good to see that someone involved in the registering of domains is interested in cleaing up the way they are sold both in the US and in the EU.
There are so many scams involving registering, renewing and selling domains it would be nice to see ICANN/Verisign make a start by acting on something it would be easy to fix.
Even some of the country registrars such as NOMINET in the UK are not above shady dealings, they write to the owners of domain names coming up for renewal saying that they will send a pro-forma invoice for renewal of a .co.uk domain name. The price they quote is 80 UK pounds, against the renewal price at yourselves or other reliable sellers of about 5 pounds a year.
If the government authorised agencies are involved in underhand scemes like this you will have an uphill struggle to clean up the selling of domain names.
Keep on fighting for your customers Bob, and good luck fighting ICANN
Bob,
Why not suggest that only domain names that are past the AGP can have links posted to them?
Steve Brown Stephen Brown (http://www.PrettyGoodSystems.com) on May 5 2006, 07:08am Reply
A very interesting, yet seemingly annoying concept. Thanks for sharing your experienced insight with us Bob. The Cash Cow (http://www.netcashcows.com) on May 5 2006, 05:39am Reply
well, i have searched for available domains on godaddy, and in the next few days, they were bought, so i personally think godaddy has somthing to do with the snatching of domains jeff on May 5 2006, 12:21am Reply
Dear jeff,
Under no circumstance are we involved in that. There are however many registrars that are. My new article will name a few.
Add/drop abuse. Well, my opinion is that their should be a limit on how many non-active domains an individual or company can hold. And the .25 cent fee should be non refundable.
But really what this is all about is no different than anywhere else in that a huge percentage of what I see in the world as a whole is people wanting something for nothing, not willing to work for what they get, no respect, no integrity, willing to lie or cheat or steal if they think they can make a buck and not get caught. No morals, no ethics and then they wonder why life is crappy back at them. Not everyone mind you, but such a proportionately large percentage as to be sickening. All that us little guys and gals can do is simply keep plugging away, hold onto our virtues and if you are like me run my single family operated small business close to the breast and not compromise on ideals, values and principles even if it costs me money its worth it to know I ain't like "them". T Wright (http://www.freemarketingsource.com) on May 4 2006, 11:31pm Reply
I just sent this to ICANN!
Date: Thu, 04 May 2006 21:00:52 -0700 [09:00PM PDT]
From: Keith S[xxxxxxxxxxxxx] <Keith@[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx].com>
To: comments@icann.org
Subject: Stop Add/Drop Abuse — Make $0.25 ICANN Fee Non-Refundable
I just read Bob Parsons' article (http://www.bobparsons.com/adddropscheme.html) on the Add/Drop scheme, and his proposed solution to the Add/Drop abuse problem seems perfect to me.
Please change the status of the ICANN fee from refundable to non-refundable. This appears to be a bulletproof win-win-win solution (win for ICANN, win for registrars/registries, and win for consumers)!
Keith S[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sacramento, CA Keith S. on May 4 2006, 09:03pm Reply
This makes me grateful we have Nominet in the UK who would never a let a situation like add/drop exist.
Maybe I just need to get used to it, but I wish you'd come up with a better name than add/drop. I propose "poncing" instead. Matt Williams (http://www.revs.org) on May 4 2006, 06:57pm Reply
I had no idea as to the magnitude of this problem. Once again some enterrising people figure out a way to take advantage of something designed to help not hurt. It's the American way, I guess. Mike Watson (http://www.whatshottoday.com) on May 4 2006, 07:10am Reply
Bob,
As a GoDaddy customer for years now, I must say, I love reading your blogs and how you are actively involved in this business, not only on a professional level, but a personal one as well is simply incredible. Hats off to you, Bob.
I wish to god ICANN does something about their fees, and is soon pressured into making some changes to their policies. Overall in the long run, if they decide to make that fee non refundable, it will benefit everyone, same as what others were saying, legitimate domain registrations wont mind the fact that its non refundable because they needed the domain in the first place. If we were to make it non refundable, hundreds of thousands of domain names would be available to such small business owners as myself, and others.
I had to change my entire company's name back in 2003 due to the add and drop, in which case they then fully registered 'my' domain and we lost gross profits close to $60, 000. This was one person; imagine the other thousands of people that go through this on a daily basis? It's a drag.
It's becoming a greater and greater problem, and it's horrible to receive the email saying that you can no longer own a name that's 'yours'. It's too bad, but I hope GoDaddy as well as other domain name providers will also pressure or suggest to ICANN that they change their policies. Let's not forget that some of those other providers are selling those very lists of domain names to the very people who are to blame for the scheme itself, they are just as guilty for feeding the fire. That needs to be addresed as well. Hopefully in the near future, we will se a difference, and that your personal address to the problem will somehow generate some kind of recognition to this fiasco.
I'm sorry, but I can't take you seriously with that earring. You look like a total tool bag. The first time I saw it, I thought someone had photoshopped it onto you.
Granted, you have done more with your life than I have with mine, so maybe I'm the real tool, but I don't look like one.
Dump that silly thing. Brandon on May 3 2006, 10:13pm Reply
Dear Brandon,
Tool bag huh? Now you know I was just thinking kind of the opposite thought. I've been thinking the rock in my left ear could stand to be a carot or so bigger. So the next time I come into some extra cash....
The next time you have that "I'm going to stick a bigger carrot in my ear" thought, make out a painfully large cheque to a charity that helps disadvantaged children. Trust me, you'll feel a lot better about yourself. Matt (http://www.revs.org) on May 25 2006, 06:30am Reply
Is Moniker.com one of these companies Bob is talking about?
Do some who is searches and when you see the registered owner Moniker put 2 and 2 together.
visit the url's and then try to BID on the site if you want the name. They say. THIS SITE IS FOR SALE etc
Contact Moniker on any of their domains they have used and try to make a bid . They send you a standard letter back saying they will send bids on your behalf to the owner for $25,000 usd !!
I was reading the Bob Parsons article on add/drop abuse, and it definitrly hurts the small business man. What else hurts the small business man? GoDaddy Domain name auctions. They inform add/droppers of recently dropped names enabling the purchase of domain names possibly precious to a "small business". I believe that after the redemption period ($80 is too high) the original owner should have 5 days to reclaim his or her domain name. Else, it goes to auction. 5 days, just like the add/droppers. Domain name auctions hurt the small business man or woman whose domain name unfortunately expired and can't afford to get it out of redemption. If the name is so dear to that business man or woman, they will follow it, waiting for thier chance to reclaim it after the uncertain duration of the redemption period. Give them a chance. I think it greedy of goDaddy to profit from auctioning off the "babies" of small business people. Most certainly, a larger business would reclaim it from "redemption" without the blink of an eye. But for those of us who blink, and for those of us whose "back order" has failed them, give us a chance. Give us 5 days.
Sincerely,
sales@myEmagine.com
GoDaddy domain name holder. Jasmine (http://myEmagine.com) on May 3 2006, 02:42pm Reply
Dear Jasmine,
Surely you can't be serious. If you were serious, you would have stepped up, been responsible (big word — responsibility) and paid the $8.95 renewal fee for your baby (ie domain name), and not left the registrar wondering what in the world to do with it.
Regarding the $80 fee GoDaddy charges to bail out a name at the last minute — it's a deal. it compares to $200 charged by other registrars, and given the manual intervention we have to do we make little in the process. Once again it's all avoided if registrants take responsibility for their domain names and simply — quite simply — pay the renewal fee on time.
Oh I'm serous Bob, if your'e so concerned about helping the small business man, give them 5 days after the redemption period, where only the previously registered owner can buy it. Then send it to auction. It will also help combat the add/drop sceme. You have folks with big dreams, who are struggling with the basic fundamentals of life, food and shelter. $80 is still too much, I'm not speaking of other registrars, we're talking about GoDaddy. Things happen in a person's life where the responsible thing to do is to pay your rent, and hope that no one will think of your domain name, but when it's auctioned off to the non-creative folks of the world, it sucks. All, I'm asking for is 5 days, not a lecture on responsibiliity. Are you saying that people struggling with the basic fundamentals of life deserve to lose their domain names, their visions. All I'm asking is 5 days, Bob. That's not a lot. Give it a try.
If you are struggling with the "fundamentals of life" (food, shelter, rent), then maybe you should cancel your internet access and sell off your computer. Or maybe you should stop "dreaming" and get off your @$$ and work to make some money to pay for your domain name.
You still dance around that "responsibility" phrase. It's very simple: renew your domain name now and pay nine bucks; wait until it expires and pay $80. It's just like paying a late fee on your rent, a bad check fee—sort of like living in the (real world). And you conveniently changed the wording from five-day grace period to five-day redemption period. If GoDaddy changed its policy and put your domain name out on the street one second after it expired (which meant your redemption period is over), Big Business would snatch it up and sell it back to you for $5,000 or more. There's your reality check.
And now that I know how frivolous you are with your domain names' expirations, I'm looking forward to October 7. That's when myemagine.com expires and I'll be there to scoop it up on backorder. Is it worth $8.95 now, or thousands once I buy it out from under you? Scott on May 15 2006, 12:27pm Reply
Talk about frivolous Scott, waiting to buy my domain name? Your'e sick. I guess if we get enough folks like you, maybe the add/drop abuse will stop, and we'll just be taken over by folks like you trying to teach "responsibility" lessons. Get a life Scott.
And Bob, If you've got the power, or the concern, 5 day us all.
Domain purchases should be non-refundable. Or make the process to get a refund take 5 minutes of human time. If getting a refund for a domain took the add/drop scheme companies 5 or 10 minutes per domain then it would no longer be profitable for them.
If someone did have a legitimate reason to get a refund then they wouldn't mind going through a 5 minute manual process to get their money refunded.
Bob, can you or anyone else give a legitimate reason why someone would need to get a refund for a domain name? James Burns (http://www.potteryknobs.com) on May 3 2006, 12:23pm Reply
You forgot to mention the typosquatters - there's folks who use this grace period to try and sell the domain to the typosquat victim - if the victim "bites" - the squatter registers the domain and sells it, otherwise they let it drop.
Since you seem so keen on ethics, how come GoDaddy delays domain-transfers-away for the maximum possible permitted time (7 days)?
By the way Bob - please take a listen to the mp3 recordings here: www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=477562
and explain why GoDaddy has the misleading term "24/7 support" plastered on its web site (or, for that matter, why you suspend domains without checking any evidence, or why you never return phone calls to your "abuse" department...)?
Why not try cleaning up your own backyard before doing more complaining about others??? Chris on May 3 2006, 11:10am Reply
What I was trying to explain here:
http://www.bobparsons.com/adddropscheme.html?serendipity[search Term]=#c13815
Bob, you should have been clearer about the technicalities. But you weren't. Technically, all domain names are "parked" at a server, resulting in the term "parked domain name". But the catch-all phrase is confusing consumers.
There is a big difference between owning a domain name and parking it at a PPC Search engine to make a few bucks, versus participating in the add/drop scheme.
Because you didn't define these differences, now people are going to think that all domains that park at PPC Search Engines are participating in the add/drop scheme.
I suggest you write another article to clear this up before it backfires on GoDaddy. Tia Wood (http://www.spaggle.com) on May 3 2006, 10:33am Reply
Bob, I have been in IT for a long time and learned security from the USAF, and when I watched the internet grow I had the thought that domain names would eventually be abused like this. Thanks for raising the flag and challenging the industry to make changes. Eric Standlee (http://www.7kovernover.com) on May 2 2006, 06:12pm Reply
Mr Parsons
I enjoyed that article very much. As a domain registrar it takes a lot of fortitude to bring something like this to light. I applaud you.
I was not even aware until I read this article that I was the victim of this not once but three times. I registered a domain with GoDaddy and due to a problem that was probably my fault, I was not able to be notified that my renewal date was approaching and somehow "autorenew" was turned off. So it went into the limbo status (don't remember the exact term applied) and I couldn't spend the $80 to reclaim it. I backordered it and was patient, I thought since the domain really didn't mean anything to anyone else, I would have a good chance of reclaiming it. Well it was not to be, some low-life got it before me and now there is a page there a page with a bunch of unrelated links (and pop-ups) and an "Inquire about ....com" link where they want you to bid (minimum of $90) for this domain.
How can I tell if it was "dropped" as a part of the add/drop scam and if it were dropped, why wouldn't it become available again?
As a fellow veteran, I salute you for always being "up front" with things and I love GoDaddy and have recommended it to many friends. Keep up the good work.
Bob, Thanks for the info. It explains alot and make something that happened to me make more sence. I'm not sure if someone already mentioned this but I think I came across another way add/drop scheme. I had a .net domain for a few years and the .com address was already registured (it was parked). Not wanting to back order it, I was going to take my chances and grab it when it expired and came availble. Well the domain expired and I was waiting for it to become availble. Then, out of the blue I got an email (sales@webnamesolution.com) to my .net whois information telling me I could buy the .com if I was interested. There charge was $49.95 to buy the domain from them. I checked the whois info and it was registered to that company. Not wanting to pay the fee, I figured that I would wait a few more years for the domain. Then a month or so later I did a whois to check on the expiration date and it was avalible. I snatched it up and never looked back. But always wondered what happened. Your post makes this whole situation more clear. Thanks for the information.
This scheme immediately came to mind for me as well. I wasn't previously aware of the grace period and the abuse of this "free" period that was going on, but once I started to read the article it was clear that people could find a way like you describe to extort money from would-be domain buyers with similar names (and other related schemes).
Further, why can't a person / company simply keep registering the same domain and then dropping it near the end of the grace period, extending the potential for abuse? This is absurd.
Speaking of backordering, I'm new to using this and auctions to win a domain name or two I want, but personally I am trying to decide if it's worth it for me to use GoDaddy to try to backorder a domain that's not with them. It seems like sort of a waste of time, yet the registrar it's currently with charges 4 times as much. Seems like sort of a lose-lose situation either way. The only good part is, with the other registrar I only pay if I get it. If you can consider $60 "good".
Is there any thing I could have done to detract from the add/drop abuse?
I let a .com domain expire because I chose to pay rent and didn't have $8.95 left in my checking account.
The domain went to auction for $3000.00. Now, an identity I have been trying to build for myself is a page of links. I have thought of several more siutable names as a replacementuld devaluate .com and make .net or .biz
the more popular choice in TLDs. David Krause (http://www.aaaez.com) on Apr 30 2006, 01:56pm Reply
Thought about a great domain name last week, checked it yesterday to find that it was taken just 4 days earlier by a guy in Mali. What is the world coming to when you think of a domain name, and someone else snatches it! John Davies on Apr 29 2006, 09:44pm Reply
Well I liked this article very much. And Yeah Bob is right. This is getting bigger and bigger. Now with new automated technologies I don't think that there will be any problems in add drop business even if they handle 100,000 names at a time. And poor people who can't even afford a domain name are going to suffer. Keral (http://www.ruuz.com) on Apr 29 2006, 08:15pm Reply
Mr. Parsons is very correct, for weeks I tried to find a legible domain name for my website, most of them are seized by those nonsense link pages.
Then at apoint you have to confine with the name you may find.
These linkers may actually be damaging the whole economy. If the enterpreneur cannot find a proper name, customers do not find them.
Anyway, I never knew why&where these pages came from, now Mr. Parsons provided us the insight. Thank you. Really.
Now this is time to act. What some other registrars is doing if unjust and has to be halted.
I'm confused about one point. Where did the AGP policy originate? Is this ICANN, or Versign?
Although you say that Verisign's hands are tied regarding the add/drop scheme because it is not technically illegal, it also not illegal for Verisign to change the fee structure or implement one or more of the numerous solutions godaddiers have posted here. Or is ALL Versign registration policy mandated by ICANN?
Customers should have the option of permanently purchasing a domain. Enough with the expiration non-sense.
I'd pay a hefty fee for a permanent reg. And when you consider the rock-bottom cost of registration for a year, how much could a permanent reg cost? $100? $200? Even $500 wouldn't be too much to pay for that piece of mind. Guess it just depends on how much a reg business makes on a typical domain name. Bob?
Also, perm reg would make domains a property. I can't see any problem with that. If you don't need it anymore, sell it off. Just another asset.
I realize that Bob and resellers like myself would loose out on the constantly re-cycling domains as registration expires. But, I cna't imagine it would be all that much, especially when domains go for a buck 99 with hosting purchase.
So, Bob, with all due respect, if you want to impress me, push for permanent registrations. Lets make ALL registrations permanent, charge $250 for .com and .net, $100 for .org, and $50 for .name vanity domains, and all the other silly .whatevers nobody wants.
Now, if there is such a thing as permanent registration already... ooops.
I think what customers need to do is take responsibility — that's a unique thing for this day and age don't you think — stepping up and taking responsibility? — for their domain names. If a domain name has a year or two left on its registration renew it out to ten years. That will have the same effect as a premanent registration.
I am also very concerned about the ransom to reinstate a domain name. I received a renewal notice from GoDaddy to renew a name. I responded within 5 days and was told that I "might be able to get it back" if I paid $80 to GoDaddy. When I questioned the charge, the person on the phone said $80 was cheap compared to NetWork Solutions and was told to "go to Google to learn about the charges. There are thousands of pages discribing the fees." I did go to Google and the pages discribe it is a legit fee that is set by the registrar - that being GoDaddy. John (http://www.kipcug.org) on Apr 27 2006, 11:38am Reply
See, John, the problem is you already screwed up and let your domain expire. The RGP (Redemption Grace Period) is your chance to save your domain safely, where as you may have normally lost it.
Also, Verisign is the "Registry" for .com and .net names. I don't know what the registry charges, if anything, for restoring a d omain. Regardless Go Daddy is indeed cheap in comparison to some others registrars.
NetSol: If we decide to provide the redemption service to a customer, we charge a fee of $150 to redeem and renew a domain name registration during the RGP.
Most other registrars are roughly $150, Go Daddy's $80 looks a lot more reasonable in that context.
Yes, Bob, I've now repeatedly run into this problem.
However, there is more to the story. Network Solutions, and apparently other registrars, are selling domain search results to the add/drop schemers. This is how they know which domains to register.
Does this in fact occur?
I have always wondered if it did, and been very cautious when looking for domain names. I always use non-commercial whois servers for this purpose, because my gut feeling was that major domain registrars would undoubtedly capitalise on domain name search data (unless some law or TOS specifically made it illegal to do so). I'd be interest to know if what you say is accurate (i.e. where did you get this info from?)
This happened to my old .org name. I decided to switch my domains from doteasy to godaddy. I let the domains expire at doteasy because I waited to long to do it for a simple transfer for two of my domains. One, the .net, I was able to get registered at godaddy with no problem. But my .org was held up by an add/drop registar. But it was dropped within the 5 days. They probably soon discovered that I never actually marketed the .org name and it got no traffic. I used it and the .net as forwarding domains to the .com. I was actually pretty much ready and willing to let the.org go because of that. Plus I changed my company name so the old domains were just being used for redirects to http://www.beavervalleysoftware.com. But when it became available again, I scooped it up to keep my forwarding domain... Gary (http://www.beavervalleysoftware.com) on Apr 27 2006, 06:24am Reply
Dear Bob,
I was surprised and deeply moved by GoDaddy's response to the note I left for you yesterday. Bob Olsen and Tyler Wirtjes contacted me by phone twice today and are handling my case with such warmth, diligence, and professionalism that I'm speechless. Wow, wow, wow. Thank you for restoring my faith in customer service. I'd sing more of your praises, but I know you're a busy man.
With gratitude,
scott becker
(GoDaddy's newest evangelist) Scott Becker on Apr 26 2006, 11:54pm Reply
Could part of this be alleviate if there was a quarantine period for domain names like the quarantine period that telephones number have when a customer cancels the service? This is so the new owner of the telephone number doesn't get inundated with calls by people trying to contact the old owner.
It so would solve the problem of people losing their domain name when they forget to renew. Chris Velevitch on Apr 26 2006, 08:06pm Reply
I've heard of some people doing this at godaddy, but It's good to know you won't allow or tolerate it! Thanks for all the knowledge Bob! Daniel on Apr 26 2006, 05:34pm Reply
Bob,
I am confused about this article. You (Godaddy) are doing pretty much the exact same thing! With your TDNAM "High Value" names.
What Godaddy does is test these domains for revenue (traffic monetization) and then create a price they feel they will make even more money from the consumer. Then guess what, when someone won't pay that ridiculous price, they register it for themselves. No backorder option available for regular consumers.
I don't like the practice you explained above, but don't be a hypocrite when you guys are doing pretty much the exact same thing.
Let's not also forget the 2 week time when someone wins a domain that is it still parked at Godaddy earning you money.
Thanks for quick reply, I didn't say that Godaddy or affliates participate in the add drop scheme. What I was asking is how is your TDNAM "high value" scheme different??
You test the domain, set a large price on it, and then register it once it drops (if no one buys it at TDNAM). It is immediately directed to your parking page for traffic monetization. Isn't that very similar to what the add drop gusy are doing? Gavin King (http://www.vegascoupons.com) on Apr 27 2006, 07:17am Reply
Hi Bob and family,
Since so many names have been snatched up also by people who never use them, is this problem you mention growing in scope - or is it just my imagination that more names are expiring daily (admittedly mostly junk), than are being registered?
The problem is growing in scope by astronomical proportions — and it has nothing to do with the names that are expiring through the normal course of business. Keep in mind that it has increased in scope 15 fold in just one year — from March 2005 to March 2006.
Wow. For one thing, I've never seen a author of an article (that also happens to run a popular company) reply to that large a number of posts. Great to see a guy who—-according to that interview you streamed—-is so humble, really show it with action.
In response to this article, I too am constantly berated by these fake domains that just exist to make money and confuse the visitor. The fact that they aren't even paying for them though, is worse than I thought the situation was.
Overall, it's so great to see a successful, fair company, also have the balls to step up and speak about topics other companies of the same type decline to touch.
Keep up the great work, and I look forward to one day remembering to catch your radio show.
P.S. Nice idea with the spam-prevention system and 3000 characters max is very generous. AdemoS (http://blkflm.com) on Apr 25 2006, 07:03pm Reply
Hi Bob,
Thanks a lot for this new great post pointing out another loophole in the ICANN regulations. I would like to make a post about that on my blog, in French, and translate part of your post. Let me know if you think it's OK, please.
Kind regards,
Jean-Marie Le Ray Jean-Marie Le Ray (http://www.adscriptor.com) on Apr 25 2006, 03:34pm Reply
Dear Jean-Marie,
Feel free to do so, just credit this article and my copyright.
Strange, just see even a site called click4jobs.com don't show the registration date and its expiry.....nearly 45% of sites don't show it, out of 125 site names i searched on jobsite names......all these guys at ICANN are involved in the greatest SCAM of Internet name registration Scheme.
I think ICANN knowly not doing anything as they are earning their amount anyway.
How can you tell if a domain is being held by this method? Am I looking in the wrong place? Robert Hatvani on Apr 28 2006, 03:47pm Reply
Its really surprising that the add/drop thing is existing. I tried to register a jobsite but could not find any name suitable to register after 125 names....every name i think and search is booked....and nearly 50% of the sites were not proper activesites.
I fully agree with Mr.Bob Parson to charge a amount while registering and the same name cannot be registered by that registerting company again. They should pay $1 extra if they book it again.
I sincerly put my demand to put an end to this type of registation process.
Bob- While I agree that this is a new and perhaps disturbing trend in the domain name industry, the only damage you point out in your article is the legitimate business that could use the name, or businesses that "accidently" let their name expire.
We both know that domain renewal is a huge componant to the bottom lines of registrars, and a tremendous effort is made to renew these names, including auto renewals on domain names.
SO< I believe the actual damage to customers is minimal. However, I can see the administation costs to your company rising dramatically. Lets be honest. How big a problem is this really for the consuming public? Former RCOM employee on Apr 25 2006, 01:21pm Reply
Former RCOM employee,
I wish to point out that your perspective is in my experience a rather limited one. This issue has numerous effects that I can think of:
1) Search engine results become less effective and more erroneous
2) People searching for names at a whois site and don't register it immediately often find that their chosen and available name is gone when the come back a day or two later to go ahead with the registration.
3) Names that consumers wish to register for legitimate business / personal purposes are often not available and yet not in use except as per what Bob has pointed out.
4) It's a basic misuse of a global (albeit "virtual" resource, much like spam and other stupidities.
If you are someone who has no interest in the Internet or a domain name, then there is no damage. I suppose it would be the same way that stock manipulation would not have any effect on someone who has no interest in the stock market.
Why not limit the number of domains allowed to cancel at one time, per user? An honest user would not let hundreds of domains cancel at one time.
Perhaps unrelated, I have noticed that spam return address have very strange domains associated with them - using adjectives or other terms that clearly are not part of a bone fide web site (sorry I have no example handy, but look through unfiltered spam sometime.)
Thanks for the article. Peter B on Apr 25 2006, 01:07pm Reply
Bob,
You seem to be confusing some readers with your article. Legitimate domain investors who purchased domain names that previous owners allowed to drop are different than the crooks that use the add/drop scheme. You should make this difference clearer.
Renewing a domain name is the owners responsibility. I know, I get tons of emails 90, 60, 30 and 5 days before a domain is up for renewal. I've even received phone calls from GoDaddy.
Not only that, but there is a grace period that allows the owner to renew their domain even after it has expired.
This is where the add/drop scheme does not apply. But some visitors here are confusing the two methods.
You should clear this up before it backfires. GoDaddy provides drop/expired services.
Bob,
I had received information from GoDaddy in regards to Congress Selling Out The Internet. Other wise I probably never would've known. What a shame! Thanks for the heads up!
Here's a URL that people might be interested in to send a petition to Congress about this matter. I just received it myself & of course signed it & sent it!
http://moveon.org/save_the_internet
I'm not affiliated with the organization or anything but I see they have room for volunteers too. It looks to be very legit. I hope that you will get a chance to take a look at it & pass it on to others (like me) that have domains of their own for small businesses & home businesses. I greatly appreciate all the things that GoDaddy does for it's customers. Sheila (http://MSN) on Apr 24 2006, 05:17pm Reply
"On the 31st day of March 2006, approximately 764,672 .COM names were registered. Of these names, after the five day AGP period expired, only 61,169 .COM names were actually retained."
I don't think your a dummy bob but do the math, I'll use your pricing for the figure...
61,169 x 8.95= $547,462
not bad for 1 days work
ICANN and the registrars get their cut of this money, so you should be able to see why they do not wish to stop this method, I'm sure godaddy shares in quite a few of those registrations as well.
You missed the entire point. Don't focus on the domain names that were retained. Focus on the ones that were used and then dropped for refund within the grace period.
Of course we make a few bucks on the ones that were kept — that's what is supposed to happen.
the point I'm making bob is that icann & the registrars make money on the retained names. So why would they wish to stop the add/drop method if it leads to even 5% percent of the domains being retained, more money on their books. Eliminate the add/drop and the percentage of domains registered will go down which would cut profits for icann and registrars including godaddy. They test the names and if good they retain them and renew them for years. Not saying I agree with this but just giving my view as to why I think no one has stepped up to make changes. Seems to me they like the 61,169 retained domains a day as they know the add/drop people will renew the ones they keep for years to come. I understand eliminating this will help buyers who actually want to put content on a good domain name, but when money is being made blindness to problems can occur. Jay on May 5 2006, 07:05pm Reply
Wow this guy missed the point twice. James on May 12 2006, 12:09am Reply
I've been trying to register kristymcnichol.com for 3+ years now - seems that dotster themselves it camping on that one. Michael Bailey (http://www.mychingo.com) on Apr 24 2006, 01:38pm Reply
I think all Registrations ought to be permanent for the minimum of a year, once purchased, making any corrections within a limited number of hours—with no refunds at all; after all, the one year fees are low, and legitimate Registrars would not be out a lot of money if a few mistakes were not correctable.
In lieu of that, doubling the 25 cent fee, and making it non-refundable—might be a good start in the right direction. CAROLYN SHERIDAN (http://www.mybabycakes.biz) on Apr 24 2006, 01:38pm Reply
Dear Carolyn,
No need to double it. Simply making it no-refundable would do the trick.
I like your article and your expalanaion. I just can't undersatnd why they pay so little attention to this situation... Maybe because small business and ordinary users are not organized to lobby this?.... Phentermin (http://www.palungjit.com/club/biagra) on Dec 9 2006, 03:56pm Reply
Bob,
Domains should just be made non-refundable. It's a small cost anyway, I don't think many ledgitimate domain buyers bother to refund their purchases. Jonathon (http://jsjsoftware.com) on Apr 24 2006, 11:49am Reply
Bob, i'm fast becoming addicted to these articles. Good for you for speaking out against this kind of stuff. It's nice we've got one of the good guys in at the top.
Thanks for pointing this abuse out to us - I had no idea this kind of thing was allowed to happen. You're right, it isn't against the law...but that doesn't make it right.
Theoretically, using this system, can't registrars basically register and cancel the same domain over and over, for free, with nobody capable of stopping them?
I personally think the AGP isn't necessary at all in the first place. The registries are cool for giving us this ability, but I think it's been abused. They should remove it. Those who make the mistake of registering the wrong name should pay the registration fee and get over it.
I think charging just the 25 cents isn't enough to hinder these registrars. Each domain can easily make that back for them, they could still retain a profit and continue this practice. The registry should keep $1 to $2 from the reimbursement at least.
Once again, thanks a lot for bringing this to light.
Bob, I just finished reading your article. It was informative and I think that I might have another angle for you to think about. Why don't you propose that ICANN "escrow" the .25 cents per .com and settle up at the end of the quarter. That's a big nut to carry.
Thank you.
KH Kevin Hoff (http://N/A) on May 3 2006, 02:19pm Reply
It's sad, but Google actually allows these accounts to exist in their AdSense program. Even though they blatantly violate the TOS, which Google is known to toss around. So many small publishers are immediately banned for "invalid clicks" with all earnings confiscated, yet Google allows these type of accounts to exist, even if you report the TOS violation to Google, they will do nothing about it. Google=bad, GoDaddy=good Dave (http://www.code4gold.com) on Apr 24 2006, 10:29am Reply
Bob,
Thanks for the article. I'm going to use the information to set up my own add/drop scheme to make some money. It's time I get may share. Ralph on Apr 24 2006, 10:23am Reply
Fascinating post. I'm thoroughly mixed up in all this as a small-time user whose preferred domain (kenwalter.com) was snapped up by one of these people as soon as the previous ownership expired. I managed to get something similar, but many people aren't so lucky; working for an occasional web design client, I've gone through as many as 20 different mutations of a name or phrase in order to find one that wasn't camped. Here's hoping ICANN or someone puts a foot down on this. (If anyone knows of a grassroots campaign on this subject, I'd appreciate knowing about it.) Ken Walter (http://www.kenwalter.net) on Apr 24 2006, 09:51am Reply
I too have been lost in the shuffle of a big company taking over my domain name as soon as it was up.
The problems that I have with this are 2 fold. 1: I received NO letter in the mail to notify me that my site was about to expire or that it had. Only one email that somehow ended up in my Bulk folder. (That's right, only ONE EMAIL!) 2: And I feel, more important, the name of my domain is also the name of my company.
I had built up quite a bit of brand equity in the 2 years the site existed. Is there no copyright or business law that can keep some [explicit] from taking a name that I developed and cultivated into a living, breathing organism? It's identitytheft of a digital store front.
What's next? Is there a way to fight or do I have to bend over and pay the seemingly never-ending rise of the cost to get my OWN company name back!
Can someone help? Is there some resource? I know this off the subject and true point Bob is making here, but relevant as I am tired of all the seemingly unregulated piracy!
I too am disappointed there often isn't at least a single snail mail notification when a domain is going to expire. Yes a letter isn't cheap to produce (think 42-45c w/ postage in bulk), but the returns from more renewals and maintaining GREAT customer service should easily outweigh this. Hey, maybe Bob could give us some insight into this? Hopefully you used GoDaddy...but I usually get multiple -email- reminders from them FYI, which are helpful.
Nevertheless, one of my main domains recently "expired" even though I had been watching it closely and planning to renew, I missed it by a couple of days but they were there to let me renew it after the fact. I was really greatful for this grace period that GoDaddy provided. No matter how careful we are, all of us make mistakes. Brian S. (http://www.briansharkey.com) on May 4 2006, 02:32pm Reply
Brian,
The grace period terms are part of the ICANN rules, not GoDaddy's.
Bob will correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I think that there is a 5-day redemption period. After that, if it wasn't renewed, 40 days later it's supposed to be released back into the wild.
A big problem (especially with Dotster) is that if the domain name was anything good, the registrar isn't releasing them back into the wild.
So, while there is indeed a big problem with domain camping, there's also camping going on at the registrar level.
I don't know of any wrong doing being done by GoDaddy, but look at the whois information for kristymcnichol.com -
Registrar: Dotser.
..watch that domain name when it expires next year....nobody will have registered it, yet Dotster will push out the expiration date by yet another year, and it will remain locked up in their system, and not be released back into the wild as it should be.
It's been this way for at least the last three years with that domain name. I have had several email swaps with their legal department, and they basically informed me that only if I had a legal claim to the name would they let me "rent" it from them, but that I couldn't register it myself.....go figure.
Since I have been using 000domains.com as my registrar, then I found out that they are part of Dotster...needles to say, as my domains are expiring, I am transferring them to GoDaddy...
I've been watching this go on for quite a while and it's great to see someone in a position to be heard start speaking out about it. Keep the pressure on!
You mentioned that these add/drop registrars are using this scheme to register expired domains, but there's a whole other side to this that you didn't mention. They are also somehow registering names that have never been registered but have only been checked for availability.
For example, if I go to a registrar's website and check the availability of some obscure domain name, find it available, wait a day or two, then go back to register it, there's a good chance that it will have been taken by one of these add/drop abusers. This effectively forces customers to register a name as soon as they find it available, and eliminates their opportunity to check the availability of several names and take some time to choose the one to register.
I'm not sure if certain unscrupulous registrars are using or selling their customers' domain availability check data, if Verisign is selling the data, or if the add/drop registrars are somehow sniffing the network traffic to get this information.
I hope that you can shed some light on how this is happening and help put put a stop to it.
Someone has put together an interesting collection of information on one of the main abusers of this system ("Domibot" here: http://domibot.info/ .
This Group is dedicated to all those who have been attacked by domibot.com in registering their domain names. I want to form International Syndicate.
OBJECTIVES
1. Trace domibot server and deavtivate it.
2. File case anginst it through international court.
3. Find people behind Domibot.
4. Try to convince them
5. Just help me to find their office. Rest of work I will do myself. kill_domibot on May 15 2006, 10:16pm Reply
Hi, Bob
You have pointed out a very interesting flaw in the registration system, but I had to scroll half way through it to find out what you were even talking about. Seriously, have you ever taken a college comp class? This has to be one of the worst written articles I've ever read.
I don't mean to flame, just wanted to make a point on how frustrating it was to read about an interesting topic. Maybe you should have someone who doesn't work for you proofread it next time. Or just stick to running the company.
I'm sure this will be moderated and no one will ever see it, but maybe you can take it as some constructive criticism.
"Then they register as many names as the deposit allows.
Next, they go out into the market and register as many names as their funds permit."
Come on, there has to be a better way that doesn't waste my and all of your readers time. You're a CEO, you should understand this. someone on Apr 24 2006, 09:16am Reply
I'd have to agree with Someone, Bob. I couldn't make heads or tails of what it is you are trying to say. Pity, as apparently it's a plague that really effects honest folk that just want to get on with biz as usual.
I still don't know how the process of add-drop works, and sadly, all one has to do is drop in on a few Domainers' forums to see that there are tools and programs available for very modest fees that allow Domainers to snap up names from unsuspecting owners and potential owners with legitimate needs for a specific name. (Apologies, someone, that was a wretched run-on sentence. Hope I didn't split too many infinitives.)
Bob, how 'bout a rewrite? Get someone who also understands the scheme to edit the piece for you. Often times, another pair of eyes can untangle a stream-of-consciousness thread such as this one.
thank you 'someone'... i couldn't agree more. poorly written article on an interesting subject. and to think that i dugg my way over here - on my way over here, i was diggging (yes 3 g's right smack in the middle) THANK YOU on Apr 24 2006, 07:46pm Reply
Dear someone,
Come to think of it, most of the time when I was in grammar school I was wearing the pointy hat and sitting in the corner — or was it sitting in the corner wearing the pointy hat? I really should have paid more attention.
Perhaps you should take a dose of your own advice and get an independent proofreader my friend.
"...worst written articles..." I think you may have meant to say, "...poorly written articles..." (note the use of an adverb, not an adjective)
Also, do you mean to say that it is "...frustrating... to read about an interesting topic," or have you neglected to finish your sentence and/or thought?
I notice you initiated a sentence with a conjunction, which would appear to be beneath your highbrow opinion of yourself.
By the way, you clearly don't understand Bob Parsons if you, for a minute, doubted whether he would be confident enough to post your negative comment.
Just couldn't resist,
Nathan Nathan on Apr 26 2006, 02:01pm Reply
Wow! I have always wanted someone to go in depth to the whole domain registration process and how names are stolen or picked up so quick as soon as they expire. Thanks Bob! Brian Bailey (http://www.teethwhiteners.com) on Apr 24 2006, 08:29am Reply
Have written to ICANN over a dozen times about various issues and never got a response.
I think your blog posts are fantastic and pleased that you write is such an honest and direct manner. Wish there were more people like you in business.
The optimization of DNS-propagation in recent years contributes to this problem, too.
Previously, when you registered a domain name it could take up to three days for it o be available because DNS propagation was very slow. Since 2004 (maybe early-25005, I can't remember) DNS propagation only takes a few hours, one day tops.
If DNS propagation takes 3 days and the "add window" if 5 days, you only have 2 days to get data on how profitable is that domain. That's a very short time. But if DNS propagation only takes 12 hours, you have 4.5 days to make profit on that domain name.
I can't think of anybody who newly-registers a domain name and needs it to be available in 12 hours, so maybe increasing the DNS propagation delay for newly-registered domains could also make a difference for add/drop gamers. The delay should also be enforced if the renewal of the domain involves a change in the administrative contact, technical contact, etc, to avoid problems with expiring domains geting caught by add/droppers.
I have written to ICANN - everyone should - if enough noise is made then maybe, just maybe, they'll act. Like Bob says, this is everyone's problem.
——————————————-
Dear ICANN,
I'm sure you are well aware of the problems relating to the so-called 'add/drop' scheme, and I hope it is giving you a headache. If it isn't, it should be. I would just like to notch myself as another disatisfied Internet professional who strongly believes you cannot simply ignore this mushrooming problem. For more info, see this blog entry by Go Daddy.com president, Bob Parsons:
http://www.bobparsons.com/adddropscheme.html
I sincerely hope ICANN will take this issue seriously as these system 'cheats' are domain stock-piling and filling the Internet with noise without facing any financial penalty for their actions. It's as serious as spam, but unlike spam, you can stop this.
As a fellow registrar who is not participating in this scheme, I also hope that ICANN will have the balls to do something about it. Another Registrar on Apr 24 2006, 02:18am Reply
Man I really can't stand any of these drop-catchers or domain squatters or hijackers..I've had it happen to a few friends of mine and it's really shitty!
It happened to me once too when I was away travelling and my domain dropped, I didn't have access to e-mail so I didn't know..
Search the web for complaints about them.
They are in Louisana somewhere, not kenya and they grab
expired domains and hold them hostage.
I tried to get a domain from them and bid $50, and
their reply was simply "Bid more". They keep trying
to get you to bid as high as possible and won't
tell you how much a domain name costs.
This has got to be illegal. Isn't it?
Screwed by kenyatech on Apr 24 2006, 12:59am Reply
ICANN
To Whom It May Concern,
According to Bob Parsons of GoDaddy, the ADD Grace Period (AGP) issue has become a very serious problem which, as the regulator, needs your immediate attention.
Mr. Parson's idea of requiring ICANN's twenty-five (25-cent fee) to be non-refundable may well help to reduce the AGP practice by making it less profitable. I encourage you to make this change as soon as possible.
If the numbers Mr. Parsons quoted are accurate, and he is well known for his attention to detail, this is an indication of the seriousness of the situation and it should be addressed at the next meeting of your board.
Thank you for your consideration.
James Ford
(snail mail address, telephone numbers, etc.) James Ford on Apr 24 2006, 12:55am Reply
Bob,
Great post. If the AGP was really about dealing with errors, why not just shorten the period? Make it 2 days. Why should it be any longer. If you can't figure out in a day or so that you goofed, then tough luck. And with propagation, that really messes with these speculators.
I'm not really sure making the ICANN fee non-refundable would do much, but it's certainly worth a try. What do I care? I only buy names via my WildWest account and don't use the AGP anyway. A few clicks, or maybe even one would cover the 25 cent fee, at least for those names that actually get traffic and clicks... though from the stagering numbers you posted, it sure looks like (big surprise) most domains really don't get much traffic.
It may be easier to just try to buy every name you can then to do a little research to see if there is any chance of a name having any built in traffic, but come on, it takes a little time, but it's not hard to make an educated guess.
Then again, if you buy names to resell or to build sites with, then you don't have to play these silly games.
I just found out that if you domain name expires it is held for a short period, about a month, during that time you can get it back from godaddy for a cost of $80 !!!!!
This is the redemption grace period, and it consists of two charges. The first is a $40 payment we must make to the registry to "bail out" the name. The second is that it takes manual intervention on our part.
To be honest the entire thing is a pain in the tail and we would much rather not be involved in it, for the resources it takes and the few dollars we make on the whole thing.
To put our fee in perspective consider that Network Solutions charges $150 and eNom charges $200 for the very same exact service. So you see, our fee really is very reasonable.
Thanks for this really informative article. When looking into the subject of monetizing parked domain names, I noticed that a major search engine makes a parked domain name monetization service available to those who can maintain a minimum volume of 750,000 pages view per month through their network of (parked?) domain names. Isn't this one of the main incentives for registrars to play the add/drop game?
Thanks for enlightening me on this issue I guess, that ICANN
are probably thinking " If it's not broken - Don't fix it !" In
other words, if people like Us don't make a Hue & Cry, they
don't have to do anything.... It's always good to have
someone like you, keeping an eye on them, and possibly
swaying public opinion against thier lack of action, Enough
to make them sit up and take notice.... Thanks.... Bob.
I just watched your interview, and it Did bring a smile....
Keep the Bas-_-_ds honest..... Bob. Dunn. on Apr 24 2006, 04:54am Reply
Very interesting article!!!
QN 1: So if each of these domains is dropped within 5 days, there would appear to be a window of opportunity whereby others can grab the name before they re-add the name back to their account, right? Or have they found a way around this too?
QN 2: Is there any way we (novice domain buyers) can see if this is being done with a domain we wish to acquire? I have never seen a domain renewal date being updated every five days in the internic whois database - or maybe I have just been looking at the wrong domains?????
It may be worthwhile doing another post to explain further the intricacies of this process...
Robert Robert Hatvani on Apr 23 2006, 05:10pm Reply
Dear Robert,
There's really not much more to explain. The only thing I've really not mentioned is that the registrars that participate in this scheme don't typically act alone. They act in groups kind of like wolf packs that pool their connections and are sure to get the names they want.
They names they register are for one year but are dropped within 5 days, and they often re-registered immediately.
I assume that your answer to QN 2 was "no" (novice domain buyers cannot tell).
Is there any way that godaddy can determine which domains are being held using add/drop? If so, how about offering a service whereby godaddy attempts to grab these domains for their customers during that small window? There may only be a slim chance, but one chance every five days sounds pretty good, and I'm sure that with your knowledge and skills you could grab a few from these wolves.
There is one in particular that I would like to get, and would gladly use such a service provided that it is not too expensive. Robert Hatvani on Apr 26 2006, 06:53am Reply
Dear Robert,
If a customer has a backorder request submitted for the domain name, we do try to get the domain name for the customer — sometimes we are able to do so.
Thanks for the article. Now I understand why I come across sites like this on an almost daily basis and wondered why search engines even include them in search results when they don't have any meaningful content, just links.
I'm one of those rare Internet surfers who doesn't click on anyone's sponsored ads because from my point of view, all it does is drive up the cost to the advertisers of those sponsored ads. Click fraud is rampant - getting worse every year - and I'm certain that many, if not all, of these freeloaders you wrote about are using this add/drop scheme to make money they haven't earned.
Why do registrars even allow anyone to make a large cash deposit to begin with? I would think that (based on the facts in your article) this would send a red flag to the registrar, especially if the company making the cash deposit continually spends the money then requires it to be refunded. Something's very fishy here. The registrar must be making enough money from this scheme to make it worth their while, otherwise they would implement policies to prevent this type of abuse.
Also, does the domain name immediately become available for purchase again after the five day grace period? If so, can't the same company that "gave it up" simply keep repurchasing it and asking for a refund every five days?
ICANN should make the 25 cent fee non-refundable. This way, even if the registrant misspelled the name, they are only out 25 cents which is very reasonable, and it would help prevent this horrendous scheme you enlightened us about.
Search engine results are becoming less and less relevant because of this scheme. Google, the giant that it is (in large part thanks to those who pay to advertise in the sponsored results sections) does not care one bit that this scheme is going on because they stand to lose millions if not billions of dollars in advertising money since they only pay a portion of it to those who choose to sign up for sponsored results on their websites. Personally, I've always thought that sites that sign up for this in the hopes of making extra money actually lose integrity in my eyes. The best websites are good because they offer relevant content that is updated and added to regularly, and they do not include sponsored links which oftentimes lead to competitor's sites, anyway. South Florida web designer on Apr 23 2006, 11:49am Reply
Dear South Florida web designer,
It's not registrars that allow the large cash deposits to be made and the add drop scheme to be carried on — it's registries (ie VeriSign Registry who handles .COM and others). Also for the record, VeriSign I believe would like to see this scheme stopped but their hands are tied as it is not illegal. We need either ICANN or our lawmakers to step up and do something here.
I think it's unfortunate this "add/drop" scheme is occuring. But, this is what happens when a market gets saturated and people scramble for a piece of the action. Either they're late to the show, or they have bad intentions from day one. Regardless, this whole scheme is a sad example of the "haves" (the registrars with the will and access) taking advantage of the "have nots" (everyone else trying to play fairly). I must say that I play fairly, back-ordering domains or registering good names and simply holding them in our account (with GoDaddy, of course!). That $9.20 is a great investment if we ever use the name or decide to sell it.
To those unscrupulous registrars: if you don't want to play fairly, you don't deserve to be that position of power. Your days are numbered.
I applaud you, Bob, for forcing the issue. Hopefully the bureaucrats will listen for once. At least we can fight back, the legitmate owners of great names, by simply continuing to register and renew them so they never get dropped! Jonathan Arehart (http://www.cavendo.com) on Apr 23 2006, 09:15am Reply
Great article Bob,
I have hundred's of domains and myself do Traffic monetization, it's a great source of income for domains that are just parked. But the add/drop scheme is a bigger problem than we all think. Another area this scheme hurts is Backorders. Backorders are a joke now, your chances of getting a good domain are zero. Registrars grab them and check them for traffic. I also don't understand how Registrars can auction off domains before they drop. I've used TDNAM several times myself and it's a great service, but this seems wrong on so many levels.
Good grief, it's unbelievable how many ways people find to cheat online. Everytime I think I've heard it all I'm shocked at some new scheme going around.
(Off topic- GoDaddy is the BEST registrar. I've tried some others, didn't like them. GoDaddy is the only one for me ) Cathy (http://stopanimalid.org) on Apr 22 2006, 09:13pm Reply
In response to your article, I sent ICAAN this comment...
From: R Martin Ladner [mailto:{my E-mail}
Sent: Saturday, April 22, 2006 10:51 PM
To: 'comments@icann.org'
Subject: Abuse of the Add Grace Period
I've just read an article by Bob Parsons (of godaddy.com) regarding the abuse of the "add grace period" by firms that use domain names during the grace period (making money off of referral links) and then dropping the names before the end of the grace period (thus using the names for free while creating a turnover burden for registrars and interfering with legitimate businesses looking for appropriate names to use on a long-term basis). I agree that requiring ICANN's 25-cent fee to be paid up front and making the fee non-refundable may help to reduce the add-and-drop practice by making it less lucurative. I encourage you to make this change.
=R Martin Ladner=
[{my snail mail address, E-mail address, and phone number}] R Martin Ladner (http://futureec.com) on Apr 22 2006, 08:54pm Reply
Hi Bob,
Your information on the add/drop scheme is very informative. Is it possible that if I miss my renewal date someone who is watching for domains to expire can just up and sweep it out from under you? Is the industry doing anything to prevent this?
P.S. How can I get one of those cool "Go Daddy t-shirts?
Id like to see more money go to ICANN, and less go to verisign.
Lets say icann raised their fee to $1 (Non refundable), and gave less to Verisign. That would stop this business completely.
however, icann never put the .com registry up for bidding, so this wont happen. I'm pretty sure another company could run the .com registry with a lot less profit per domain as verisign. I'd love to see GoDaddy participate in that (now imaginary) bidding. I'm sure .com domains would be alot cheaper. Even Stokkedalen (http://www.win-vista.net) on Apr 22 2006, 11:41am Reply
Dear Even,
First, Go Daddy will never be registry — so don't look for us to bid on any domain name registry deal like .COM. We are dedicated to be a customer facing business.
Second, no need to raise the ICANN fee. Making the existing ICANN fee of 25 cents levied and non-refundable as soon as a domain name is registered the first time will eliminate the add drop scheme completely. The moment that happens you'll notice many more good names instantly available.
Hi Bob, the add/drop scheme you outline is a problem that I doubt ICANN will bother dealing with. If ICANN where run like a corporation these silly problems that are easily fixed would actually BE FIXED instead of simply going nowhere.
I am coming to the realization that the UN and ICANN are one in the same, lots of talk but inept at taking action due to their "ruling by consensus" philosophy. It's about time we INC. both of these organizations
As an aside, this you mentioned traffic monetization and how you think it is 100% fine for registers to PROFIT off MY domain WITHOUT my permission. If I hadn't registered a domain, you wouldn't be making the money off my "parked" domain, why not share what little revenue comes from parking a domain with the OWNER of the domain - 50/50 split would be fair in my opinion, I am not asking for a check, but a credit to my account would be fair to both the registrar and the domain owner.
Jon
http://jon.legendarylife.com
Founder of http://www.myfoodcount.com - Free & Anonymous Health Monitoring Jon Cantin (http://www.myfoodcount.com) on Apr 22 2006, 11:20am Reply
Dear Bob,
Several weeks ago I stepped into an add/drop registrar and one of the first things I imagined was people registering 1000's of names just to assess their potential for PPC revenue, forecast yearly income, and then unload those with an inconvenient profile.
Your articles have become the "X-rays" (and sometimes the "crystal ball" of the domain industry. Your courage to expose these ethical concerns, always objectively and gently, is really admirable.
I believe that providing registrars the privilege to correct typos is not worth the financial risk (extra computing and accounting workload) ICANN is taking. Varlin (http://www.vztools.com) on Apr 22 2006, 11:14am Reply
Also, I really liked that interview link there. That's really great PR there. Congrats. Mark M. (http://phirefast.com) on Apr 22 2006, 09:53am Reply
Firstly, anyone who lets a domain name drop is really responsible for their own actions.
For example, you can set a domain name to autorenew (therefore avoiding any hassle). Alternatively, and for example, if you register your name through GoDaddy, you get plenty of notice of any manual renewal that is due.
Secondly: why have any period of grace? Anyone with a domain name they GENUINELY wish to keep ownership of should really be on the ball and ensure it is secured, year-in, year-out. And if the domain name is dropped, it should be made available for registration to the general public immediately. There is no need for any other rules or schemes, and the presence of such means that something is very wrong with the domain registration system.
Thirdly, I do know from checking names on a specific 'parking' website that domain names owned elsewhere are used to advertise companies. I did see one of my domain names being used on a parking website and also advertised as being for sale. To try to catch out the company falsely advertising my domain name for sale, I placed an offer for it. Needless to say I never got a response! Chris Holdcroft (http://www.bankraid.com) on Apr 22 2006, 08:43am Reply
Unrelated:
Bob,
Thanks for answering my WWBD question on your show. I'm taking your input into serious consideration. Hopefully I'll be able to work with you in the future.
At least they allow five days of leverage to recoup fees from fraudulent/bogus/mispelled registered names.
The whole jump in pricing to redeem domains is exorbitant and ridiculous.
Verisign sucks and ICANN is stupid.
Thanks Bob! anonymous on Apr 22 2006, 12:03am Reply
Dear anonymouse,
Don't be so quick to criticize VeriSign here. They are not the bad guys. I think VeriSign wants to see this end just as much as you and I. Now Icann is another story.
As I mention in my article, Icann needs to step up and act. ICANN has been aware of this for sometime but has chosen to do nothing. I think now they need to step up and shut down the scheme. It would do them well. Personally I am hoping that they take the initiative and do so.
ICANN is probably afraid of being sued by the companies participating in this scheme, and therefore refuses to do anything about it. Alex on Apr 23 2006, 01:53pm Reply
Dear Alex,
Who knows what ICANN is afriad of. Hopefully they develop some courage and step and fix this problem.
Bob, this lands back to the famous theory:
"With Convenience comes Abuse", as I posted in my blog a little while ago, but for a completely different subject.
This problem is just gonna get worse, Bob. People will abuse so many different things. You'll see an example on this link.
Here's my little post:
http://mark.phirefast.com/with-convenience-comes-abuse-ssh-prob lems
I know you're gonna fight this one. Thanks for keeping us updated! Mark M. (http://phirefast.com) on Apr 21 2006, 11:55pm Reply
Google is getting shot in the back and so are the advertisers!
Do you think Bob that at some point in the near future that the majority of "Searches" on Google, Yahoo etc will just bring up more pages of "Parked domains" it feels to me like the 'Google Ad" is getting ambushed.
My question is will little guys loose at the "Park and Click" game because of what you say is happening? Jon Lenon (http://applemusic.eu) on Apr 21 2006, 11:42pm Reply
Dear Jon,
There's nothing wrong with traffic monetization if the economics are there. The add drop scheme abuses the domain registrations systems and uses search engine monetization and also a few other sources of revenue to pull it off. There are a number of legitimate companies who own sites and pay for the associated domains that act as directories. As far as I'm concerned this is above board and just fine.
The true solution to this issue would be individual domain owners taking responsibility. Something I've never understood was how it's the registrar's responsibility to keep track of expiring domains. If a domain is so bloody important to the registrant, then KEEP TRACK OF IT! If it's too difficult to keep a paper trail, there are several electronic options to provoke reminders (and backup reminders) of the impending expiration date.
It's not that difficult to set a calendar reminder at least a week before the domain expires.
In those rare cases where a domain owner cannot even do that, why does that person even bother to have a website? He/she is apparently incapable of even the simplest technological actions...
Of course domain owners should be responsible for their names expiring. This issue is much bigger than that, and domain owners whose names expire are just one segment who are hurt by the scheme.
Hey Bob, I know someone who does this. he actually added 10,000 names then dropped them. I feel it is an unfair advantage for those individuals who truly want to begin a business. The old saying "cheaters never prosper,"
doesn't seem to aply in his case. Is there anything we can do, as individuals, to allow an equal opportunity for others?
2
1
wandbond411info@yahoo.com
What's the other part then? If a specific domain is so important:
1) ...and you already own it, keep track of it and renew it.
2) ...and you don't own it, backorder it or find an alternate that you spin in your direction. As long as there's free (not monetary, mind you) registration of domains, there will be people buying domains that intent to make profit of them. Are you trying to say that there are no GoDaddy customers doing this? GoDaddy offers cheap registration of domains... cheap+reseller = $. There's nothing wrong with that.
It's fine to play the public with your "point of view" but you're alienating those customers with any knowledge of the domain industry... let alone the fact that you're giving customers merit to abuse the representatives you currently employ.
Think about it... a customer's domain expires... it is registered by another company... who do they call? Their previous registrar. Who's to blame in the customer's mind? The rep who takes the call. Thanks, Bob. You just screwed your reps. As a fellow customer service rep, I feel their pain. K@ on Apr 22 2006, 01:23am Reply
Dear K@,
No need to be so melodramatic. Smart customers don't let their domains expire — especially if they want to keep them.
Very good thinking Bob. I would've suggested it to be completely non-refundable, but the non-refundable 25 cent fee would work perfectly fine.
I guess they could do that, maybe they are just too slow too act? Why wouldn't they want to? Matt from Brooklyn on Apr 21 2006, 09:59pm Reply
Bob,
Thanks for telling it like it is. Keep going! People on the domain forums have been screaming about the EU fiasco for months, if not years (.info). Forum members emailed reporters. Guess what they did? Nothing. Though all of a sudden you talk about the EU RID incompetence and reporters all over the world start writing about it and everyone in the EU is outraged. I am afraid that the domain industry is not much better than the National Baseball League on Steroids. So, please keep talking.
Isn't the drop business just as corrupt? It seems as though the ones that rigged the EU game are the ones you have to pay more to get dropped domains because they have set up enough registrars to stack the deck. There is a lot of straightening out that needs to be done. Just keep shining the light on where it needs to be. The corruption needs to be weeded out fast, as I think it devalues domains for reasons I will not get into. Go Daddy Go!!! Richard on Apr 21 2006, 09:53pm Reply
Bob,
.EU Landrush
The way i see it is your were ganked.
You had no clue about the whole thing and you moaned that people with better intelligence beat you. So you moan foul.
They beat you fair and square, they had a plan: 1 connection per ISP and they milked it.
In fact, you changed your registration format to milk it too after you learnt there secret.
So Bob, dont go be a a bad luser, be a better player.
It's not. In fact this blog post has made me realize that all registrars are alike. The CEOs of every company are more concerned about what goes in their pocket than about the company or industry. GoDaddy may be cheap, but if you're willing to take the time to set up alternative ADNS (if you even need it) you can find even cheaper (non reseller) companies. Anonymous on Apr 22 2006, 01:30am Reply
Dear Anonymous,
There's always somebody cheaper. Question is my friend, are you willing to deal with the consequences that usually go along with cheaper?
That is 1,000% correct! You can get domains for, let's see, I got one once for like $6.50—new registration, no other products ordered. I bought it from a freakin' company in India, apparently, and then on my next bank statement I had two charges for international purchases that I did not make.
Yeah, the domain was cheap, but if I didn't check my bank statement, I would have been out about $80 for trusting some crook foreigner with my credit card information. (Note that I did not say that foreigners were crooks, but this one was. Many Americans are crooks too, but at least they are subject to the United States' code of law.)
"Buy American" and it's probably made in China! Pierre Jolicoeur on Jan 15 2007, 06:08pm Reply
You get what you pay for. Are you willing to take that risk when it comes to technology? Think about it, your website and web-business is in the hands of your $4 domain registration.
There are always bigger, better and cheaper. It's our job to make sure we make sure our products are competitive, not necessarily in price, but by providing a good quality service.
Go Daddy provides a rock-solid service, for (in most cases) cheaper than their competitors.
Keep your domain with GoDaddy. You know they'll take care of you. My business revolves around that theory. Take care of your customers, and you'll prosper, in time. Mark M. (http://phirefast.com) on Apr 24 2006, 04:35pm Reply
Good information.
What good does it do to write to ICANN?
Don't they already have their minds made up?
(That is assuming they have a mind!)
We need to replace ICAN'T with someone that is up to date on the internet. Maybe with GoDaddy!
Keep up the good work!
Thanks,
Bob
( I sent this to Icaan.. doubt anyone important will read it)
subject: George Bush and Icaan:
Dear Concerned Representatives,
Does Icann want to go down in history as a leader like George W?
I just got off the GoDaddy web site and read about the ADD/DROP scheme. To my understanding, the problem is whereby companies buy and then drop registrations before the 5 day grace period, so they are using the web site for free. I also understand the owner has written you and suggested a brilliant by simple fix, that all you have to do is make the ICANN fee non-refundable.
I'm not surprised Icann is ignoring the advice and concerns of one of the best and largest domain registrars in the world. I've once had my .com name frozen for 6 months because of useless policies within your organization. The truth is that you are under funded and outsmarted by all the young, savvy, internet con artists out there. You cannot afford talent or anyone with genius.
If Go Daddy is addressing a true problem and not omitting information or lying about this situation... if you had any business sense, you'd make that fee non-refundable and increase it to double... to fund research that stays in contact with the industry watchdogs... to hire young genius to stop the abusers in their tracks.
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But what about those who are trying to make a living online but cant seem to get there domains unparked! say 0258one or two are being advertised as available and have already been bought why is it that they were parked for anyway your friend.
scot corbett
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I posted on another thread talking about your super bowl ads, which I disagree with. But one reason I love your service is because you fight problems like this and i will point it out to anyone who complains about the ads. Thank you.
MKP
MKP on Jan 11 2007, 11:21pm Reply
Dustman (http://bel-air-travel-discount.dw.org.ua) on Jan 3 2007, 03:02am Reply
Look at this post form. You see the "spam-prevention image" there? It is called captcha, but a very easy-defeated one...
By simply requiring a little harder captcha to be entered if a domain should be purchased or dropped. And require that vision-imparied persons using screen reader should click on a voice link to hear the code.
And using different TYPES of captcha each time a domain should be registred or dropped.
And make captcha an requirement to register an domain, by letting VERISIGN's server send a captcha that the organisations that sell domains, must relay to the end user purchasing a domain.
And in the WHOIS record publish the captcha validation result so users can see that its not an bot that has registred the domain.
www.laamer.com
jonnytorrio (http://www.laamer.com) on Dec 19 2006, 05:00am Reply
Alexis Edwin (http://www.ukonlinemarket.co.uk) on Nov 23 2006, 02:59am Reply
Sohbet (http://www.cetsohbet.com) on Apr 29 2007, 08:22pm Reply
I never knew something like this could happen.
Autonews (http://www.auto-power-girl.com/) on Oct 5 2006, 09:41am Reply
Melisse (http://allabouttheworld.com) on Dec 23 2006, 06:08pm Reply
Don't know if you will reply to this, but belgiumdomains.com pounced on one of my client's domain name after they accidentally let it expire. They had thousands of dollars in advertising promoting their domain name, one of several, which all pointed to the same web site where they sell coins. The domain is 1866thecoin.com and, just as you said, it points to search engine links that sell coins, NONE of which point to my client's site. NICE.
Im sure that belgiumdomains.com used the add/drop scheme which ICANN allows registrars to utilize to steal web traffic, and belgiumdomains.com quickly discovered that this particular domain was profitable, so they pounced and purchased it... now what is my client to do? Pay thousands of dollars to get it back? It's outright theft. ICANN needs to provide a legitimate service to the users of the internet, not the thieves and scammers of the internet. I've watched ICANN for some years now continue to service scam artists until the public cry gets so loud they have to do something or face government action. Maybe it IS time for government action. What is ICANN's problem? IS ICANN making money on this ADD/DROP scam? OF COURSE THEY ARE! Which is why they won't address it until they are forced to.
Bob, please provide a forum for the public to address this problem to the regulators of ICANN directly. You are the only one I know of with the integrety and wherewithall who can actually pull this off.
Don (http://prositeserver.com) on Aug 28 2006, 01:41pm Reply
Belgiumdomains just did the same thing to one of my clients domain names and we're in a tail spin to figure out how to get it back. Did you have any luck? Thanks Jay
Jay on Jul 16 2007, 03:00pm Reply
Good luck!
Steve Finch on Apr 26 2007, 04:33am Reply
Look at this post form. You see the "spam-prevention image" there? It is called captcha, but a very easy-defeated one...
By simply requiring a little harder captcha to be entered if a domain should be purchased or dropped. And require that vision-imparied persons using screen reader should click on a voice link to hear the code.
And using different TYPES of captcha each time a domain should be registred or dropped.
And make captcha an requirement to register an domain, by letting VERISIGN's server send a captcha that the organisations that sell domains, must relay to the end user purchasing a domain.
And in the WHOIS record publish the captcha validation result so users can see that its not an bot that has registred the domain.
sebastian nielsen on Aug 18 2006, 01:54pm Reply
Jean-Marie
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Garb (http://baza.garb.ru) on Jul 24 2006, 09:45am Reply
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1991365,00.asp
r
The thing described in the article happened to me, too. I searched for a domain, and it was not taken. I tried to buy it a few hours later, and it was taken.
Dan X on Jul 22 2006, 04:33am Reply
Wang Lee Domains Ltd.
Suite 410, 4th Floor
Barkly Wharf
Le Caudan Waterfront, Port Louis
MU
+852.30149162
+852.30149162
contact@wangleedomains. com
I have searched the web. This happened to lots of people.
He seems to somehow SPY on WHOIS searches and buy the good-sounding domain names from them.
I have contacted him later and he asked for $995 for the domain name.
How is this possible? How can some guys spy on WHOIS searches?
Please write an article so that everybody is warned!
Thank you.
A. Dan on Jul 20 2006, 08:31am Reply
I checked domain name availability near 11 pm using Yahoo Small Business system, but I hesitated a bit, because I was looking for a great registrar and I didn't have any experience with Yahoo. The next day, at about 3am, the domain name was registered by another guy in the US, named Charles M. Hatcher. I Googled him by that time, and did not find anything. I recently checked him, and found some interesting results about his whereabouts.
I was so mad!!! How was it possible. I checked every internet source on domain felonies, but this kind of "robbery" was not described. SNIPING/SQUATTING was described everywhere, but it was related to EXPIRED DOMAINS being captured after the original owner missed the renewal. In my case, that domain name had never been registered before, so there was no way to prove that it was lost due to spying.
Sadly, I didn't learn the lesson the first time, and I lost not only my name, but also 3 great domain ideas, ALWAYS AFTER USING YAHOO to check domain availability. It has never happened to me using GoDaddy, but definitely I have learned the lesson: whenever you have a great idea on domain names, don't hesitate, don't take a nap, go register it and you won't be sorry. Never check availability and go away if that particular name is important to you.
I think that we, the victims of such spying, should organize the available info and make a website to expose these guys, wherever they are.
Note: I managed to acquire {myname}.com after bargaining it from $1000 to $250. So much for hesitating about a $19 registration (they weren't as cheap as nowadays). Lesson learned.
VZ (http://www.vztools.com) on Oct 10 2006, 06:26pm Reply
andrea beeler on Aug 3 2006, 11:20am Reply
stevo on Jul 31 2006, 11:36am Reply
Where did they get the licences to sell our domain names. Did they just do what they did in the big land rush just go and claim everyones names and keep adding too it.
I mean really how does it work i thought air space was endless and that we will never run out of cyber space.
scot corbett on Jun 23 2006, 08:42am Reply
I'd like to name registrars and registrant who catch domains and then release them.
(#15 Krysti Mikkonen) is the registrant DOMAINBOT and registrars Belgiumdomains LLC, Domaindoorman LLC and Capitoldomains LLC ?
Because i had the same situation, and it is very strange im using DomainPunchPro for domain name check, and as soon as i check the domains, they are registered within a day by the same registrant ! after that i do not use this kind of applications to check domain availability, now around 50 software engineers in our company are analysing this application for spyware and if so we are going to start official investigation.
P.S. this is not for this article, but this is idea for Bob,
it is time to do something with SORBS, i think they are just extortioners, and the idea is to build AntiSORBS community, and i'm sure a lot of hosting providers will support this idea
Gayk Zakaryan (http://www.eurointermedia.com) on Jun 15 2006, 04:59pm Reply
Peter Habjan (http://www.sexualcareproducts.com/) on Jun 13 2006, 11:11pm Reply
rivonne on Jun 8 2006, 01:03pm Reply
"The lawsuit, filed Thursday by high-end retailers Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, alleges that Dotster abused its status as a registrar by "checking out" hundreds of domain names that closely resemble the correct ones—and then keeping only the ones that were visited by Web users"
This is a good news to stop this scheme.
Son Nguyen (http://www.123finder.com/) on Jun 5 2006, 12:55pm Reply
But what about those who are trying to make a living online but cant seem to get there domains unparked! say 0258one or two are being advertised as available and have already been bought why is it that they were parked for anyway your friend.
scot corbett
scot corbett (http://my msn.com) on May 27 2006, 01:47am Reply
Thanks Carolyn
Carolyn (http://www.healthy7ph.com) on May 25 2006, 04:16pm Reply
Peter on May 25 2006, 04:09am Reply
Why would ICANN decide not to act? Is it a legal issue? Are they under political pressure? Are they afraid of a backlash from legitimate registrars? Or are those who hold resposibility for the situation benefiting directly from the add/drop scheme?
Matt Jacobson on May 21 2006, 02:08pm Reply
Another thought,
If your fundamentals of life preclude you from paying 9 bucks a year to renew your precious "BABY", maybe you should consider using your domain to sell something with a slightly wider profit margin.
If you have to choose between your rent and your domain name, Bob giving you 5 days isn't going to help you. Your problems are much deeper.
Fred on May 18 2006, 01:09am Reply
Mousee (http://franchise.viaden.com/) on May 16 2006, 07:21am Reply
Long time customer here, and I knew there was something I loved about this company! I appreciate how creative Mr. Parsons is, and that coupled with good business practices and an apparent firm grip on integrity...I recommend anyone to this company! The customer service is the best, and the technical stuff...well...I don't worry about it because they do such a great job.
thanks goDaddy!
Connie Cooper on May 15 2006, 04:45pm Reply
Maybe I just need to get used to it, but I wish you'd come up with a better name than add/drop. I propose "poncing" instead.
Greg (http://www.freerollz.com) on May 14 2006, 11:02pm Reply
Sharon on May 14 2006, 02:45pm Reply
I had to re-read the article several times, before it became apparent, what you were referring to.
I agree in full....Absolutely NO REFUNDS. I think a registered name should be permanent for the length of time agrred to (usually 1-2 years). NO GRACE PERIOD, unless it has been in use for over a year.
And lets face it search engines aren't what they used to be.. To much steering.
BOB start a new search engine for us to use
Don Brubaker (http://www.itsmylyfe.com) on May 10 2006, 11:19am Reply
Thanks for letting us know about this issue. With a little common sense (like your $0.25 suggestion) most of this can be stopped.
I'm usually frustrated when I try to get a domain name, because most of the best ones are taken. But you helped me realize that perhaps they are being "borrowed" instead.
Keep up the good work. I love GoDaddy.
Financial Reflections (http://www.financialreflections.com) on May 9 2006, 05:35pm Reply
I would like to see a future article on "abuses" by registrars and agents such as selling domain name query results. All too many times I have checked on the availability of a domain name for a client, only to have it registered elsewhere within a short time of the query.
A list of registrars known to participate in the sale of this information, and a list of those known not to participate in the sale of domain name availability queries would be very valuable information to your customer base, IMHO.
Thanks and regards,
Tony
Tony (North Central Texas, USA) on May 9 2006, 05:10pm Reply
Once again, great post Bob!
Mac (http://www.macpokeronline.com) on May 9 2006, 02:36pm Reply
After reading your article, I decided to try it again on the off chance that name had been cancelled. Sure enough, the domain name was now available.
I hope you are right and ICANN considers implementing your idea of the $.25 fee. Who knows how many times this may have happened to me before but I didn't realize if I had waited, it may have been available just five days later.
Krysti Mikkonen (http://www.ActiveWSIWebDesign.com) on May 8 2006, 09:37pm Reply
I respect you and the life you have lived, the company you've built and your place in the industry; but you are so disconnected with the levers and mechanics that drive much of the high margin business relating to domains that I don't know where to begin.
Suffice it to say that Verisign could have shut down the catch and release (batch testing) process in November and it would not have made a hamburger-hill of beans difference to anyone who was savy enough to understand the space.
My .7881 EURO
Frank S on May 8 2006, 07:50pm Reply
I assume (shame on me) that you've already typed the entire length and girth of your observations and have it at your disposal. Would you be willing to send the whole argument to me? Whatever of it I don't understand, I'll research without annoying you. But I have a feeling that you know some vital things that I and all of us should become aware of, including your "suffice it to say" statement, which went over my head.
Have pity on this poor underling!
Thanks Frank!
Lou Morales, Orange County, CA
Lou Morales (http://none yet) on May 10 2006, 06:37pm Reply
Sarah M. Trimbath on May 8 2006, 04:06pm Reply
I was a bit surprised to read a fundraising pitch in this forum that had nothing to do with your cause, but your bravado woke me up to the opportunity to use such venues to promote - meaning make people aware - of a good cause. When it comes to causes, it takes a very broad audience to come up with the scanty funding necessary to further the cause.
My thing is Russian orphans in today's post-USSR Russian Federation (very long story... no, I'm not Russian). I have no organization; I'm winging it on my own, and it's not enough. But I learned from you that, even if people like Bob Parsons doesn't give penny number one to your cause, you still reached countless other eyes, among which you are bound to find sympathetic supporters.
Thanks for having the guts to be politically incorrect. You gave my a grand idea in my solo plight to end an unspeakable horror, thanks to the capitalization of the FUS.
Sincerely,
Lou Morales
Lou Morales (http://none yet) on May 10 2006, 07:12pm Reply
As a good friend of mine ( Harald Seeley / EA ) would say:
"Mobbing of the century is tolerated and directed by me, what is not tolerated by myself is that others talk in my presence which could bring up their constructive ideas".
What ever - Keep the good work going !
Thomas D. (http://Priv) on May 17 2006, 07:13am Reply
Very frustrating to people and could put to good use Craig Gress
Craig Gress (http://www.bodyconcept.com) on May 7 2006, 05:23pm Reply
Milko on May 7 2006, 09:52am Reply
Five years ago I queried the registry for "goldandblue.com". To my surprise it was available, but waiting 24 hours was a mistake I will not make again. Five years later, there is still no website at goldandblue.com. I have a couple more that this has happened to, but I'm still holding out for the names because I can use them. Goldandblue.com is a name that would have related nicely to a place I was working at the time but not now, which may explain why I no longer want it although I can see profitable uses for it.
While this is not an example of add/drop, but more of cybersquatting and selling of registry queries, it still seems very unfair. Thanks for the light — a conspiracy is going on!
Scott McCain (http://www.athleticsite.com) on May 6 2006, 08:27pm Reply
I just read your post regarding Bob Parson's blog about the add/drop scheme.
Try as I may, I fail to find reference to any selling of registry queries businesses or offers online. Does this actually happen? Is godaddy or internic part of the problem, or do some smart guys have software that allows them to capture queries?
Please advise, as your point is super important!
Thanks,
Lou Morales
Lou Morales (http://none yet) on May 10 2006, 07:17pm Reply
I seriously doubt you will find much written about it anywhere, because it's more of an underground practice that we've naively like to believe is not happening, but more than likely is. I could liken it to government conspiracy theories, but since there are far fewer subscribers to domain-registrars-selling-search-results-to-thieving-entrepreneur concepts, the lack of popularity of the subject would whittle down any online commentary on the subject to nothing.
Let's ask Bob to make this his next blog topic!
Scott McCain on May 15 2006, 12:13pm Reply
darren crumbleholme (http://www.highbills.com) on May 6 2006, 12:04pm Reply
A host with a wholesale registration account is in a position to know exactly how much traffic a domain gets — and if they wanted to know; query / search keywords used, type in traffic, inbound links, Google PR and slew of other stats. It would be simple picking to flip the names that WILL generate a lot more than $0.25 in PPC revenue.
I vote with what others suggest: no grace period. You wanna play, register the name and pay the fees.
Alternately, a period where the name gets dropped from zone files and does not resolve would also stop the problem.
Randy Harris (http://www.lexipixel.com) on May 5 2006, 08:17pm Reply
All through the article I had no idea what you were referring to, until I got to the point below:
How the add/drop scheme works - first they make a large cash deposit.
The registrars who participate in the add/drop scheme first make a large cash deposit with the VeriSign registry.
David Lynch (http://www.techguide.ca) on May 5 2006, 05:05pm Reply
I suspect that the folks committing this abuse are averaging more than five cents a day per domain name.
More effective, I suspect, would be
1. Steps to prevent automated registering of large numbers of names, and/or a limit to the number of orders that can be charged to any person or entity per day.
2. No more than ten refunds per day for any person or entity.
3. Severe financial penalties to folks caught using multiple accounts/identities to exceed these limits.
Wes Groleau (http://www.northwestallentrails.org) on May 5 2006, 11:40am Reply
Sure when you consider registering 100,000 domains at $.25 a pop - that's a cool $25,000 in non-refundable fees they have never had to pay before! When you consider that they were doing the same thing for free only a month before. that's a huge cut in the profit margin.
I think, though, that Bob missed the second tier effect that this fee would invoke - and that is the effect it would have on the registrars that allow Add/droppers to do their work.
As a registrar, honestly I don't know how he missed it. When you consider that the $25,000 fee is in fact ICANN's profit, it brings the whole deal into perspective. As a registrar you would suddenly be paying that fee on services not rendered! No profit margin - strictly working as a middle man moving the fees straight from the clients hands to ICANN. When you add in processing fees and other sundry costs, the registrars are suddenly losing money from these transactions. When you cut at the profits, you'll see fewer doors opening to this practice.
What would result would either be a stop at the registrar level of these types of transactions or you would begin to see non-refundable registrar fees to counteract the loss. Either way, it would be win-win for the common businessman.
I think Bob is on to something here.
Joe Bartlett (http://www.hostkc.com) on May 29 2006, 10:25pm Reply
Actually they don't make a nickel a day, or even close to that. The 25 cents being made non-refundable would fix the problem completely.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on May 9 2006, 09:46am Reply
Good article, I hope that someone at ICANN wakes up and takes notice, but I doubt it, it would mean they have to do some work for their money. Its good to see that someone involved in the registering of domains is interested in cleaing up the way they are sold both in the US and in the EU.
There are so many scams involving registering, renewing and selling domains it would be nice to see ICANN/Verisign make a start by acting on something it would be easy to fix.
Even some of the country registrars such as NOMINET in the UK are not above shady dealings, they write to the owners of domain names coming up for renewal saying that they will send a pro-forma invoice for renewal of a .co.uk domain name. The price they quote is 80 UK pounds, against the renewal price at yourselves or other reliable sellers of about 5 pounds a year.
If the government authorised agencies are involved in underhand scemes like this you will have an uphill struggle to clean up the selling of domain names.
Keep on fighting for your customers Bob, and good luck fighting ICANN
David
dirty david (http://dirty-david.com) on May 5 2006, 07:55am Reply
Why not suggest that only domain names that are past the AGP can have links posted to them?
Steve Brown
Stephen Brown (http://www.PrettyGoodSystems.com) on May 5 2006, 07:08am Reply
The Cash Cow (http://www.netcashcows.com) on May 5 2006, 05:39am Reply
jeff on May 5 2006, 12:21am Reply
Under no circumstance are we involved in that. There are however many registrars that are. My new article will name a few.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on May 9 2006, 09:39am Reply
But really what this is all about is no different than anywhere else in that a huge percentage of what I see in the world as a whole is people wanting something for nothing, not willing to work for what they get, no respect, no integrity, willing to lie or cheat or steal if they think they can make a buck and not get caught. No morals, no ethics and then they wonder why life is crappy back at them. Not everyone mind you, but such a proportionately large percentage as to be sickening. All that us little guys and gals can do is simply keep plugging away, hold onto our virtues and if you are like me run my single family operated small business close to the breast and not compromise on ideals, values and principles even if it costs me money its worth it to know I ain't like "them".
T Wright (http://www.freemarketingsource.com) on May 4 2006, 11:31pm Reply
Date: Thu, 04 May 2006 21:00:52 -0700 [09:00PM PDT]
From: Keith S[xxxxxxxxxxxxx] <Keith@[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx].com>
To: comments@icann.org
Subject: Stop Add/Drop Abuse — Make $0.25 ICANN Fee Non-Refundable
I just read Bob Parsons' article (http://www.bobparsons.com/adddropscheme.html) on the Add/Drop scheme, and his proposed solution to the Add/Drop abuse problem seems perfect to me.
Please change the status of the ICANN fee from refundable to non-refundable. This appears to be a bulletproof win-win-win solution (win for ICANN, win for registrars/registries, and win for consumers)!
Keith S[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sacramento, CA
Keith S. on May 4 2006, 09:03pm Reply
Maybe I just need to get used to it, but I wish you'd come up with a better name than add/drop. I propose "poncing" instead.
Matt Williams (http://www.revs.org) on May 4 2006, 06:57pm Reply
Mike Watson (http://www.whatshottoday.com) on May 4 2006, 07:10am Reply
As a GoDaddy customer for years now, I must say, I love reading your blogs and how you are actively involved in this business, not only on a professional level, but a personal one as well is simply incredible. Hats off to you, Bob.
I wish to god ICANN does something about their fees, and is soon pressured into making some changes to their policies. Overall in the long run, if they decide to make that fee non refundable, it will benefit everyone, same as what others were saying, legitimate domain registrations wont mind the fact that its non refundable because they needed the domain in the first place. If we were to make it non refundable, hundreds of thousands of domain names would be available to such small business owners as myself, and others.
I had to change my entire company's name back in 2003 due to the add and drop, in which case they then fully registered 'my' domain and we lost gross profits close to $60, 000. This was one person; imagine the other thousands of people that go through this on a daily basis? It's a drag.
It's becoming a greater and greater problem, and it's horrible to receive the email saying that you can no longer own a name that's 'yours'. It's too bad, but I hope GoDaddy as well as other domain name providers will also pressure or suggest to ICANN that they change their policies. Let's not forget that some of those other providers are selling those very lists of domain names to the very people who are to blame for the scheme itself, they are just as guilty for feeding the fire. That needs to be addresed as well. Hopefully in the near future, we will se a difference, and that your personal address to the problem will somehow generate some kind of recognition to this fiasco.
Regards,
Evans
Evans (http://evansadrian.com) on May 4 2006, 12:44am Reply
Don't look for ICANN to do anything anytime soon. They do what they are best at doing — nothing.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on May 9 2006, 09:36am Reply
Granted, you have done more with your life than I have with mine, so maybe I'm the real tool, but I don't look like one.
Dump that silly thing.
Brandon on May 3 2006, 10:13pm Reply
Tool bag huh? Now you know I was just thinking kind of the opposite thought. I've been thinking the rock in my left ear could stand to be a carot or so bigger. So the next time I come into some extra cash....
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on May 9 2006, 09:34am Reply
Matt (http://www.revs.org) on May 25 2006, 06:30am Reply
Do some who is searches and when you see the registered owner Moniker put 2 and 2 together.
visit the url's and then try to BID on the site if you want the name. They say. THIS SITE IS FOR SALE etc
Contact Moniker on any of their domains they have used and try to make a bid . They send you a standard letter back saying they will send bids on your behalf to the owner for $25,000 usd !!
!!
John Micaels on May 3 2006, 09:32pm Reply
Sincerely,
sales@myEmagine.com
GoDaddy domain name holder.
Jasmine (http://myEmagine.com) on May 3 2006, 02:42pm Reply
Surely you can't be serious. If you were serious, you would have stepped up, been responsible (big word — responsibility) and paid the $8.95 renewal fee for your baby (ie domain name), and not left the registrar wondering what in the world to do with it.
Regarding the $80 fee GoDaddy charges to bail out a name at the last minute — it's a deal. it compares to $200 charged by other registrars, and given the manual intervention we have to do we make little in the process. Once again it's all avoided if registrants take responsibility for their domain names and simply — quite simply — pay the renewal fee on time.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on May 9 2006, 09:32am Reply
Jasmine
Jasmine (http://myEmagine.com) on May 11 2006, 08:39am Reply
You still dance around that "responsibility" phrase. It's very simple: renew your domain name now and pay nine bucks; wait until it expires and pay $80. It's just like paying a late fee on your rent, a bad check fee—sort of like living in the (real world). And you conveniently changed the wording from five-day grace period to five-day redemption period. If GoDaddy changed its policy and put your domain name out on the street one second after it expired (which meant your redemption period is over), Big Business would snatch it up and sell it back to you for $5,000 or more. There's your reality check.
And now that I know how frivolous you are with your domain names' expirations, I'm looking forward to October 7. That's when myemagine.com expires and I'll be there to scoop it up on backorder. Is it worth $8.95 now, or thousands once I buy it out from under you?
Scott on May 15 2006, 12:27pm Reply
And Bob, If you've got the power, or the concern, 5 day us all.
Thanks
Jasmine on May 16 2006, 05:08pm Reply
If someone did have a legitimate reason to get a refund then they wouldn't mind going through a 5 minute manual process to get their money refunded.
Bob, can you or anyone else give a legitimate reason why someone would need to get a refund for a domain name?
James Burns (http://www.potteryknobs.com) on May 3 2006, 12:23pm Reply
Since you seem so keen on ethics, how come GoDaddy delays domain-transfers-away for the maximum possible permitted time (7 days)?
By the way Bob - please take a listen to the mp3 recordings here: www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=477562
and explain why GoDaddy has the misleading term "24/7 support" plastered on its web site (or, for that matter, why you suspend domains without checking any evidence, or why you never return phone calls to your "abuse" department...)?
Why not try cleaning up your own backyard before doing more complaining about others???
Chris on May 3 2006, 11:10am Reply
http://www.bobparsons.com/adddropscheme.html?serendipity[search Term]=#c13815
Bob, you should have been clearer about the technicalities. But you weren't. Technically, all domain names are "parked" at a server, resulting in the term "parked domain name". But the catch-all phrase is confusing consumers.
There is a big difference between owning a domain name and parking it at a PPC Search engine to make a few bucks, versus participating in the add/drop scheme.
Because you didn't define these differences, now people are going to think that all domains that park at PPC Search Engines are participating in the add/drop scheme.
I suggest you write another article to clear this up before it backfires on GoDaddy.
Tia Wood (http://www.spaggle.com) on May 3 2006, 10:33am Reply
Eric Standlee (http://www.7kovernover.com) on May 2 2006, 06:12pm Reply
I enjoyed that article very much. As a domain registrar it takes a lot of fortitude to bring something like this to light. I applaud you.
I was not even aware until I read this article that I was the victim of this not once but three times. I registered a domain with GoDaddy and due to a problem that was probably my fault, I was not able to be notified that my renewal date was approaching and somehow "autorenew" was turned off. So it went into the limbo status (don't remember the exact term applied) and I couldn't spend the $80 to reclaim it. I backordered it and was patient, I thought since the domain really didn't mean anything to anyone else, I would have a good chance of reclaiming it. Well it was not to be, some low-life got it before me and now there is a page there a page with a bunch of unrelated links (and pop-ups) and an "Inquire about ....com" link where they want you to bid (minimum of $90) for this domain.
How can I tell if it was "dropped" as a part of the add/drop scam and if it were dropped, why wouldn't it become available again?
As a fellow veteran, I salute you for always being "up front" with things and I love GoDaddy and have recommended it to many friends. Keep up the good work.
Thomas Haynes on May 2 2006, 12:35am Reply
Drew
Drew on Apr 30 2006, 02:39pm Reply
Further, why can't a person / company simply keep registering the same domain and then dropping it near the end of the grace period, extending the potential for abuse? This is absurd.
Speaking of backordering, I'm new to using this and auctions to win a domain name or two I want, but personally I am trying to decide if it's worth it for me to use GoDaddy to try to backorder a domain that's not with them. It seems like sort of a waste of time, yet the registrar it's currently with charges 4 times as much. Seems like sort of a lose-lose situation either way. The only good part is, with the other registrar I only pay if I get it. If you can consider $60 "good".
Brian
Brian S. (http://www.briansharkey.com) on May 4 2006, 01:19pm Reply
I let a .com domain expire because I chose to pay rent and didn't have $8.95 left in my checking account.
The domain went to auction for $3000.00. Now, an identity I have been trying to build for myself is a page of links. I have thought of several more siutable names as a replacementuld devaluate .com and make .net or .biz
the more popular choice in TLDs.
David Krause (http://www.aaaez.com) on Apr 30 2006, 01:56pm Reply
John Davies on Apr 29 2006, 09:44pm Reply
Keral (http://www.ruuz.com) on Apr 29 2006, 08:15pm Reply
Then at apoint you have to confine with the name you may find.
These linkers may actually be damaging the whole economy. If the enterpreneur cannot find a proper name, customers do not find them.
Anyway, I never knew why&where these pages came from, now Mr. Parsons provided us the insight. Thank you. Really.
Now this is time to act. What some other registrars is doing if unjust and has to be halted.
ICANN stop the domain name terror!
Love&Peace
Alan
Alan parsons (http://www.luxurysteps.com) on Apr 29 2006, 05:44am Reply
Although you say that Verisign's hands are tied regarding the add/drop scheme because it is not technically illegal, it also not illegal for Verisign to change the fee structure or implement one or more of the numerous solutions godaddiers have posted here. Or is ALL Versign registration policy mandated by ICANN?
JT
JT (http://spinalheadache.org) on Apr 28 2006, 04:40pm Reply
I'd pay a hefty fee for a permanent reg. And when you consider the rock-bottom cost of registration for a year, how much could a permanent reg cost? $100? $200? Even $500 wouldn't be too much to pay for that piece of mind. Guess it just depends on how much a reg business makes on a typical domain name. Bob?
Also, perm reg would make domains a property. I can't see any problem with that. If you don't need it anymore, sell it off. Just another asset.
I realize that Bob and resellers like myself would loose out on the constantly re-cycling domains as registration expires. But, I cna't imagine it would be all that much, especially when domains go for a buck 99 with hosting purchase.
So, Bob, with all due respect, if you want to impress me, push for permanent registrations. Lets make ALL registrations permanent, charge $250 for .com and .net, $100 for .org, and $50 for .name vanity domains, and all the other silly .whatevers nobody wants.
Now, if there is such a thing as permanent registration already... ooops.
Jason Bailey on Apr 28 2006, 03:56pm Reply
I think what customers need to do is take responsibility — that's a unique thing for this day and age don't you think — stepping up and taking responsibility? — for their domain names. If a domain name has a year or two left on its registration renew it out to ten years. That will have the same effect as a premanent registration.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on May 1 2006, 09:29am Reply
John (http://www.kipcug.org) on Apr 27 2006, 11:38am Reply
Also, Verisign is the "Registry" for .com and .net names. I don't know what the registry charges, if anything, for restoring a d omain. Regardless Go Daddy is indeed cheap in comparison to some others registrars.
http://www.verisign.com/information-services/naming-s ervices/page_001083.html#0100000B
NetSol: If we decide to provide the redemption service to a customer, we charge a fee of $150 to redeem and renew a domain name registration during the RGP.
Most other registrars are roughly $150, Go Daddy's $80 looks a lot more reasonable in that context.
Jeff on May 2 2006, 02:07pm Reply
However, there is more to the story. Network Solutions, and apparently other registrars, are selling domain search results to the add/drop schemers. This is how they know which domains to register.
This problem needs to be addressed too.
Thanks,
Eric
Eric on Apr 27 2006, 08:51am Reply
I have always wondered if it did, and been very cautious when looking for domain names. I always use non-commercial whois servers for this purpose, because my gut feeling was that major domain registrars would undoubtedly capitalise on domain name search data (unless some law or TOS specifically made it illegal to do so). I'd be interest to know if what you say is accurate (i.e. where did you get this info from?)
Thanks. Jonathan
Jonathan (http://www.feal.org) on May 8 2006, 04:47pm Reply
Gary (http://www.beavervalleysoftware.com) on Apr 27 2006, 06:24am Reply
I was surprised and deeply moved by GoDaddy's response to the note I left for you yesterday. Bob Olsen and Tyler Wirtjes contacted me by phone twice today and are handling my case with such warmth, diligence, and professionalism that I'm speechless. Wow, wow, wow. Thank you for restoring my faith in customer service. I'd sing more of your praises, but I know you're a busy man.
With gratitude,
scott becker
(GoDaddy's newest evangelist)
Scott Becker on Apr 26 2006, 11:54pm Reply
It so would solve the problem of people losing their domain name when they forget to renew.
Chris Velevitch on Apr 26 2006, 08:06pm Reply
Daniel on Apr 26 2006, 05:34pm Reply
I am confused about this article. You (Godaddy) are doing pretty much the exact same thing! With your TDNAM "High Value" names.
What Godaddy does is test these domains for revenue (traffic monetization) and then create a price they feel they will make even more money from the consumer. Then guess what, when someone won't pay that ridiculous price, they register it for themselves. No backorder option available for regular consumers.
I don't like the practice you explained above, but don't be a hypocrite when you guys are doing pretty much the exact same thing.
Let's not also forget the 2 week time when someone wins a domain that is it still parked at Godaddy earning you money.
I await your response.
Gavin King (http://www.vegascoupons.com) on Apr 26 2006, 12:02pm Reply
Neither GoDaddy.com nor any of our affiliate registrars participate in the add drop scheme.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 26 2006, 05:19pm Reply
I have watched the last year with absolute frustration waiting for registars to make a few bucks before actually letting a domain actually drop.
I agree ICANN needs to tighten up the ropes.
Wayne Frisch on Apr 29 2006, 10:21pm Reply
Thanks for quick reply, I didn't say that Godaddy or affliates participate in the add drop scheme. What I was asking is how is your TDNAM "high value" scheme different??
You test the domain, set a large price on it, and then register it once it drops (if no one buys it at TDNAM). It is immediately directed to your parking page for traffic monetization. Isn't that very similar to what the add drop gusy are doing?
Gavin King (http://www.vegascoupons.com) on Apr 27 2006, 07:17am Reply
Since so many names have been snatched up also by people who never use them, is this problem you mention growing in scope - or is it just my imagination that more names are expiring daily (admittedly mostly junk), than are being registered?
..athol
Athol Foden (http://www.brighternaming.com) on Apr 26 2006, 08:53am Reply
The problem is growing in scope by astronomical proportions — and it has nothing to do with the names that are expiring through the normal course of business. Keep in mind that it has increased in scope 15 fold in just one year — from March 2005 to March 2006.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 26 2006, 11:33am Reply
As to the clown who critiqued your writing, I would like to see his real world success, blogs, etc.
Funny how those who "don't do" feel it a good idea to criticize those who DO. LOL Great response you gave him.
Watched your interview. Good stuff.
Thanks and take care.
(btw, your system would not let me put in my domain name, sd4usa.com. Shucks. It's ok though. I wasn't looking for hits. Just filling the form.)
Chris on Apr 25 2006, 10:42pm Reply
In response to this article, I too am constantly berated by these fake domains that just exist to make money and confuse the visitor. The fact that they aren't even paying for them though, is worse than I thought the situation was.
Overall, it's so great to see a successful, fair company, also have the balls to step up and speak about topics other companies of the same type decline to touch.
Keep up the great work, and I look forward to one day remembering to catch your radio show.
P.S. Nice idea with the spam-prevention system and 3000 characters max is very generous.
AdemoS (http://blkflm.com) on Apr 25 2006, 07:03pm Reply
Thanks a lot for this new great post pointing out another loophole in the ICANN regulations. I would like to make a post about that on my blog, in French, and translate part of your post. Let me know if you think it's OK, please.
Kind regards,
Jean-Marie Le Ray
Jean-Marie Le Ray (http://www.adscriptor.com) on Apr 25 2006, 03:34pm Reply
Feel free to do so, just credit this article and my copyright.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 26 2006, 11:23am Reply
I think ICANN knowly not doing anything as they are earning their amount anyway.
DRatho
Dayananda Ratho (http://www.cyberorissa.com) on Apr 25 2006, 03:32pm Reply
I'm still a little confused...
I took a look in the internic database at the site mentioned (click4jobs.com) and it DID have the expiry dates:
Updated Date: 07-dec-2005
Creation Date: 14-nov-2003
Expiration Date: 14-nov-2006
How can you tell if a domain is being held by this method? Am I looking in the wrong place?
Robert Hatvani on Apr 28 2006, 03:47pm Reply
I fully agree with Mr.Bob Parson to charge a amount while registering and the same name cannot be registered by that registerting company again. They should pay $1 extra if they book it again.
I sincerly put my demand to put an end to this type of registation process.
DRatho
Dayananda Ratho (http://www.cyberorissa.com) on Apr 25 2006, 02:53pm Reply
We both know that domain renewal is a huge componant to the bottom lines of registrars, and a tremendous effort is made to renew these names, including auto renewals on domain names.
SO< I believe the actual damage to customers is minimal. However, I can see the administation costs to your company rising dramatically. Lets be honest. How big a problem is this really for the consuming public?
Former RCOM employee on Apr 25 2006, 01:21pm Reply
I wish to point out that your perspective is in my experience a rather limited one. This issue has numerous effects that I can think of:
1) Search engine results become less effective and more erroneous
2) People searching for names at a whois site and don't register it immediately often find that their chosen and available name is gone when the come back a day or two later to go ahead with the registration.
3) Names that consumers wish to register for legitimate business / personal purposes are often not available and yet not in use except as per what Bob has pointed out.
4) It's a basic misuse of a global (albeit "virtual"
All the best,
Jonathan
Jonathan (http://www.jonathanevatt.com) on Jun 11 2006, 12:52am Reply
If you are someone who has no interest in the Internet or a domain name, then there is no damage. I suppose it would be the same way that stock manipulation would not have any effect on someone who has no interest in the stock market.
But if you are involved in the Internet....
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 26 2006, 11:22am Reply
Perhaps unrelated, I have noticed that spam return address have very strange domains associated with them - using adjectives or other terms that clearly are not part of a bone fide web site (sorry I have no example handy, but look through unfiltered spam sometime.)
Thanks for the article.
Peter B on Apr 25 2006, 01:07pm Reply
You seem to be confusing some readers with your article. Legitimate domain investors who purchased domain names that previous owners allowed to drop are different than the crooks that use the add/drop scheme. You should make this difference clearer.
Renewing a domain name is the owners responsibility. I know, I get tons of emails 90, 60, 30 and 5 days before a domain is up for renewal. I've even received phone calls from GoDaddy.
Not only that, but there is a grace period that allows the owner to renew their domain even after it has expired.
This is where the add/drop scheme does not apply. But some visitors here are confusing the two methods.
You should clear this up before it backfires. GoDaddy provides drop/expired services.
Tia Wood
Spaggle
Tia Wood (http://www.spaggle.com) on Apr 25 2006, 10:12am Reply
Dear Bob,
You , GoDaddy and shopping in GD makes dependence
more & more. I like your blogs and GD service..
It is just time to share money with the good names with
owners.
Rgrds
Alex Pillot on Apr 24 2006, 06:36pm Reply
I had received information from GoDaddy in regards to Congress Selling Out The Internet. Other wise I probably never would've known. What a shame! Thanks for the heads up!
Here's a URL that people might be interested in to send a petition to Congress about this matter. I just received it myself & of course signed it & sent it!
http://moveon.org/save_the_internet
I'm not affiliated with the organization or anything but I see they have room for volunteers too. It looks to be very legit. I hope that you will get a chance to take a look at it & pass it on to others (like me) that have domains of their own for small businesses & home businesses. I greatly appreciate all the things that GoDaddy does for it's customers.
Sheila (http://MSN) on Apr 24 2006, 05:17pm Reply
I don't think your a dummy bob but do the math, I'll use your pricing for the figure...
61,169 x 8.95= $547,462
not bad for 1 days work
ICANN and the registrars get their cut of this money, so you should be able to see why they do not wish to stop this method, I'm sure godaddy shares in quite a few of those registrations as well.
Jay
Jay on Apr 24 2006, 04:27pm Reply
You missed the entire point. Don't focus on the domain names that were retained. Focus on the ones that were used and then dropped for refund within the grace period.
Of course we make a few bucks on the ones that were kept — that's what is supposed to happen.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 26 2006, 08:30am Reply
Jay on May 5 2006, 07:05pm Reply
James on May 12 2006, 12:09am Reply
Michael Bailey (http://www.mychingo.com) on Apr 24 2006, 01:38pm Reply
In lieu of that, doubling the 25 cent fee, and making it non-refundable—might be a good start in the right direction.
CAROLYN SHERIDAN (http://www.mybabycakes.biz) on Apr 24 2006, 01:38pm Reply
No need to double it. Simply making it no-refundable would do the trick.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 26 2006, 08:27am Reply
Phentermin (http://www.palungjit.com/club/biagra) on Dec 9 2006, 03:56pm Reply
Domains should just be made non-refundable. It's a small cost anyway, I don't think many ledgitimate domain buyers bother to refund their purchases.
Jonathon (http://jsjsoftware.com) on Apr 24 2006, 11:49am Reply
Thanks for pointing this abuse out to us - I had no idea this kind of thing was allowed to happen. You're right, it isn't against the law...but that doesn't make it right.
Theoretically, using this system, can't registrars basically register and cancel the same domain over and over, for free, with nobody capable of stopping them?
I personally think the AGP isn't necessary at all in the first place. The registries are cool for giving us this ability, but I think it's been abused. They should remove it. Those who make the mistake of registering the wrong name should pay the registration fee and get over it.
I think charging just the 25 cents isn't enough to hinder these registrars. Each domain can easily make that back for them, they could still retain a profit and continue this practice. The registry should keep $1 to $2 from the reimbursement at least.
Once again, thanks a lot for bringing this to light.
Thomas White on Apr 24 2006, 11:42am Reply
Of course they can and that is the substance of the add drop scheme.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 26 2006, 08:24am Reply
Thank you.
KH
Kevin Hoff (http://N/A) on May 3 2006, 02:19pm Reply
Dave (http://www.code4gold.com) on Apr 24 2006, 10:29am Reply
Thanks for the article. I'm going to use the information to set up my own add/drop scheme to make some money. It's time I get may share.
Ralph on Apr 24 2006, 10:23am Reply
Ken Walter (http://www.kenwalter.net) on Apr 24 2006, 09:51am Reply
The problems that I have with this are 2 fold. 1: I received NO letter in the mail to notify me that my site was about to expire or that it had. Only one email that somehow ended up in my Bulk folder. (That's right, only ONE EMAIL!) 2: And I feel, more important, the name of my domain is also the name of my company.
I had built up quite a bit of brand equity in the 2 years the site existed. Is there no copyright or business law that can keep some [explicit] from taking a name that I developed and cultivated into a living, breathing organism? It's identity theft of a digital store front.
What's next? Is there a way to fight or do I have to bend over and pay the seemingly never-ending rise of the cost to get my OWN company name back!
Can someone help? Is there some resource? I know this off the subject and true point Bob is making here, but relevant as I am tired of all the seemingly unregulated piracy!
Thanks,
Tim Stahl
Tim S. (http://adhauscreative.com) on Apr 24 2006, 07:51pm Reply
Nevertheless, one of my main domains recently "expired" even though I had been watching it closely and planning to renew, I missed it by a couple of days but they were there to let me renew it after the fact. I was really greatful for this grace period that GoDaddy provided. No matter how careful we are, all of us make mistakes.
Brian S. (http://www.briansharkey.com) on May 4 2006, 02:32pm Reply
The grace period terms are part of the ICANN rules, not GoDaddy's.
Bob will correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I think that there is a 5-day redemption period. After that, if it wasn't renewed, 40 days later it's supposed to be released back into the wild.
A big problem (especially with Dotster) is that if the domain name was anything good, the registrar isn't releasing them back into the wild.
So, while there is indeed a big problem with domain camping, there's also camping going on at the registrar level.
I don't know of any wrong doing being done by GoDaddy, but look at the whois information for kristymcnichol.com -
Registrar: Dotser.
..watch that domain name when it expires next year....nobody will have registered it, yet Dotster will push out the expiration date by yet another year, and it will remain locked up in their system, and not be released back into the wild as it should be.
It's been this way for at least the last three years with that domain name. I have had several email swaps with their legal department, and they basically informed me that only if I had a legal claim to the name would they let me "rent" it from them, but that I couldn't register it myself.....go figure.
Since I have been using 000domains.com as my registrar, then I found out that they are part of Dotster...needles to say, as my domains are expiring, I am transferring them to GoDaddy...
Go Bob!!
Michael Bailey (http://www.mychingo.com) on May 24 2006, 03:59am Reply
I've been watching this go on for quite a while and it's great to see someone in a position to be heard start speaking out about it. Keep the pressure on!
You mentioned that these add/drop registrars are using this scheme to register expired domains, but there's a whole other side to this that you didn't mention. They are also somehow registering names that have never been registered but have only been checked for availability.
For example, if I go to a registrar's website and check the availability of some obscure domain name, find it available, wait a day or two, then go back to register it, there's a good chance that it will have been taken by one of these add/drop abusers. This effectively forces customers to register a name as soon as they find it available, and eliminates their opportunity to check the availability of several names and take some time to choose the one to register.
I'm not sure if certain unscrupulous registrars are using or selling their customers' domain availability check data, if Verisign is selling the data, or if the add/drop registrars are somehow sniffing the network traffic to get this information.
I hope that you can shed some light on how this is happening and help put put a stop to it.
Someone has put together an interesting collection of information on one of the main abusers of this system ("Domibot"
John on Apr 24 2006, 09:24am Reply
OBJECTIVES
1. Trace domibot server and deavtivate it.
2. File case anginst it through international court.
3. Find people behind Domibot.
4. Try to convince them
5. Just help me to find their office. Rest of work I will do myself.
kill_domibot on May 15 2006, 10:16pm Reply
You have pointed out a very interesting flaw in the registration system, but I had to scroll half way through it to find out what you were even talking about. Seriously, have you ever taken a college comp class? This has to be one of the worst written articles I've ever read.
I don't mean to flame, just wanted to make a point on how frustrating it was to read about an interesting topic. Maybe you should have someone who doesn't work for you proofread it next time. Or just stick to running the company.
I'm sure this will be moderated and no one will ever see it, but maybe you can take it as some constructive criticism.
"Then they register as many names as the deposit allows.
Next, they go out into the market and register as many names as their funds permit."
Come on, there has to be a better way that doesn't waste my and all of your readers time. You're a CEO, you should understand this.
someone on Apr 24 2006, 09:16am Reply
I still don't know how the process of add-drop works, and sadly, all one has to do is drop in on a few Domainers' forums to see that there are tools and programs available for very modest fees that allow Domainers to snap up names from unsuspecting owners and potential owners with legitimate needs for a specific name. (Apologies, someone, that was a wretched run-on sentence. Hope I didn't split too many infinitives.)
Bob, how 'bout a rewrite? Get someone who also understands the scheme to edit the piece for you. Often times, another pair of eyes can untangle a stream-of-consciousness thread such as this one.
ATB,
Steve
Steve Russell (http://www.villas.com) on Apr 25 2006, 12:44pm Reply
THANK YOU on Apr 24 2006, 07:46pm Reply
Come to think of it, most of the time when I was in grammar school I was wearing the pointy hat and sitting in the corner — or was it sitting in the corner wearing the pointy hat? I really should have paid more attention.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 24 2006, 10:11am Reply
Perhaps you should take a dose of your own advice and get an independent proofreader my friend.
"...worst written articles..." I think you may have meant to say, "...poorly written articles..." (note the use of an adverb, not an adjective)
Also, do you mean to say that it is "...frustrating... to read about an interesting topic," or have you neglected to finish your sentence and/or thought?
I notice you initiated a sentence with a conjunction, which would appear to be beneath your highbrow opinion of yourself.
By the way, you clearly don't understand Bob Parsons if you, for a minute, doubted whether he would be confident enough to post your negative comment.
Just couldn't resist,
Nathan
Nathan on Apr 26 2006, 02:01pm Reply
Brian Bailey (http://www.teethwhiteners.com) on Apr 24 2006, 08:29am Reply
I think your blog posts are fantastic and pleased that you write is such an honest and direct manner. Wish there were more people like you in business.
Keep up the good work
Nadeem (http://www.azam.biz) on Apr 24 2006, 06:09am Reply
Previously, when you registered a domain name it could take up to three days for it o be available because DNS propagation was very slow. Since 2004 (maybe early-25005, I can't remember) DNS propagation only takes a few hours, one day tops.
If DNS propagation takes 3 days and the "add window" if 5 days, you only have 2 days to get data on how profitable is that domain. That's a very short time. But if DNS propagation only takes 12 hours, you have 4.5 days to make profit on that domain name.
I can't think of anybody who newly-registers a domain name and needs it to be available in 12 hours, so maybe increasing the DNS propagation delay for newly-registered domains could also make a difference for add/drop gamers. The delay should also be enforced if the renewal of the domain involves a change in the administrative contact, technical contact, etc, to avoid problems with expiring domains geting caught by add/droppers.
Pau Garcia i Quiles (http://www.elpauer.org) on Apr 24 2006, 04:03am Reply
——————————————-
Dear ICANN,
I'm sure you are well aware of the problems relating to the so-called 'add/drop' scheme, and I hope it is giving you a headache. If it isn't, it should be. I would just like to notch myself as another disatisfied Internet professional who strongly believes you cannot simply ignore this mushrooming problem. For more info, see this blog entry by Go Daddy.com president, Bob Parsons:
http://www.bobparsons.com/adddropscheme.html
I sincerely hope ICANN will take this issue seriously as these system 'cheats' are domain stock-piling and filling the Internet with noise without facing any financial penalty for their actions. It's as serious as spam, but unlike spam, you can stop this.
Yours,
Greg {lastname}
Greg (http://www.acoustic-electric-guitar-reviews.com/) on Apr 24 2006, 02:36am Reply
As a fellow registrar who is not participating in this scheme, I also hope that ICANN will have the balls to do something about it.
Another Registrar on Apr 24 2006, 02:18am Reply
It happened to me once too when I was away travelling and my domain dropped, I didn't have access to e-mail so I didn't know..
When I came back it had been squatted.
Darknet (http://www.darknet.org.uk/) on Apr 24 2006, 01:57am Reply
Search the web for complaints about them.
They are in Louisana somewhere, not kenya and they grab
expired domains and hold them hostage.
I tried to get a domain from them and bid $50, and
their reply was simply "Bid more". They keep trying
to get you to bid as high as possible and won't
tell you how much a domain name costs.
This has got to be illegal. Isn't it?
Screwed by kenyatech on Apr 24 2006, 12:59am Reply
To Whom It May Concern,
According to Bob Parsons of GoDaddy, the ADD Grace Period (AGP) issue has become a very serious problem which, as the regulator, needs your immediate attention.
Mr. Parson's idea of requiring ICANN's twenty-five (25-cent fee) to be non-refundable may well help to reduce the AGP practice by making it less profitable. I encourage you to make this change as soon as possible.
If the numbers Mr. Parsons quoted are accurate, and he is well known for his attention to detail, this is an indication of the seriousness of the situation and it should be addressed at the next meeting of your board.
Thank you for your consideration.
James Ford
(snail mail address, telephone numbers, etc.)
James Ford on Apr 24 2006, 12:55am Reply
Great post. If the AGP was really about dealing with errors, why not just shorten the period? Make it 2 days. Why should it be any longer. If you can't figure out in a day or so that you goofed, then tough luck. And with propagation, that really messes with these speculators.
I'm not really sure making the ICANN fee non-refundable would do much, but it's certainly worth a try. What do I care? I only buy names via my WildWest account and don't use the AGP anyway. A few clicks, or maybe even one would cover the 25 cent fee, at least for those names that actually get traffic and clicks... though from the stagering numbers you posted, it sure looks like (big surprise) most domains really don't get much traffic.
It may be easier to just try to buy every name you can then to do a little research to see if there is any chance of a name having any built in traffic, but come on, it takes a little time, but it's not hard to make an educated guess.
Then again, if you buy names to resell or to build sites with, then you don't have to play these silly games.
John (http://www.newagewebmarketing.com) on Apr 24 2006, 12:19am Reply
Good Suggestion!
Philip O'Neil (http://www.lt96.com) on Apr 23 2006, 11:33pm Reply
Bob,
Can you comment on this and justify the $80?
Thank you
An0n on Apr 23 2006, 11:31pm Reply
This is the redemption grace period, and it consists of two charges. The first is a $40 payment we must make to the registry to "bail out" the name. The second is that it takes manual intervention on our part.
To be honest the entire thing is a pain in the tail and we would much rather not be involved in it, for the resources it takes and the few dollars we make on the whole thing.
To put our fee in perspective consider that Network Solutions charges $150 and eNom charges $200 for the very same exact service. So you see, our fee really is very reasonable.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 24 2006, 10:17am Reply
Thanks for this really informative article. When looking into the subject of monetizing parked domain names, I noticed that a major search engine makes a parked domain name monetization service available to those who can maintain a minimum volume of 750,000 pages view per month through their network of (parked?) domain names. Isn't this one of the main incentives for registrars to play the add/drop game?
Regards,
Martin
Martin Aranovitch (http://www.nicheproductsgroup.com) on Apr 23 2006, 08:58pm Reply
All of them to a greater or lesser degree provide some sort of program. Plus there's other firms as well that will pay for clicks.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 23 2006, 09:17pm Reply
Thanks for enlightening me on this issue I guess, that ICANN
are probably thinking " If it's not broken - Don't fix it !" In
other words, if people like Us don't make a Hue & Cry, they
don't have to do anything.... It's always good to have
someone like you, keeping an eye on them, and possibly
swaying public opinion against thier lack of action, Enough
to make them sit up and take notice.... Thanks.... Bob.
I just watched your interview, and it Did bring a smile....
Keep the Bas-_-_ds honest.....
Bob. Dunn. on Apr 24 2006, 04:54am Reply
QN 1: So if each of these domains is dropped within 5 days, there would appear to be a window of opportunity whereby others can grab the name before they re-add the name back to their account, right? Or have they found a way around this too?
QN 2: Is there any way we (novice domain buyers) can see if this is being done with a domain we wish to acquire? I have never seen a domain renewal date being updated every five days in the internic whois database - or maybe I have just been looking at the wrong domains?????
It may be worthwhile doing another post to explain further the intricacies of this process...
Robert
Robert Hatvani on Apr 23 2006, 05:10pm Reply
There's really not much more to explain. The only thing I've really not mentioned is that the registrars that participate in this scheme don't typically act alone. They act in groups kind of like wolf packs that pool their connections and are sure to get the names they want.
They names they register are for one year but are dropped within 5 days, and they often re-registered immediately.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 23 2006, 09:13pm Reply
I just have to go further with this one...
I assume that your answer to QN 2 was "no" (novice domain buyers cannot tell).
Is there any way that godaddy can determine which domains are being held using add/drop? If so, how about offering a service whereby godaddy attempts to grab these domains for their customers during that small window? There may only be a slim chance, but one chance every five days sounds pretty good, and I'm sure that with your knowledge and skills you could grab a few from these wolves.
There is one in particular that I would like to get, and would gladly use such a service provided that it is not too expensive.
Robert Hatvani on Apr 26 2006, 06:53am Reply
If a customer has a backorder request submitted for the domain name, we do try to get the domain name for the customer — sometimes we are able to do so.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 26 2006, 11:29am Reply
I'm one of those rare Internet surfers who doesn't click on anyone's sponsored ads because from my point of view, all it does is drive up the cost to the advertisers of those sponsored ads. Click fraud is rampant - getting worse every year - and I'm certain that many, if not all, of these freeloaders you wrote about are using this add/drop scheme to make money they haven't earned.
Why do registrars even allow anyone to make a large cash deposit to begin with? I would think that (based on the facts in your article) this would send a red flag to the registrar, especially if the company making the cash deposit continually spends the money then requires it to be refunded. Something's very fishy here. The registrar must be making enough money from this scheme to make it worth their while, otherwise they would implement policies to prevent this type of abuse.
Also, does the domain name immediately become available for purchase again after the five day grace period? If so, can't the same company that "gave it up" simply keep repurchasing it and asking for a refund every five days?
ICANN should make the 25 cent fee non-refundable. This way, even if the registrant misspelled the name, they are only out 25 cents which is very reasonable, and it would help prevent this horrendous scheme you enlightened us about.
Search engine results are becoming less and less relevant because of this scheme. Google, the giant that it is (in large part thanks to those who pay to advertise in the sponsored results sections) does not care one bit that this scheme is going on because they stand to lose millions if not billions of dollars in advertising money since they only pay a portion of it to those who choose to sign up for sponsored results on their websites. Personally, I've always thought that sites that sign up for this in the hopes of making extra money actually lose integrity in my eyes. The best websites are good because they offer relevant content that is updated and added to regularly, and they do not include sponsored links which oftentimes lead to competitor's sites, anyway.
South Florida web designer on Apr 23 2006, 11:49am Reply
It's not registrars that allow the large cash deposits to be made and the add drop scheme to be carried on — it's registries (ie VeriSign Registry who handles .COM and others). Also for the record, VeriSign I believe would like to see this scheme stopped but their hands are tied as it is not illegal. We need either ICANN or our lawmakers to step up and do something here.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 23 2006, 09:09pm Reply
To those unscrupulous registrars: if you don't want to play fairly, you don't deserve to be that position of power. Your days are numbered.
I applaud you, Bob, for forcing the issue. Hopefully the bureaucrats will listen for once. At least we can fight back, the legitmate owners of great names, by simply continuing to register and renew them so they never get dropped!
Jonathan Arehart (http://www.cavendo.com) on Apr 23 2006, 09:15am Reply
I have hundred's of domains and myself do Traffic monetization, it's a great source of income for domains that are just parked. But the add/drop scheme is a bigger problem than we all think. Another area this scheme hurts is Backorders. Backorders are a joke now, your chances of getting a good domain are zero. Registrars grab them and check them for traffic. I also don't understand how Registrars can auction off domains before they drop. I've used TDNAM several times myself and it's a great service, but this seems wrong on so many levels.
Luis.
Luis Zavala (http://HOOPology.com) on Apr 23 2006, 12:51am Reply
(Off topic- GoDaddy is the BEST registrar. I've tried some others, didn't like them. GoDaddy is the only one for me
Cathy (http://stopanimalid.org) on Apr 22 2006, 09:13pm Reply
From: R Martin Ladner [mailto:{my E-mail}
Sent: Saturday, April 22, 2006 10:51 PM
To: 'comments@icann.org'
Subject: Abuse of the Add Grace Period
I've just read an article by Bob Parsons (of godaddy.com) regarding the abuse of the "add grace period" by firms that use domain names during the grace period (making money off of referral links) and then dropping the names before the end of the grace period (thus using the names for free while creating a turnover burden for registrars and interfering with legitimate businesses looking for appropriate names to use on a long-term basis). I agree that requiring ICANN's 25-cent fee to be paid up front and making the fee non-refundable may help to reduce the add-and-drop practice by making it less lucurative. I encourage you to make this change.
=R Martin Ladner=
[{my snail mail address, E-mail address, and phone number}]
R Martin Ladner (http://futureec.com) on Apr 22 2006, 08:54pm Reply
Your information on the add/drop scheme is very informative. Is it possible that if I miss my renewal date someone who is watching for domains to expire can just up and sweep it out from under you? Is the industry doing anything to prevent this?
P.S. How can I get one of those cool "Go Daddy t-shirts?
Swato
Osvaldo Padilla (http://www.metroalarm.com) on Apr 22 2006, 01:21pm Reply
Lets say icann raised their fee to $1 (Non refundable), and gave less to Verisign. That would stop this business completely.
however, icann never put the .com registry up for bidding, so this wont happen. I'm pretty sure another company could run the .com registry with a lot less profit per domain as verisign. I'd love to see GoDaddy participate in that (now imaginary) bidding. I'm sure .com domains would be alot cheaper.
Even Stokkedalen (http://www.win-vista.net) on Apr 22 2006, 11:41am Reply
First, Go Daddy will never be registry — so don't look for us to bid on any domain name registry deal like .COM. We are dedicated to be a customer facing business.
Second, no need to raise the ICANN fee. Making the existing ICANN fee of 25 cents levied and non-refundable as soon as a domain name is registered the first time will eliminate the add drop scheme completely. The moment that happens you'll notice many more good names instantly available.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 23 2006, 09:04pm Reply
I am coming to the realization that the UN and ICANN are one in the same, lots of talk but inept at taking action due to their "ruling by consensus" philosophy. It's about time we INC. both of these organizations
As an aside, this you mentioned traffic monetization and how you think it is 100% fine for registers to PROFIT off MY domain WITHOUT my permission. If I hadn't registered a domain, you wouldn't be making the money off my "parked" domain, why not share what little revenue comes from parking a domain with the OWNER of the domain - 50/50 split would be fair in my opinion, I am not asking for a check, but a credit to my account would be fair to both the registrar and the domain owner.
Jon
http://jon.legendarylife.com
Founder of http://www.myfoodcount.com - Free & Anonymous Health Monitoring
Jon Cantin (http://www.myfoodcount.com) on Apr 22 2006, 11:20am Reply
Several weeks ago I stepped into an add/drop registrar and one of the first things I imagined was people registering 1000's of names just to assess their potential for PPC revenue, forecast yearly income, and then unload those with an inconvenient profile.
Your articles have become the "X-rays" (and sometimes the "crystal ball"
I believe that providing registrars the privilege to correct typos is not worth the financial risk (extra computing and accounting workload) ICANN is taking.
Varlin (http://www.vztools.com) on Apr 22 2006, 11:14am Reply
Mark M. (http://phirefast.com) on Apr 22 2006, 09:53am Reply
For example, you can set a domain name to autorenew (therefore avoiding any hassle). Alternatively, and for example, if you register your name through GoDaddy, you get plenty of notice of any manual renewal that is due.
Secondly: why have any period of grace? Anyone with a domain name they GENUINELY wish to keep ownership of should really be on the ball and ensure it is secured, year-in, year-out. And if the domain name is dropped, it should be made available for registration to the general public immediately. There is no need for any other rules or schemes, and the presence of such means that something is very wrong with the domain registration system.
Thirdly, I do know from checking names on a specific 'parking' website that domain names owned elsewhere are used to advertise companies. I did see one of my domain names being used on a parking website and also advertised as being for sale. To try to catch out the company falsely advertising my domain name for sale, I placed an offer for it. Needless to say I never got a response!
Chris Holdcroft (http://www.bankraid.com) on Apr 22 2006, 08:43am Reply
Bob,
Thanks for answering my WWBD question on your show. I'm taking your input into serious consideration. Hopefully I'll be able to work with you in the future.
It's vacation time!
Mark M. (http://phirefast.com) on Apr 22 2006, 12:23am Reply
The whole jump in pricing to redeem domains is exorbitant and ridiculous.
Verisign sucks and ICANN is stupid.
Thanks Bob!
anonymous on Apr 22 2006, 12:03am Reply
Don't be so quick to criticize VeriSign here. They are not the bad guys. I think VeriSign wants to see this end just as much as you and I. Now Icann is another story.
As I mention in my article, Icann needs to step up and act. ICANN has been aware of this for sometime but has chosen to do nothing. I think now they need to step up and shut down the scheme. It would do them well. Personally I am hoping that they take the initiative and do so.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 22 2006, 12:47am Reply
Alex on Apr 23 2006, 01:53pm Reply
Who knows what ICANN is afriad of. Hopefully they develop some courage and step and fix this problem.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 23 2006, 09:11pm Reply
"With Convenience comes Abuse", as I posted in my blog a little while ago, but for a completely different subject.
This problem is just gonna get worse, Bob. People will abuse so many different things. You'll see an example on this link.
Here's my little post:
http://mark.phirefast.com/with-convenience-comes-abuse-ssh-prob lems
I know you're gonna fight this one. Thanks for keeping us updated!
Mark M. (http://phirefast.com) on Apr 21 2006, 11:55pm Reply
Do you think Bob that at some point in the near future that the majority of "Searches" on Google, Yahoo etc will just bring up more pages of "Parked domains" it feels to me like the 'Google Ad" is getting ambushed.
My question is will little guys loose at the "Park and Click" game because of what you say is happening?
Jon Lenon (http://applemusic.eu) on Apr 21 2006, 11:42pm Reply
There's nothing wrong with traffic monetization if the economics are there. The add drop scheme abuses the domain registrations systems and uses search engine monetization and also a few other sources of revenue to pull it off. There are a number of legitimate companies who own sites and pay for the associated domains that act as directories. As far as I'm concerned this is above board and just fine.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 22 2006, 12:44am Reply
It's not that difficult to set a calendar reminder at least a week before the domain expires.
In those rare cases where a domain owner cannot even do that, why does that person even bother to have a website? He/she is apparently incapable of even the simplest technological actions...
K@ on Apr 21 2006, 10:15pm Reply
Of course domain owners should be responsible for their names expiring. This issue is much bigger than that, and domain owners whose names expire are just one segment who are hurt by the scheme.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 22 2006, 12:41am Reply
doesn't seem to aply in his case. Is there anything we can do, as individuals, to allow an equal opportunity for others?
2
1
wandbond411info@yahoo.com
wanda bond on May 7 2006, 02:57pm Reply
1) ...and you already own it, keep track of it and renew it.
2) ...and you don't own it, backorder it or find an alternate that you spin in your direction. As long as there's free (not monetary, mind you) registration of domains, there will be people buying domains that intent to make profit of them. Are you trying to say that there are no GoDaddy customers doing this? GoDaddy offers cheap registration of domains... cheap+reseller = $. There's nothing wrong with that.
It's fine to play the public with your "point of view" but you're alienating those customers with any knowledge of the domain industry... let alone the fact that you're giving customers merit to abuse the representatives you currently employ.
Think about it... a customer's domain expires... it is registered by another company... who do they call? Their previous registrar. Who's to blame in the customer's mind? The rep who takes the call. Thanks, Bob. You just screwed your reps. As a fellow customer service rep, I feel their pain.
K@ on Apr 22 2006, 01:23am Reply
No need to be so melodramatic. Smart customers don't let their domains expire — especially if they want to keep them.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 23 2006, 08:58pm Reply
I guess they could do that, maybe they are just too slow too act? Why wouldn't they want to?
Matt from Brooklyn on Apr 21 2006, 09:59pm Reply
Thanks for telling it like it is. Keep going! People on the domain forums have been screaming about the EU fiasco for months, if not years (.info). Forum members emailed reporters. Guess what they did? Nothing. Though all of a sudden you talk about the EU RID incompetence and reporters all over the world start writing about it and everyone in the EU is outraged. I am afraid that the domain industry is not much better than the National Baseball League on Steroids. So, please keep talking.
Isn't the drop business just as corrupt? It seems as though the ones that rigged the EU game are the ones you have to pay more to get dropped domains because they have set up enough registrars to stack the deck. There is a lot of straightening out that needs to be done. Just keep shining the light on where it needs to be. The corruption needs to be weeded out fast, as I think it devalues domains for reasons I will not get into. Go Daddy Go!!!
Richard on Apr 21 2006, 09:53pm Reply
.EU Landrush
The way i see it is your were ganked.
You had no clue about the whole thing and you moaned that people with better intelligence beat you. So you moan foul.
They beat you fair and square, they had a plan: 1 connection per ISP and they milked it.
In fact, you changed your registration format to milk it too after you learnt there secret.
So Bob, dont go be a a bad luser, be a better player.
Thank you
Skulty
Skulty (http://skulty.com) on Apr 21 2006, 08:50pm Reply
cheers,
Brian
Brian S. on May 4 2006, 02:49pm Reply
Lori Roets (http://www.lazyrranch.com) on Apr 21 2006, 08:25pm Reply
Anonymous on Apr 22 2006, 01:30am Reply
There's always somebody cheaper. Question is my friend, are you willing to deal with the consequences that usually go along with cheaper?
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 23 2006, 09:00pm Reply
Yeah, the domain was cheap, but if I didn't check my bank statement, I would have been out about $80 for trusting some crook foreigner with my credit card information. (Note that I did not say that foreigners were crooks, but this one was. Many Americans are crooks too, but at least they are subject to the United States' code of law.)
1. Buy American.
2. Buy GoDaddy.
You won't be sorry for either.
Scott McCain (http://www.athleticsite.com) on May 6 2006, 08:48pm Reply
Pierre Jolicoeur on Jan 15 2007, 06:08pm Reply
There are always bigger, better and cheaper. It's our job to make sure we make sure our products are competitive, not necessarily in price, but by providing a good quality service.
Go Daddy provides a rock-solid service, for (in most cases) cheaper than their competitors.
Keep your domain with GoDaddy. You know they'll take care of you. My business revolves around that theory. Take care of your customers, and you'll prosper, in time.
Mark M. (http://phirefast.com) on Apr 24 2006, 04:35pm Reply
What good does it do to write to ICANN?
Don't they already have their minds made up?
(That is assuming they have a mind!)
We need to replace ICAN'T with someone that is up to date on the internet. Maybe with GoDaddy!
Keep up the good work!
Thanks,
Bob
Bob Thomas on Apr 21 2006, 07:30pm Reply
I think on this issue it just may be beneficial to write ICANN.
Appreciate your post,
Bob
bob parsons on Apr 22 2006, 12:38am Reply
subject: George Bush and Icaan:
Dear Concerned Representatives,
Does Icann want to go down in history as a leader like George W?
I just got off the GoDaddy web site and read about the ADD/DROP scheme. To my understanding, the problem is whereby companies buy and then drop registrations before the 5 day grace period, so they are using the web site for free. I also understand the owner has written you and suggested a brilliant by simple fix, that all you have to do is make the ICANN fee non-refundable.
I'm not surprised Icann is ignoring the advice and concerns of one of the best and largest domain registrars in the world. I've once had my .com name frozen for 6 months because of useless policies within your organization. The truth is that you are under funded and outsmarted by all the young, savvy, internet con artists out there. You cannot afford talent or anyone with genius.
If Go Daddy is addressing a true problem and not omitting information or lying about this situation... if you had any business sense, you'd make that fee non-refundable and increase it to double... to fund research that stays in contact with the industry watchdogs... to hire young genius to stop the abusers in their tracks.
Cordially
Robert Kaplan
Owner of ten humble domains
Robert Kaplan (http://www.easycreditlines.com) on May 1 2006, 03:53pm Reply