It's now the registrars against the registrants

[StockDoctor]

Snipits From the Neustar Policy-forum today. Note the bold reply part that seems to fly in the face of what the registrars are doing to keep names themselves and not return them to the public pool.

I wrote

What is happening with this issue is that the registrars are taking advantage of the 45 day grace period to cherry pick domains that they
wish to keep for themselves and later auction, rather than returning
names to the public pool. This puts the registrars in direct
competition with their own customers, and increases their customers
registration costs.

The registrars are also reducing grace periods afforded to their
customers by replacing them with earlier "mock" redemption periods in
order to force higher renewal costs ($150 to $200) to the customers
and increase the registrars chances of grabbing a name from the
customer.

Registrars are also selecting names out of (expiration date) order to
place in this early "Mock" redemption state. They will again cherry
pick from names expiring on the same date, allowing some to be renewed
by the customer and some even later expiring names to be pulled and
put in earlier redemption. This again costs the customers the higher
redemption fees and increases the chances the registrar has to grab
some names for their auctions.

The registrars have also changed their TOS to allow them to continue
to use the customers whois details on the names that have been cherry
picked and are now in the registrars control. This of course causes
confusion when the customer looks up the domain in the registry whois,
see his personal information, and appears to reflect that he has
renewed the name and is still in control. This seems to be a break of
the rules for correct whois information. The registrars then use the
name to advertise various products and services that may be in direct
competition or other conflict with the registrants own business. These
registrars take over these names and use your whois information
without even sending you an email.

Also, built in to the new TOS by these registrars is wording to the
effect that if you don't like it, you can either move all your names
(restrictive for large holders) or if you continue with 1 more
transaction (like a renewal) you have expressed acceptance of these
new rules.

Further, it has become common practice by losing registrars to
continue to send out renewal notices (for months) on names that have
been transferred and renewed elsewhere previously. These registrars
also continue to list names in their customer's admin panel as
expired, which have also been moved away and renewed. Further, they
will list names as available to renew that they have moved to mock
redemption. It appears that the goal of the registrars is to confuse
registrants so that they lose control of their names and they revert
back to the registrars who proceed to sell the names at a higher rate
of profit, either to the general market or back to the original owner.
The 45 day "grace" period is NOT passed on to the customer "to
protect him" as stated, but instead has become a false promise that is
used by the registrars. When questioned the registrars will tell you
that they have NO obligation to proivide ANY grace period to the
customer.

These registrar profit motivated anti consumer acts were warned about
previously and the registry doesn't seem to care. How about it Jeff?

Jeff Neuman wrote

A registrar should not allow a domain name to be auto-renewed unless the domain name registrant intends to renew the domain name.

To answer your question, if a domain name has been auto-renewed, it
should belong to the registrant (and not the registrar). If the
registrant does not pay the registrar for the additional term, then the
registrar has an obligation to delete the domain name.

There is a grey area that has not been addressed and that is whether the
registrant has the right to transfer a domain name to its registrar for
the purpose of selling that domain name through an after-market service.
I do not have an answer for you on that one except to say that if the
domain name is sold on the after-market, it can only be done with the
registrant's consent.

If this is not being done, I would ask that you please report those
situations to support@neustar.us. Thanks.

[mole]

Are we making a mountain out of a molehill, doc?

The reason why I can reasonably good domains today is because of the very same thing which you speak. :santa: And I'm not a registrar.

[StockDoctor]

Are we making a mountain out of a molehill, doc?

The reason why I can reasonably good domains today is because of the very same thing which you speak. :santa: And I'm not a registrar.

I think this is extremely important, and no "molehill." You may think that the supply has increased to you because of these land grab actions by the registrars, but has it really? Wouldn't most of these names drop anyways, and be picked up at much cheaper rates if not for the the auction actions of these registrars? The shift of profits has been from the domainers pockets to the registrars. Of course I don't like that being a domainer and all, but if you don't mind paying the higher bucks because you think you have access to more names, more power to you, but I don't think that's the case. I just think you're paying the higher bucks and that's all.

My main complaint is the shady ways that the registrars are pulling this land grab off. Continual reduction in grace periods that were originally put in place for the protection of the domainer is a "loss" of protection for us. The methods that these registrars employ of cherry picking names that they like and reducing the grace periods on those so they can put them into some "mock" redemption (sans registry) and auction them off stinks.

The action of auto renewal by the registrars using the registrant's whois looks to me to be against the registry rules and may even amount to identity theft. Guess who gets the C&D when the registrar sticks a ppc up on a potential TM domain that the registrant decided to let expire.

The loss of a couple months of registration for the new owner because the name never really expired and instead was ownership transferred from the original registrant -->regsitrar -->auction bidder doesn't bother me too much, but how the heck does the registrar take exclusive auctionable control without expending any capital for the name, and never really taking formal ownership or registration?

Whole thing just stinks. Bottom line again is that if you don't think this increases your domain acquisition costs and reduces your rights attached to your domain purchase, then you're missing the point here Mole.

A little naive maybe, but I still think you're ok.
Doc

[Dave Zan]

My only complaints:

1. If the name expires, they either delete the name or go ahead and change
the registrant name to themselves and keep it for as long as they want.

2. They do follow current ICANN policy on how expired names are treated.

Alas, we need numbers to "force" them to be a little more "considerate".