This is about Verisign’s Partial Bulk Transfer process for dot com and dot nets, which got passed:
Public Comment: Amendment for Partial Bulk Transfer in dot-COM & dot-NET
Registrars will soon be speculating in our personal domains!
Think of it: people in government, lawyers and attorney generals, have law education, not technical. If I were government, I wouldn’t want to deal with technical. If I were government, I would trust ICANN and the registrars. ICANN and the registrars are convincing. They talk a good game! Verisign wrote on page 6 of the request:
o Benefits to Registrants – Change of sponsorship of domain names subject to a partial portfolio acquisition from one registrar to another is open and transparent and in a manner that affords registrants protection under ICANN rules.
Says who? Was any registrant consulted when they drew up these provisions? Is 15 days notice prior to transfer enough time? Does it afford protection for a domain set to expire within 30 days, or one newly registered or transferred? These cannot be transferred before 60 days, so they would be stuck.
Protections are in place to give registrants to opt out of the transfer. In addition, a registrant would have the right to transfer to another registrar after the partial bulk transfer occurred.
If “all Transfers Rules and Policies set by ICANN and the Registry shall remain in effect,” according to the BTAPPA request, the registrant cannot leave the new Registrar prior to 60 days of the transfer, as noted above.
How does that foster competition? I chose my registrar based on research. Why would I transfer to a registrar I have avoided in the past based on its poor customer service, reputation, BBB complaints, or unresolved security issues?
This policy doesn’t allow the market to dictate a registrar’s success, rather, it takes hostage those who can least afford to mount a defense: us, the registrants.
BTW, large registrars, like Go Daddy and eNom, have offices in Washington for paid lobbyists to “educate” lawmakers.
For convenience, I posted some department names and address in the Write page linked to above, some of which can only be written snail mail, and a list of email contacts, for you to express yourself!
Comment here, too. I save everything! No obscene language, please, but it will get posted, bleeping the cuss words with asterisks!