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Registrar Told To Stop Direct-Mail Scare-Tactics

Posted by timothy on from the shame-on-you dept.

kiwimate writes "This article says the Domain Registry of Europe has been ordered by the Advertising Standards Authority to cease and desist on a direct mail campaign that was "distressing and intimdating to recipients" and "misleadingly exaggerated the importance and status of its content". The letter suggested that domain names should be renewed at least 30 days before they expired, and gave recipients an easy option of renewing through the DR of E. Having had to deal with this from an almost identically named company in America, the quoted phrases don't seem nearly as sneaky and dirty as some I've seen, but it's good to see a precedent."

16 of 151 comments (clear)

  1. Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm so sick of waking up with a severed horse's head in my bed every time I fail to re-register my domain.

    1. Re:Good by CaffeineAddict2001 · · Score: 5, Funny

      This is from DOM-CORLEONE!

  2. I get these all the time... by ellisDtrails · · Score: 5, Interesting

    especially funny are the ones where they claim that "if you don't register .tv, you'll lose your opportunity forever." like I care.
    I'm glad they are doing something about this. If you want general direct mail stopped, or at least slowed down, check out this site.

    --
    GetTheJob.com : Nothing but Real Jobs.
  3. Do what I do... by VisorGuy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Cross out your address and write on the envelope:

    Return to sender

    I usually also write one the back something like:

    We do not accept mail from fraudulant or misleading sources.

    I'm not sure if I'm accomplishing anything, but it makes me feel better. It might even cost them a couple cents!

    --
    This user account is inactive account replaced by the PDA
    1. Re:Do what I do... by nahdude812 · · Score: 5, Informative

      As learned in the AOL CD story a few days ago (so don't blame me if it's inaccurate, /me points at everyone else), anything that comes bulk mail doesn't have any return to sender fees associated with it, so the post office throws it out if you send it return to sender. Meaning that all you do then is increase the load on the postal service, with out inconveniencing the sender at all, and subsequently increasing postal rates.

      --
      Slay a dragon... over lunch!
    2. Re:Do what I do... by essiescreet · · Score: 5, Funny

      Save your postage-paid envelopes that come with credit card offerings and bogus credit card offers. Then, take them to work and mail them back with the spam faxes inside. This way, they have to pay for the postage to recive crap, and you use up those spam faxes! It's a win-win situation.

    3. Re:Do what I do... by scott1853 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Then you'll get put on Microsoft's list of supporters.

  4. Thanks, spamassassin! by CoolVibe · · Score: 5, Informative
    Yeah, it might sound unrelated, but because registers that use scare tactics like these, often use layouts that Spamassassin automgaically filters away.

    So, although I might get these from time to time, I'll probably never see them. Thanks to spamassasin. My current registrar however, goes through spamassasin just fine and reaches my inbox unscathed. How convenient :)

  5. double-standard? by davejenkins · · Score: 5, Interesting

    sorry for bringing this up but...

    Does it not strike anyone else that this community freaks out everytime some gov't or other official entity even *hints* at limiting someone's GPL half-baked scheme, yet the same community practically screams for blood when one of those half-baked schemes involves spam?

    I hate social engineering-- except for those policies against the people I don't like...

    --

    davejenkins.com |

    1. Re:double-standard? by broken_bones · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You have a point. I think everyone, to some extent, has double standards. It is unfortunate that we often let our world views cloud our judgement instead of trying to view all sides of an issue.

      That being said I take issue with your comparrison. I think that there is a huge difference between governments limiting/restricting/not being happy with use of something like the GPL and spam. Using the GPL for your own code is a choice. If it doesn't make sense for company X to use the GPL they shouldn't. If their stuff is good enough (or their maketing department is swift enough) they will sell allot of it. If their stuff sucks (and they have a bad marketing department) they will go out of business. Because this is the case the use of the GPL will be governed in a broad sense by people making marginal decisions. If the benefits of using the GPL outweigh the costs it will be used, if the costs are to high it won't be. The one exception to this is government software. The use of the GPL in government software/government contracts is a policy issue. Open discussion and passionate debate about policy is always a good thing.

      Spam differs from the GPL in that one doesn't get to choose spam. It just comes to you. Spam is something that the consumer (ie the guy receiving spam) really doesn't have a say in. Much of this is because the economics of spam don't have much of a concept of scale. Manufacturing 10,000 spam messages or 1,000,000 spam messages has a much different price tradeoff than manufacturing 10,000 cars vs. 1,000,000 cars. In this sense spam and the GPL fall into two very different catergories.

      I think the best way to sum this up is by using an analogy. The GPL (whether in a half baked sceme or not) and other licenses are like cars. There are some good cars and some bad cars. Yet government doesn't tell you which car to buy even though they may have a preference (ie domestic v. foreign).* Spam is like pollution. I don't know of anyone who enjoys breathing smoggy air. Like spam, pollution isn't a problem each of us can solve on our own. Sure we can purchase masks (spam filters) but that doesn't get rid of the underlying unpleasantry. This is a case where limited, focussed government intervention would probably be a good thing.

      The preceding comments are not meant to support any specific government policy or action. They are merely my off the cuff ramblings on a public policy debate I am probably not qualified to participate in. You gotta love free speach...

      *Just to counter the "but cars are regulated. Thing of safety and pollution" arguement I'd like to point out that there are legal restrictions on liscenses in the form of applicable contract law. (ie you can't have a liscense that forces someone to do something illegal.)

      --

      Never disturb your enemy while he is busy making a mistake.
  6. I've seen this before by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    My customers get this all the time.. the sleazeballs who send them out make them look like invoices, in the hopes that their victims will think it's legit.

    ICANN (or whoever gives authorizes registrars) should take punitive action against fraudsters like this..

  7. As a followup to the freedom of press story... by Rui+del-Negro · · Score: 5, Funny

    Having had to deal with this from an almost identically named company in America, the quoted phrases don't seem nearly as sneaky and dirty as some I've seen

    So you're saying the USA has the sneakiest registries? Why can't you americans accept that some people can be just as sneaky and dirty as you??

    I think it's time someone made a "worldwide registry sneakiness index"!

    RMN
    ~~~

  8. They should simply have said... by u-235-sentinel · · Score: 5, Funny

    All your domains are belong to us!

    --
    Has Comcast disconnected your Internet account? Same here. You can read about it at http://comcastissue.blogspot.com
  9. Yeah but 1/2 the worlds domain are owned by idiots by t0qer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Seriously....

    Slash sometimes looks over the fact that it only represents %10 of the internets user base at the most. The other %90 of the web is owned by places like chucks kitchen remodeling or mary's giftbaskets, where their webspace is nothing more than an online business card they created with page creator.

    Although Registrars.com mail is annoying, I just make a killfile and it automagically disapears from my inbox. I know when I registered my domains and when I have to renew them. Yet for every 1 guy like me there are 10 guys that isn't.

    Now sure, it may seem like registrar is using predatory tactics with headlines like.

    "YOU MAY LOSE YOUR DOMAIN IF YOU DONT ACT NOW"

    But have you ever tried to get a non computer person to get motivated and do something on a computer related task? Procrastinate, procrastinate, procrastinate is what they will do. I can just imagine the volume of calls that registrar.com must have recieved from angry domain holders when they lost their domain to some cybersquatter. Not just calls, but lawsuits too no doubt.

    Obviously it's a lot easier to send out these menacing e-mails than it is to staff a call center to deal with the angry phone calls and complaints. My hats off to them for such a great idea! I think i'm going to send a mail to my exchange users now...

    CLEAN OUT YOUR MESSAGES FROM YOUR OUTLOOK PST OR YOU WILL LOSE YOUR COMPUTER!!

    *clicks send*

  10. Deja-vu all over again by Greedo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Having had to deal with this from an almost identically named company in America, the quoted phrases don't seem nearly as sneaky and dirty as some I've seen, but it's good to see a precedent.

    DRoEurope is run by the same folks who brought you DRoAmerica and DRoCanada ... these guys, who seem to be affiliated with Enom somehow (and who can't build a proper pending page, it seems).

    DRoC was earlier slapped for sending mail using a logo remarkably similar to the Canadian governments logo.

    Obviously these guys have no scruples. On the plus side, you can probably safely ignore anything you receive from the Domain Registry of Africa, Domain Registry of Asia and the Domain Registry of Oceania.

    --
    Tuus crepidae innexilis sunt.
  11. What popped into my head when I read the headline by Dirtside · · Score: 5, Funny

    Registrar Told To Stop Direct-Mail Scare-Tactics

    Letter: Dear domain name owner: BOO!

    Owner: EEP! *thud*

    --
    "Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased