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.net Domain Up For Grabs

belmolis writes " The New York Times is reporting that the bidding is on for the .net domain currently administered by VeriSign. VeriSign's current contract expires June 30th; applications are due today. Three companies are known to be interested: NeuStar, which currently manages .biz, Afilias, which manages .info, and Denic eG, a non-profit that manages the German .de domain. ICANN is bending over backward to avoid any suggestion of bias due to its conflict with VeriSign over VeriSign's Site Finder "service" and has appointed an independent team to evaluate the applications. VeriSign has been lobbying hard to keep the domain and is reported to have received letters of support from Microsoft and IBM."

194 comments

  1. lets hope not by teh_mykel · · Score: 5, Funny

    lets hope microsoft doesnt aquire .net domains, only to confuse the term further.

    --
    this sig no verb
    1. Re:lets hope not by nuclear305 · · Score: 0

      Why would microsoft acquire it? The summary clearly states that they're supporting Verisign rather than bidding on it themselves.

    2. Re:lets hope not by teh_mykel · · Score: 2, Insightful

      i choose to take that information with more than a grain of salt, if you understand what i mean.

      --
      this sig no verb
    3. Re:lets hope not by enigmals1 · · Score: 1

      Some people have to reach WAAAAAY into the box for a joke. Even if they don't reflect the facts of the article.

      For some, just the mention of the word Microsoft is a good enough reason to attempt a joke I guess.

    4. Re:lets hope not by hunterx11 · · Score: 1

      At least if they do get it, they won't have to worry about letting their domains expire.

      --
      English is easier said than done.
    5. Re:lets hope not by Wordsmith · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It would be interesting if there were domains for multi-pronged corporate (or even non-corporate) initiatives.

      For instance, let's use Passport as an example (despite the fact that this particular service appears to be dying off). What if every passport-enabled site had a .pass domain. So you could go to, say, BestBuy.com if you wanted the regular site, but BestBuy.pass if you were a happy Passport user (I'm sure there's one or two out there) and didn't want to bother with a manual login.

    6. Re:lets hope not by vrtladept · · Score: 1

      In all seriousness it looks like TFA might have made this mistake. Near the end it talk about walmart.com actually running on a .net server. Not really sure what that means and I leave open the possiblity that they are talking at MS .net rather than the domain name. (walmart.com clearly has it's DNS entry in .com)

    7. Re:lets hope not by operagost · · Score: 1

      Or you could just click on the appropriate link from the home page.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    8. Re:lets hope not by elemental23 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      That's a terrible idea: a) Top-level domains have nothing to do with content, and b) the web != the internet. A top-level domain just for some specialized web content does nothing but display a clear misunderstanding of how DNS and naming works. That's the same kind of thinking that got us .mobi.

      --
      I like my women like my coffee... pale and bitter.
  2. Just not verisign by digitalgimpus · · Score: 3, Insightful

    When the get to much power they take advantage (sitefinder). IMHO when a company has poor ethics, they like to show it.

    They showed us their ethics... we can do better. Lets look at other companies.

    1. Re:Just not verisign by leonmergen · · Score: 3, Insightful

      They showed us their ethics... we can do better. Lets look at other companies.

      The .net registration right is up for bid... not vote. It's not like we have a choice over who's going to get the rights, it's who pays most.

      --
      - Leon Mergen
      http://www.solatis.com
    2. Re:Just not verisign by gowen · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well, given the number of scammers that use .biz and .info websites to phish for bank account details (and how far from their designed roles .biz and .info have drifted), I don't think the alternatives are terribly ethically sound either,

      --
      Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
    3. Re:Just not verisign by cortana · · Score: 2, Informative

      The thing is, the other two companies are the ones that run .biz and .info.

      Hardly a reputation that imbues honesty and integrity.

      The German company might do ok, but I doubt manyAmericans would feel comfortable with that.

    4. Re:Just not verisign by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      It seems some people don't understand, when it says .net is up for sale, you have to realize that the controling of the .net domain entails quite a bit, namingly I would be concerned about infastructure. Verisign has been horrible to their direct customers, but so far, apart from the Site Finder crap they have done their job.

      If they try to sabatoge the system, I'm fairly sure quite a few lawsuits would be filed. Notably the .org transisition went smoothly, I don't see any reason why .net won't go smoothly.

      Moving to another company can be a pain, as all registrars will still have to go to the new company to sign up with their "program" for domains.

      Prices (at least for registrars) will be controlled by the contract most likely, so changes in prices proboly will be minimal.

      Personally I hope Verisign does not win the bid, as they have been a very poor small business partner.

    5. Re:Just not verisign by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The .net TLD will not go to the highest bidder. The applicants had to pay a $200000 application fee, but from there on it's a "beauty contest", not an auction.

    6. Re:Just not verisign by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The German registry DeNIC has an excellent track record. It's the second largest TLD with 8 million second level domains (.com: 30 million). Domains under .de are competitively priced. Registration is completely automated and fast. DeNIC already operates nameservers for the de TLD on the US east and west coast and in Japan, in addition to nameservers in the UK, Sweden, Austria, Netherlands and of course several in Germany.

    7. Re:Just not verisign by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >The .net TLD will not go to the highest bidder.
      >The applicants had to pay a $200000 application >fee, but from there on it's a "beauty contest",
      >not an auction.

      even more of a reason to suspect a connection to the hijacking. insecurity at verisign is a black mark against their being a good .net administrator.

  3. If VeriSign wants to keep it by stratjakt · · Score: 1

    They can bid like everyone else.

    With the twin bastions of evil that are of MS and IBM behind them, I'm sure they can't lose.

    --
    I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
    1. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by StevenHenderson · · Score: 4, Interesting
      With the twin bastions of evil that are of MS and IBM behind them, I'm sure they can't lose.

      Wait, IBM is evil now? What about the patents that they are opening up to spur innovation? What about the vast funds that they pour into OSS? Just because a company is big, it does not necessarily make them evil.

      I like to think of IBM as a very "Apple-esque" company - putting out good products and encouraging innovation at all opportunities...

    2. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by Squatchman · · Score: 2

      Sitefinder was definitely a bad idea. Here is hoping that a better company wins out.

      However...

      I can understand that the slashdot community doesn't like Microsoft. They think that company is "teh sux0rz!111". What is your beef with IBM though?

    3. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by stupidfoo · · Score: 1

      And IBM is still one of the companies out there that still fund a nice R&D department.

    4. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by stratjakt · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Apple-esque... HAHHAHAHAH you're so easily duped.

      MS's big flaw is a complete lack of innovation.

      For example:

      Embrace and extend.
      Vendor lock-in
      Forced obsolescense
      Leveraging OS market position to destroy competition

      IBM invented all of that. They've been fucking people over in the industry since the 40s.

      Heh, they release 500 absolutely useless patents out of the million or so they own (read through the list, it's useless stuff), and all of a sudden you think they're all lovey-dovey and snuggly.

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
    5. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by stratjakt · · Score: 1

      I've been using computers for longer than a week, and I know what kind of company IBM is, and always has been?

      Anything evil or wrong MS has ever done, IBM has already done it - and better.

      IBM *will* ruin linux. They will manage to turn it into an un-Free product, under their control. Just wait for it. They sure as hell aren't out to help the community at no cost.

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
    6. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by sepluv · · Score: 1

      Not to mention that Apple with their stupid prices, lock-in and proprietary closed hardware are ethically worse than either Microsoft or IBM. Their OS X is IMO very slow and has a bad UI design too.

      --
      Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
      [This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
    7. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by ClosedSource · · Score: 1

      IBM would have to behave itself for many more years before they make up for a long history of cutthroat behavior.

      Even today they don't really embrace openness as much as you think. For example, they bought Rational and killed Rational Visual Test, a popular software testing product because it competed with the much more expensive Rational Robot. Not only have they discountinued development and support, they won't even allow you to buy additional licences for it. If they really were OSS true believers wouldn't they release the source?

    8. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by technos · · Score: 1

      You weren't there when the world of IT was ruled by the fear of Big Blue and the Death Star obviously.

      You bought IBM hardware and used AT&T for infrastructure. If you were one of those sneering techie types with an Amdahl mug on your desk, or even mentioned United Telecomm in a meeting, it was tape monkey for you until you learned better.

      --
      .sig: Now legally binding!
    9. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Should have taken some time out of that week to read the license agreements related to linux. (think GPL)

      If you had you would realize there is nothing IBM could do to turn it into an "un-Free product under their control"

      Not arguing about the evilness of IBM, I honestly have no clue just how evil they are... (well other then those god awful PS/2s they used to sell, I've always hated having to take those things apart) ...just that the licensing of linux prevents the above scenario from ever happening.

    10. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by stratjakt · · Score: 1

      If you had you would realize there is nothing IBM could do to turn it into an "un-Free product under their control"

      That's bullshit. There are ways around the GPL. And who cares if the source is free or not, if IBM succeeds in being the "one true vendor". The kernel will be GPL, nothing else will.

      IBM does not believe in OSS or freedom, they never have. They believe in money.

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
    11. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by Vitriol+Angst · · Score: 1

      IBM had a big shakeup in the 90's. They are pretty much a totally new company since then. They are now a services company and are pretty agnostic on platforms--even though they develop their own processor and OS--they are performance-centric.

      I think you're just spouting. You have to acknowledge when companies do things "the good way" in oder to have credibility on criticizing bad companies. IBM has been competing on their ability and performance. They are one of the top companies in creating patents. And I don't see them practicing any monopoly abuses like they used to.

      They are a totally reformed company, and I think that should be recognized. Their strategy is that they will be a facilitator in an open technology market. By releasing the patents, they are hoping to shore up the "free" software market. I don't see any "embrace and extend" strategy in giving away these patents--other than they allow development along a path where they have strength. But they won't be able to come along a sue people later, so it is good for developers in general if more companies adopted this strategy.

      The opposing strategy is a Royalty/Patent hegenomy where no one can develop without paying you dues and implementing your standards. That's Microsoft, and THAT is a dark future for independant developers.

      So please, state something specific in the past 6 years that proves your point on IBM.

      --
      >>"ad space available -- low rates!!!"
    12. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by Squatchman · · Score: 1

      As opposed to the OTHER kind of successful company that keeps itself afloat by believing in the power of pixie dust, unicorns, and lephrechauns. Verisign was wrong for something like sitefinder. IBM can't be compared to that kind of practice.

      How can you preach a double standard by supporting OSS and not believing in the GPL?

    13. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by operagost · · Score: 1

      That is for certain. Look how they dominated the world with PC-DOS and OS/2.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    14. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by operagost · · Score: 1

      Obviously SOMEONE was buying from Amdahl, DEC, and Data General. Sorry your company sucked.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    15. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by AEton · · Score: 1

      Wait, IBM is evil now?

      Let me check - let's see, Tuesday, 31 days in this month... okay, yes, they're evil today. And evil tomorrow, too, but they're off schedule for Thursday and Friday if you'd like to have a chat then.

      --
      We recently had heard in the office over one of the Yellow Machine that's made by Anthology Solutions.
    16. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by StevenHenderson · · Score: 1

      Yes, but did they get an EvilHoliday for MLK day? :)

    17. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by ClosedSource · · Score: 1

      Look at my other post and read about Rational Visual Test which IBM killed but won't release the source for. That shows that even as recently as 2 years ago IBM was still doing business as usual.

    18. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, how else could you explain the dominance they enjoy today?

    19. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by rs79 · · Score: 1

      "Wait, IBM is evil now?"

      In the domain name arena, yes, very much so.
      They are the Emperor behind Darth ICANN.

      I'm surprised Vixie/Malamud anc Co. didn't apply.

      --
      Need Mercedes parts ?
    20. Re:If VeriSign wants to keep it by rpozz · · Score: 1

      IBM exists to make money. It serves no other purpose. The only reason they encourage innovation is because they get free software out of it. They couldn't give a shit about anything that they can't make money out of. Obviously, the slashbot group-think agrees with you (+4?).

  4. To make a lot of money... by Message+Board · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Just put the authority to the .net tld on ebay. This would raise millions, possibly billions for ICANN - as the new owner could take ownership of every single .net domain... or raise the price to very high levels. If panix.net thinks its situation is bad, what will they think when the new owner of the .net domain asks for $10000/year for a registration... Or makes google.net install spyware...

    1. Re:To make a lot of money... by StevenHenderson · · Score: 1
      Just put the authority to the .net tld on ebay

      With their new higher 2005 rates, I am sure that Ebay would love this...

    2. Re:To make a lot of money... by hcdejong · · Score: 1

      How would putting it on eBay be any different from the current process? And why would anyone pay billions for it, when there's no way in hell you'd be able to recoup that investment.
      No one would pay $10k for a domain name, so a new owner asking that much will only shoot himself in the foot.

    3. Re:To make a lot of money... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Primary difference: The current process is not an auction. The applicants pay an application fee of $200000 dollars to have their bid considered. The rest is a "beauty contest". The winner is chosen by merit, not money.

    4. Re:To make a lot of money... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hcdejong, funny post. Funny post, hcdejong. I'd like you two to meet again, this time on the right foot.

    5. Re:To make a lot of money... by spif · · Score: 1

      Unless this is meant to be a joke, it's stupid. The winner of this bid process won't have that level of control over .net. The only real issue is whether the winner will be able to keep .net up and running, because as the article mentions sites like walmart.com rely on that infrastructure. All of their nameservers are in .net, so if the .net gTLD servers were to go down people might have to actually go to the store to buy things or make a phone call or something.

      --
      fnord.
  5. All I can say is... by derfy · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Good riddance...after that Site Finder crap, I don't trust Veri as far as I can walk without getting winded.

    1. Re:All I can say is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unless you are massively obese, that sounds almost like an endorsement.

    2. Re:All I can say is... by rs79 · · Score: 1

      Yabbut, you've never seen inside there have you? Only a massive amount of funding to Vixie can beat their infrastructure and these days they're one of the better domain name companies if you look into it. You have to dostinguish between NSI's marketing wonks (eejits) and their technical people (the top of their game, frankly). If I had a vote where I want my .net names kept I'd say NSI.

      I mean... Affilias? The people that ICANN's lawyers vetted an application TLD for then a court said it was an illegal lottery? They didn't even pass the ethics test out of the box (and apparanly ICANN's lawyers don't actually know the law).

      --
      Need Mercedes parts ?
  6. .net by broyles · · Score: 0

    I bid £1 for .net :) better it be a public company running it then some one like m/s

  7. .microshaft? by n00i3 · · Score: 0

    we need a .microshaft domain ... so we know which sites to stay away from :).

    --
    Comment Read. There will be a delay before the comment seeps into your brain.
  8. I HATE VERISIGN by drewzhrodague · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I hate their tactics, prices, schemes, and business practices. I am personally responsible for registering THOUSANDS of domains with them over the years, and I am treated like dirt by their service teams when I have trouble. Bastards rot in hell.

    --
    Zhrodague.net - I do projects and stuff too.
    1. Re:I HATE VERISIGN by hattig · · Score: 1

      Transfer your domain names to a different registrar then?

      There's hundreds to choose from.

    2. Re:I HATE VERISIGN by e40 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      What's one that better? I'm serious. All the ones I've dealt with are worse. Recently dealt with droc.com. What slime balls.

      I have yet to see a registrar that has a nice a web management interface for a bunch (30+) domains, but I'd be happy to switch to someone better than verisign.

    3. Re:I HATE VERISIGN by miu · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Been quite some time since I had to deal with verisign, but they were an aggravating company in many ways. I'm not sure that the .biz or .info people are any better though, about the only time I see those tlds it is at a scam redirect site.

      For some reason the entire registrar business has taken on a seedy air, the reek of small time evil :). Verisign did much to contribute to that, but they at least know what they are doing from a technical point of view - some new company will likely be just as bad as Verisign and disrupt things as well.

      I'm not saying never change anything, but if you are going to change things do it very carefully and make sure it will be an actual improvement - theory and wishing don't make it so.

      --

      [Set Cain on fire and steal his lute.]
    4. Re:I HATE VERISIGN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm quite happy with GoDaddy.com.

    5. Re:I HATE VERISIGN by MrP-(at+work) · · Score: 1
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      [an error occurred while processing this directive]
    6. Re:I HATE VERISIGN by nharmon · · Score: 1

      Have you tried Network Solutions, or Dotster? I use both (NetSol at work, Dotster at home), and am quite satisfied with both. If you have tried them, what were your impressions?

    7. Re:I HATE VERISIGN by anno1602 · · Score: 1

      For some reason the entire registrar business has taken on a seedy air, the reek of small time evil :). Verisign did much to contribute to that, but they at least know what they are doing from a technical point of view - some new company will likely be just as bad as Verisign and disrupt things as well.



      You seem to be implying that the others don't know what they are doing from a technical point of view, and will necessarily be an evil company. But DENIC, for example, runs the .de-registry, which has almost twice as many domains as .net. And while they have their problems, they are not-for-profit, so are not that bound towards typical corporate greed decisions.

    8. Re:I HATE VERISIGN by hattig · · Score: 1

      So ... your argument is that Verisign suck because they're the best?

      If you use an OpenSRS reseller, then you can use the OpenSRS interface at https://manage.opensrs.net/ to manage domains in bulk. If the reseller has bothered to link them, but the interface does allow you to relink them if they aren't linked.

    9. Re:I HATE VERISIGN by xcfmx · · Score: 1

      mine are all at gkg.net.. simple interface and easy to use. quick support. not to mention affordable.

    10. Re:I HATE VERISIGN by lpontiac · · Score: 1
      For some reason the entire registrar business has taken on a seedy air, the reek of small time evil :).

      It's the smell of a natural monopoly (you know, those things that used to be operated as public utilities and nonprofits) being swarmed over by people with MBAs, suits and shareholders.

    11. Re:I HATE VERISIGN by miu · · Score: 1
      I didn't mention the .de registrar specifically because I don't know anything about them. I mentioned the .biz and .info registrars because they seem to be fairly small and of unknown ethics. It's up to the alternates to prove they can do a better job than Verisign.

      TLD management is so essential to the basic working of the Internet that we need to be cautious to not rip out an evil and competent provider and replace them with an incompetent provider.

      I'm going to assume that the bid process certifies the competence of the new provider, but there will still be disruptions - the gain within a specified time frame will need to be greater than the total cost of the disruption. There need to be provisions for what to do regarding failure on the part of the registrar and there needs to be a way to prevent the registrar from holding the tld hostage.

      --

      [Set Cain on fire and steal his lute.]
    12. Re:I HATE VERISIGN by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've been very pleased with http://www.godaddy.com/

    13. Re:I HATE VERISIGN by Anonymous+Commando · · Score: 1
      I have yet to see a registrar that has a nice a web management interface for a bunch (30+) domains

      We use Bulk Register to manage 400+ domains currently for us and our customers. We've been using them 1999. Love 'em. Prices are good, interface is decent.

      And yes, DROC are absolute bottom-feeders.

      --
      Corporate Jenga: You take a blockhead from the bottom and you put him on top...
    14. Re:I HATE VERISIGN by signe · · Score: 1

      VeriSign is not a registrar. VeriSign is a registry. You don't deal with VeriSign. You deal with someone (a registrar) who deals with VeriSign.

      -Todd

      --
      "The details of my life are quite inconsequential..."
    15. Re:I HATE VERISIGN by rs79 · · Score: 1

      Amen to this. I tried a bunch of others too. They seem to be staffed by people who were selling shoes in K-Mart last month. It's nice to talk to people that know what an NS record is.

      Some highlights from other registrars I found this week: 1) Domain expired? No problem, pay us $150 or we'll let it go into the deleted pool. They had to have paid $6 to keep it from expiring so this really amounts to extortion. 2) Pay us $4/yr and we'll notify you by email before your domain expires. Oh, niiiiiice.

      --
      Need Mercedes parts ?
    16. Re:I HATE VERISIGN by Long-EZ · · Score: 1
      I also hate Verisign & Network Solutions. Weasels.

      I second the recommendation for GoDaddy.com. They have good prices and easy online account management. The only time I needed someone in tech service was 2 AM. The dude was very knowledgeable and quickly fixed my problem. I guess if you have good automated online systems that are easy to use, you can eliminate the crappy Tier 1 tech support and just have the Tier 2 people who know their stuff answering the phones.

      --
      >> My ultraviolent Linux switch video.
    17. Re:I HATE VERISIGN by bbtom · · Score: 1

      I'm using Simply.com. They are fairly cheap, and seem reliable. I've probably registered around five .co.uk's and a .com on there.

      --
      catch (HumourFailureException e) { e.user.send("You, sir, are a humourless idiot."); }
  9. I can see it now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    To access this .net site please enter your .net Passport.

    1. Re:I can see it now by operagost · · Score: 1
      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
  10. Letters of Support by SomeoneGotMyNick · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Big Deal.... Take those letters and shove them. Using those letters, regardless of where they came from, would cause and/or swing the bias. If an independent group is making the decision, let them do independent research to decide.

    People need to get off this "because Microsoft, IBM, AOL, etc. said it, so now I'll believe it" mentality and start thinking for themselves. For example, I like Linux. Not because Linus said so, but because I did my own research and found it to be what I feel I need.

    1. Re:Letters of Support by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People need to get off this "because Microsoft, IBM, AOL, etc. said it, so now I'll believe it"

      You must be new here...Welcome!


      (Shamelessly stolen from another age old post)

    2. Re:Letters of Support by Geoff-with-a-G · · Score: 1

      Yes, but "who should run the TLD?" isn't a pure math/science question like "what is 17 squared?" which can be "impartially" investigated. If the largest providers of IT in the world support [company X], that actually makes [company X] a better contender. In the real world with real markets, corporate relationships aren't "biases", they're important factors to consider.

  11. Wait... I missed it... by Kierthos · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When exactly did ICANN care about appearing impartial?

    Why can't they just tell VeriSign something along the lines of "You fucked up. You thought you were all bad and shit. We're taking it away from you." and just let the other three companies mentioned bid for it and shut VeriSign out of the .net domain?

    Kierthos

    --
    Mr. Hu is not a ninja.
    1. Re:Wait... I missed it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can tell you, as someone who used to work for ICANN, that impartiality, real impartiality, is very important to them. They are painfully aware that many eyes are watching them.

      The bidding, I can imagine, is a nice passive-aggressive way to shove VeriSign out of the picture. VeriSign has their tentacles very heavily entwined with ICANN due to their historical involvement with .com, .net and .org. Their initial contract was with the U.S. government, and if you don't think that makes the situation sticky for ICANN, then perhaps you need to educate yourself in the realities of doing business with the government.

    2. Re:Wait... I missed it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ignoring the actions of a bidding company is not impartiality. Looking at how well the companies have handled their domains and whether they have abused their power too much should be an essential part of the process.

    3. Re:Wait... I missed it... by Chyeld · · Score: 1

      It's called "cover your ass". You pretend to be impartial so that when the company you've given the bid to meltsdown and implodes, you'll be able to distance yourself from it.

    4. Re:Wait... I missed it... by rs79 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yeah I uess we could do that. I don't mind using IP addresses instead of domain names.

      My confidence in Affilias and those other wonks to handle .net is near zero. DeNIC is a good choice though, the DNS could use a dose of Germanic rigour, and those guys do good work.

      --
      Need Mercedes parts ?
    5. Re:Wait... I missed it... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ob. Futurama:

      EVERYbody wants to be like Germany, but do we have the pure strength of will!?

  12. VeriSign supported by Microsoft and IBM by Anonymous+Cowherd+X · · Score: 2, Informative

    To me, this is the most important part of the article:

    VeriSign is lobbying actively to hold onto its .net stewardship, however, lining up written support from major players including Microsoft and I.B.M.

    At $5 a year for each domain name, VeriSign earns an estimated $30 million annually from administering .net - far less than its revenues for .com, which has 200 million names at $6 each.

    I've been thinking about registering a .net domain, but now I'm not so sure anymore. VeriSign is very likely to lose and the transition process will not be an easy one as I'm sure VeriSign will fight tooth and nail to keep .net even after the final decision.

  13. Re:.net by jellomizer · · Score: 1

    Microsoft is a a public company. Checkout stock symbol MSFT

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  14. Whatever by Staplerh · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This made me roll my eyes, and I hope I wasn't alone. This quote:

    VeriSign has been lobbying hard to keep the domain and is reported to have received letters of support from Microsoft and IBM.

    Hah! Woopty-doo, hopefully this doesn't matter and there is some legitimacy in the bidding process. I'm not an anti-Microsoft crusader (although I did ditch Windows), but come now . . . unless they're willing to throw their money behind VeriSign (as opposed to a letter), they should simply STFU. From the NYT article:

    But later this month, the system's underpinnings will become a topic of debate when rival companies publicly bid to run .net, one of the Internet's most popular domains.

    It is rather disturbing at a base level that a company controls the domain. I know VeriSign runs .com but still... I will admit ignorance in these matters, but it's weird to think that a coroporation would run the .net domain - which, as the article points out, is responsible for a vast array of sites - including "About 40 percent of government domains allow access through .net, including the White House, the United States Senate, Homeland Security agencies and the Social Security Administration, making it a vital Internet transportation layer, said Tom Galvin, a spokesman for VeriSign."

    So weird.. WHY does VeriSign want .net - what advantages does this convey on them?

    --
    "There's no success like failure, and failure's no success at all."
    - Bob Dylan
    1. Re:Whatever by ppanon · · Score: 2, Interesting

      So weird.. WHY does VeriSign want .net - what advantages does this convey on them?

      Uhm, because Verisign's excessively high market valuation is due to the fact that they run .com. Just like they've always run .org. Oh wait, they lost control of that one, but it was for non-profits; it's OK if it was taken over by a non-profit corp., there was no profit in it. I really meant that Verisign run .com, just like Verisign have always run .net. What? They lost .net? Sell! Sell!

      Any questions?

      Personally, as long as their bid is reasonable, I think they should give it to the .de registrar.
      a) it's non-profit and, with examples like .de and .org, there's now good precedent that non-profits can effectively run name registration for major domains
      b) it is better because it is German. When the US gets accused of parochialism and trying to control the internet, what would be a better way to silence the critics than to hand management of .net to a non-USA corp?

      --
      Laissez lire, et laissez danser; ces deux amusements ne feront jamais de mal au monde. - Voltaire
    2. Re:Whatever by mazarin5 · · Score: 1
      So weird.. WHY does VeriSign want .net - what advantages does this convey on them?

      Umm... Cash. It's green with little president's pictures on it.

      --
      Fnord.
    3. Re:Whatever by That's+Unpossible! · · Score: 0

      It is rather disturbing at a base level that a company controls the domain.

      I presume you mean that the U.S. government should be running the .net domain.

      Please give me one example of our government running anything that works well, efficiently, and has an incentive to improve?

      Why on Earth should we give our government more control over the Internet? Any time you give those fools more power, they become more corrupt.

      The government is only good at spending money and increasing the size and complexity of government. In that, and nothing else, it gets an A+.

      Now VeriSign fucked things up good and proper with the sitefinder gaffe. Now we have a bidding process, and if politics is kept out of it, we can get a better company to steward the .net TLD.

      --
      Ironically, the word ironically is often used incorrectly.
    4. Re:Whatever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When the US gets accused of parochialism and trying to control the internet, what would be a better way to silence the critics than to hand management of .net to a non-USA corp?

      Is that like the UN puting Libya in charge of the HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE council? (yes I know Africa 'decided' who from their group would be the head)

    5. Re:Whatever by Desert+Raven · · Score: 2, Informative

      So weird.. WHY does VeriSign want .net - what advantages does this convey on them?

      Because it's worth millions of dollars/year?

      Current estimate is over 5 million .net domains registered. If I remember right, the registry's cut is $5/year. That's $25 million a year. If you also act as registrar, it's even higher.

      Seriously, losing .net would be a huge hit to Verisign's income, simple as that.

    6. Re:Whatever by Borderlinebass · · Score: 1

      It takes an immense level of intellectual dishonesty to think that the goverment does nothing well.

      One word: roads. There you go, that's one prime example of something done well by the government. They work well and they're highly effiecient overall. And as for incentive to improve.... it's called public accountability. Most democratic form of government are weak to it. The united states less than the vast majority of other democricies that use proportional representation systems, but hey.

      Oh, and here's two other words for you: Health Care. That right there is a prime example of something that private enterprise does awfully, with terrible repurcussions for the people.

      Heh. I wish conservatives and libertarians weren't so willfully ignorant.

      --
      Fight for something better: www.socialistalternative.org
    7. Re:Whatever by That's+Unpossible! · · Score: 1

      One word: roads. There you go, that's one prime example of something done well by the government. They work well and they're highly effiecient overall.

      Overall I will agree, the roads in the nation are decent. However, in many cases the states pay for the road work, the cities pay for the road work, tolls to private companies or municipals pay for the roadwork. I have seen private toll roads that are better maintained than anything controlled by federal taxes.

      And as for incentive to improve.... it's called public accountability. Most democratic form of government are weak to it. The united states less than the vast majority of other democricies that use proportional representation systems, but hey.

      Excuse me. Spending and waste are rampant in the US government. There is NO public accountability. Everyone passes the buck, if anything even comes to light. Show me an example of public accountability resulting in a substantial, positive change in government?

      Oh, and here's two other words for you: Health Care. That right there is a prime example of something that private enterprise does awfully, with terrible repurcussions for the people.

      Are you high? Private health care so completely blows away anything the government runs, it's insane. Ever worked with an HMO? Ever heard the horror stories involving Medicare HMOs?

      I pay for health insurance, can choose practically any doctor in my area, pay reasonable fees for my visit and my prescriptions, and receive excellent care.

      Heh. I wish conservatives and libertarians weren't so willfully ignorant.

      Wow, you're pretty high on your horse for someone that just pointed out two programs, only one of which I even partially agree with, out of the tens of THOUSANDS of government programs currently throwing money down the drain.

      And you're proud of that achievement.

      And you think libertarians are ignorant?

      --
      Ironically, the word ironically is often used incorrectly.
    8. Re:Whatever by rs79 · · Score: 1

      .org was moved. Yes indeed. Have you seen how much money is made by administering it? Any idea where it all goes?

      While bashing NSI is fashionable, mark my words, the way this is going to pan out you'll wish for the good old days of NSI's stewardship of .com/net/org.

      --
      Need Mercedes parts ?
    9. Re:Whatever by ppanon · · Score: 1

      Is that like the UN puting Libya in charge of the HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE council? (yes I know Africa 'decided' who from their group would be the head)

      Maybe. Or maybe it's like promoting to the role of Attorney General (i.e. have your justice system run by) the man who revised U.S. prisoner custody policy to allow torture and indefinite imprisonment without due process.

      --
      Laissez lire, et laissez danser; ces deux amusements ne feront jamais de mal au monde. - Voltaire
    10. Re:Whatever by ppanon · · Score: 1

      On second thought, no - it's not at all like either of those two situations.

      --
      Laissez lire, et laissez danser; ces deux amusements ne feront jamais de mal au monde. - Voltaire
    11. Re:Whatever by bbtom · · Score: 1

      Damn right on the healthcare. If everyone who wants socialisd healthcare could come and have a look at our healthcare system in Britain and tell me that it's an improvement. I can't keep a straight face when someone praises our health care system, simply because I can't imagine taht they are talking about the same thing.

      --
      catch (HumourFailureException e) { e.user.send("You, sir, are a humourless idiot."); }
  15. MS-Domain by koi88 · · Score: 0, Flamebait


    we need a .microshaft domain ... so we know which sites to stay away from :).

    How about .net?

    --

    I don't need a signature.
    1. Re:MS-Domain by Shadow_139 · · Score: 1

      Hehe... New firewall rule for Eurpore blocks all .net domains....

      ----------
      "Clutch my testes, bloody squirrel humpers!!" -Happy Noodle Boy

  16. Open it! by Nastard · · Score: 4, Funny

    Why not turn it over to the open-source community and let the experts take care of it? I'm sure they could provide a much better system than Verisign, more accountability, and much lower cost.

    Calm down, I'm kidding.

    1. Re:Open it! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Free iPod Photo. Not a scam. [freephotoipods.com] *Click* Hey! Whaddya know? It is a scam, dumbass!

    2. Re:Open it! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is a scam, but given that plenty of people have gotten stuff for free, it's not a very effective scam.

    3. Re:Open it! by rs79 · · Score: 1

      BTDT. Big business recoiled in horror at the idea and will not allow it. Since they're the ones ACTUALLY making these decisions it's a non-starter as a strategy, despite whether or not it's the right answer.

      They havn't come to grips yet with the fact the root servers are run by volunteers with no contract but they havn't figured out what to do with that yet.

      Keep in mind while it's theoretically possible, it's not actually practically pssible to change the IP addresses of the root serevrs; they're embedded in too many places. They shouldn't be, but they are.

      --
      Need Mercedes parts ?
    4. Re:Open it! by cpghost · · Score: 1

      Keep in mind while it's theoretically possible, it's not actually practically pssible to change the IP addresses of the root serevrs; they're embedded in too many places. They shouldn't be, but they are.

      Why should this be a problem? There are two solution here:

      • 1. the primary root server admins decide to change NS records for .net, .com etc... so that they point to servers run by volunteers.
      • 2. the network admins (also volunteers in most cases) change the BGP advertisements and reroute traffic from and to the DNS root to other servers run by volunteers.

      There's nothing really magic about the IP addresses in the bootstrap files on all computers in the world. Either the admins of those servers decide to ignore the ICANN cartel and provide links to free gTLD and ccTLD servers, or they get routed around by the network guys, if they refuse to cooperate.

      In other words: should ICANN one day get too cheesy and irresponsive to the needs of professionals, they'll quickly become irrelevant. At least technically, that is.

      --
      cpghost at Cordula's Web.
  17. Price... by Fusen · · Score: 1

    I RTFA, but I was wondering what sort of price you'd have to pay for this? and also how much control you would actually have over .net with ICANN watching your every move?

    1. Re:Price... by Digz · · Score: 1

      One million..

      er..

      one HUNDRED BILLION dollars! ;)

      --
      SYS 64738
    2. Re:Price... by Matthew+Angel · · Score: 1

      Besides buying the "right" to manage the TLD, you would be responsible for providing a robust server infrastrucutre capable of resolving massive amounts of DNS queries, WHOIS responses and referrals, provide customer support for domain owners, an interface for existing registration service providers to manage domain services, among other things. My previous employers looked at becomming a separate ICANN-accredited registrar -- the specs alone for service redundancy left them outsourcing the technical side of the process to Tucows.

      Yes, a small group of geeks could manage the technical side of it by dedicating their life to running the systems (wait, don't we do that anyway?), but the financial requirements alone probably preclude anyone but a pre-existing multi-million/billion dollar company from taking this on without destroying the system. (That's not even considering the legal considerations -- and no, http://www.freeadvice.com probably wouldn't cut it). ;-)

  18. Well... by Blue-Footed+Boobie · · Score: 1

    What impact does this have on all the sites I own that are on the .NET domain??

    --
    DAMN YOU OCTODOG! DAMN YOU TO HELL!
    1. Re:Well... by Kierthos · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well, if VeriSign doesn't get the winning bid, your customer service will almost certainly improve.

      Kierthos

      --
      Mr. Hu is not a ninja.
    2. Re:Well... by stupidfoo · · Score: 1

      But, since they're little bastards, expect some temporary "problems" once Verisign is finally forced to relinquish its control.

    3. Re:Well... by lukewarmfusion · · Score: 3, Interesting

      This astounds me.

      Having used four or five registrars myself (Register.com, GoDaddy, Dotster, and Network Solutions/Verisign) - and working with a few others that my clients have used - I have never found a registrar with better service than Network Solutions. I can talk to a real person and rarely ever have a problem that can't be resolved within an hour of reporting it.

      I had to wait three weeks for another registrar to resolve issues which should have been done within minutes. I'm not thrilled about the lax policies on domain hijacking (as we've read about recently) but those aren't limited to just Verisign.

      Despite their SiteFinder crap, I'm happy to pay $35/year for the best service, tools, etc. If someone can point me in the direction of something better, I'd be open to switching. But in the five or six years that I've been managing domains, this is the best I've found.

    4. Re:Well... by idamaybrown · · Score: 1

      Price goes up?

    5. Re:Well... by Blue-Footed+Boobie · · Score: 1
      I certainly hope not.

      I would hate to lose all the .NET versions of my .COM domains.

      --
      DAMN YOU OCTODOG! DAMN YOU TO HELL!
    6. Re:Well... by gclef · · Score: 1

      Disregarding whether Network Solutions is a good company (your experience is *Hugely* different from mine), this change will actually have nothing to do with your DNS service from NetSol.

      Verisign sold NetSol a couple years ago to a separate company (who I'm too lazy to google), to avoid a lot of the conflict of interest claims that were coming up. Verisign now is only running the registry. In other words, you will never speak to Verisign if you're registering a domain. You might have to speak to them if you're involved in an improper transfer (like, the panix.com thing), but Network Solutions != Verisign anymore.

  19. Thanks a lot for waiting until today... by PornMaster · · Score: 1

    If I'd had more notice... well, then I wouldn't have to be doing my application today. Since I'm at work, it'll be eating into my Slashdot time!

  20. yeah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    haha teh LOLz0r! I will den creat teh .l33t domain for us c00l dudez! m1cr0sh4ft can suck1t!

  21. Thanks for the advance notice by Se7enLC · · Score: 3, Funny

    > applications are due today.

    I think Adam Sandler says it best: "This information could have been brought To My Attention YESTERDAY!"

  22. EA... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    ...surprised EA hasn't tried to buy it yet.

  23. Starting a pool... by ari_j · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm starting a pool. Paypal me your support so we can put a solid bid in on this. It's for the consortium, and you all have a share. ;)

    1. Re:Starting a pool... by mav[LAG] · · Score: 1

      Yes Milo.

      --
      --- Hot Shot City is particularly good.
    2. Re:Starting a pool... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe you don't understand what bidding actually means. This is not an auction, it is a bid for a job. The bidding is for how low the companies think they can do the job. The company who can do it the lowest gets the job. That's how all government contracts are given out.

    3. Re:Starting a pool... by ari_j · · Score: 1

      Did you not get my joke, or are you just ignoring it for the sake of pointing out the obvious?

  24. Speaking of ethics... by nharmon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    [i]Help me, get a free [freeminimacs.com] mini mac.[/i]

    Call me crazy, but you don't see a problem with talking about ethics, and advertising some ipod/minimac pyramid scheme at the same time?

    I say that for now on, we pledge to never mod up people with this bullcrap in their sigs.

    1. Re:Speaking of ethics... by NitroWolf · · Score: 1

      [i]Call me crazy, but you don't see a problem with talking about ethics, and advertising some ipod/minimac pyramid scheme at the same time?

      I say that for now on, we pledge to never mod up people with this bullcrap in their sigs.[/i]

      And what exactly is wrong with putting that in your sig? Unlike Sitefinder, it's not like you're forced to go to it, or even could accidentally go to it, you intentionally have to click the link.

      There's nothing unethical about putting that in your sig. Now if he had tricked you into going there, then yes... but it's pretty plain and obvious what it is when he asks you to go there.

      I say from now on, people that complain about unintrusive sigs for things like this should be modded down for 6 months per offense, regardless of post content or merit.

    2. Re:Speaking of ethics... by NeoSkandranon · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      How do you figure it's unethical? Being a pyarmid scheme has nothing to do with whether it's legit or "right" or what have you.

      In fact, my "free ipod" is due to be delivered by DHL this very afternoon. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but the sites work as advertised.

      --
      If you can't see the value in jet powered ants you should turn in your nerd card. - Dunbal (464142)
    3. Re:Speaking of ethics... by runnin247 · · Score: 1

      I say from now on, people that complain about unintrusive sigs for things like this should be modded down for 6 months per offense, regardless of post content or merit. No shit, seems every /. story now has someone shooting down another's comment based on the free minimac/ipod/handjob link in their sig... Get over it and don't click.

    4. Re:Speaking of ethics... by NanoGator · · Score: 1

      "Call me crazy, but you don't see a problem with talking about ethics, and advertising some ipod/minimac pyramid scheme at the same time?"

      Not a pyramid scheme, yadda yadda yadda.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    5. Re:Speaking of ethics... by snorklewacker · · Score: 1

      > There's nothing unethical about putting that in your sig.

      Aside from providing free advertising to spammers that is. And jebus, it's mod points, it's not mana from heaven. Stop fixating on them like they're some exercise of awesome power.

      --
      I am no longer wasting my time with slashdot
    6. Re:Speaking of ethics... by squiggleslash · · Score: 1
      It doesn't matter whether people are forced to go there, it's a pyramid scheme and, as such, is unethical.

      I'd have thought that's obvious, but Slashdot psuedo-libertarians have a habit of confusing "can" and "should" these days.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    7. Re:Speaking of ethics... by NitroWolf · · Score: 1

      It doesn't matter whether people are forced to go there, it's a pyramid scheme and, as such, is unethical.

      According to whose ethics? Yours? I don't give two shits for your ethics, you mean nothing to me. So why, pray tell, is it unethical? If you don't want to participate, then don't! It's that simple.

      I'm sick of idiots like you who think they can impose thier moral and ethical behavior on others. It's not YOUR job to police everyone else. Leave others in peace for Christs sake. Worry about your own house, not others. I'm sure yours isn't in all that great of shape to begin with.

    8. Re:Speaking of ethics... by Short+Circuit · · Score: 1

      And jebus, it's mod points, it's not mana from heaven.

      You're obviously someone who's had mod points in the last two years...

    9. Re:Speaking of ethics... by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

      Unless you live in a society that thinks screwing ever great numbers of people is right, pyramid schemes are unethical, if not outright immoral. Generally they work by sucking in chumps who seem incapable of comprehending that to keep the thing going for any length of time, there's always going to have to be losers, and that number will always have to grow.

      Do you also complain about having ethics enforced upon you because people won't let you rob banks or steal little old ladies' purses?

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    10. Re:Speaking of ethics... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Credit card companies aren't ethical. Should they be abolished? You can pay the minimum every month and still grow deeper in debt---it's designed to be that way, to keep people owing.

    11. Re:Speaking of ethics... by MightyMartian · · Score: 2, Informative

      > Credit card companies aren't ethical. Should they
      > be abolished? You can pay the minimum every month
      > and still grow deeper in debt---it's designed to
      > be that way, to keep people owing.

      And yet people are perfectly free to pay more than the minimum payment, and the terms and conditions of the loan are advertised. Credit cards are not pyramid schemes, so there is no analogy.

      Sorry, but no matter which way you cut it, pyramid schemes are unethical. They are wrong, but if morons wish to continue feeding the scum at the top, then I guess that's their choice.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    12. Re:Speaking of ethics... by elemental23 · · Score: 1

      I say that for now on, we pledge to never mod up people with this bullcrap in their sigs.

      I go one step further. See .sig.

      --
      I like my women like my coffee... pale and bitter.
    13. Re:Speaking of ethics... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I might, but Slashdot thoughtfully fails to provide any way to quickly show a comment's or user's sig without enabling sig display in general. Oh well, no big loss. The odds of your sig saying anything worth reading are infinitesimal.

    14. Re:Speaking of ethics... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Go to your Preferences, Comments page and check the "Disable Sigs" box. Sig comments are useless distractions. If you want lots of silly off-topic comments go to fark.com instead. Those guys are actually funny sometimes.

    15. Re:Speaking of ethics... by Tarential · · Score: 1

      My sentiments exactly.

    16. Re:Speaking of ethics... by Sri+Lumpa · · Score: 1


      Well, pyramid schemes are (mentioned) in your sig so I guess I better mod you down ;)

      --
      "The obvious mathematical breakthrough would be development of an easy way to factor large prime numbers." Bill Gates,
    17. Re:Speaking of ethics... by bbtom · · Score: 1

      Look. It's called MORAL VALUES not ETHICS. Ethics is a discipline of philosophy concerned with how and why moral values exist. The actual determination of whether something is good or bad is morality.

      Equivalents: legal rules and jurisprudence, music and musicology, that picture hanging on your wall and art criticism.

      --
      catch (HumourFailureException e) { e.user.send("You, sir, are a humourless idiot."); }
  25. Tucows / OpenSRS by Matthew+Angel · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Wonder if Tucows / OpenSRS will make a bid -- though I haven't seen anything on their reseller resource center. I'd trust them over MS or Verisign - they listen to their customers and actively support the Linux platform (heck, even their site is PERL and PHP). /me wanders off to call his Tucows rep...

    1. Re:Tucows / OpenSRS by Desert+Raven · · Score: 1

      Tucows is a member of Afilias, so essentially, they already are bidding.

      Here's a little tidbit though, Afilias currently manages number of TLDs and CCTLDs. But they're not the ones actually serving the DNS, they contracted it out.

      Go ahead, do a root server lookup. :)

  26. Sorry... by sepluv · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why exactly can't ICANN take into account the fact that Verisign broke their last contract (in a way that screwed around with the whole Internet and made Verisign lots of $$$) when deciding whether to give them the next contract? What do they decide the contract on then?

    --
    Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
    [This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
    1. Re:Sorry... by quarkscat · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Verisign exercises a lot of power - between
      managing .com and their CA business. They
      have already aptly demonstrated that they
      cannot be trusted to comply with ICANN, so
      ICANN should let them have it. Right between
      the eyes.

      Verisgn should be barred from bidding on
      management of the .net TLD, in spite of
      support from MSFT and IBM. In fact, ICANN
      should be looking for a new manager for
      the .com TLD as well. When does their
      contract for the .com TLD expire, anyway?

      Just my rapidly depreciating $00.02 worth.

    2. Re:Sorry... by sepluv · · Score: 1
      .com registry expires in 2007 (according to the court judgement in Verisign v. ICANN).

      My point is that ICANN seem to think they have to be overly nice to Verisign in the .net bidding because of the .com argument. But, surely, if Verisign have violated their .com contract, that is a valid reason not to give them the .net contract?

      --
      Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
      [This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
    3. Re:Sorry... by rs79 · · Score: 1

      Somebody broke their contractual obligations - it was ICANN, not NSI.

      There's a clause in the ICANN/NSI agreement that NSI can't be treated unfaitly, that is, they can't be singled out with TLD policy not other TLD has to endure. At the time of sitefinder there were TWENTY SIX tlds doing wildcarding. So NSI did it too.

      ICANN's proper response should have been "oh well, ok all you guys knock off the wildcarding" OR "ok, go boys go". Fair is fair.

      But they didn't. They frapped NSI for it and let everybody else slide; there's still wildcaded TLDs out there.

      Show me the part of the contract NSI broke. I can show you the part ICANN broke.

      --
      Need Mercedes parts ?
    4. Re:Sorry... by sepluv · · Score: 1

      It was the other way round. Read the contract. Also, two courts don't seem to agree with you.

      --
      Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
      [This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
  27. .net -- why not the same as .com? by djlewis · · Score: 1
    That's how it's used in practice. I don't know what the original idea was for differentiation, but it clearly hasn't worked out. The only hitch is MS's claim as a software brand. But they're already facing that, and it's clearly unreasonable for them to expect anything special for the tld.

    So, sounds like a slam-dunk. If it goes differently, we'll know the fix is in.

    1. Re:.net -- why not the same as .com? by sepluv · · Score: 1

      It was originally for network infrastructure (e.g.: ISPs, registrars).

      --
      Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
      [This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
    2. Re:.net -- why not the same as .com? by rs79 · · Score: 1

      Sure, back in 86 that's what is was for. NSI tried for years to enforce this per the RFC but found sneaky people could always get around it while honest people were penalized. For $50 a name they couldn't make this work, there's too much manpower involded. For $6 a name the price the government dictated there's isn't a chance in hell of making this work.

      They're just names. Just strings to make things easy for people. No further information can be derived from a TLD with any consistancy. Get over the fact the DNS is not a directory system.

      --
      Need Mercedes parts ?
    3. Re:.net -- why not the same as .com? by sepluv · · Score: 1
      Well, I think net. is still used mainly for what it was meant for (because why would someone cause confusion by not using it that way). Whenever I see a net. domain it seems to be an ISP (or the email domian for one) (excepting groklaw.net which I guess uses that because it is a community).

      If the domain names have no meaning, then why have them at all? Anyway (excepting org., net. and com. you have to fit certain criteria to get them as opposed to just being supposed to).

      --
      Joe Llywelyn Griffith Blakesley
      [This post is in the public domain (copyright-free) unless otherwise stated]
  28. Afilias uses PostgreSQL by bmomjian · · Score: 3, Informative

    Afilias uses PostgreSQL, so now we know who the Slashdot croud should be rooting for. See the last paragraph:

    http://www.active-domain.com/news/2002sep-5.htm

    In fact there is a seminar at Afilias starting tomorrow to plan a new multi-master replication solution for PostgreSQL, so they are very involved with open source.

    1. Re:Afilias uses PostgreSQL by Nimey · · Score: 2
      Afilias uses PostgreSQL, so now we know who the Slashdot croud should be rooting for
      We should support a company just because they're using some software that the "Slashdot crowd" would find politically correct? Rather, we should root for whichever company would do the best job of administering the domain.
      --
      Hail Eris, full of mischief...

      E pluribus sanguinem
    2. Re:Afilias uses PostgreSQL by jadavis · · Score: 1

      I think it's more of a good bonus to going with Afilias. If you have any evidence that they will do a sub-par job, let us know, but until then, I am happy that the company can make a profit and give back to the open source community. And I like what they've been doing for PostgreSQL so far, and the same for their employees, who frequent the lists as well as do dev work.

      Afilias, if I'm not mistaken, was the primary developer of Slony-I, a very powerful single-master replication daemon for PostgreSQL that is very effective in many situations. So I expect them to make good on their promises of a multi-master solution.

      --
      Social scientists are inspired by theories; scientists are humbled by facts.
  29. Squatter by Luigi30 · · Score: 1

    Wouldn't it suck if a group of cybersquatters banded together and bought the domain just to advertise on it and take over all the sites?

    --
    503 Sig Unavailable

    The Signature could not be accessed. Please try again later or contact the administrator
  30. ffs manage it yourselves or create a nonprofit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    so either verisign get to fuck us over for a few more years or some other company do. FUCKING GREAT

  31. ... we will take care of you ... by splint3r · · Score: 1

    It would be so nice if some one like Nominet took over *all* of the TLDs. Never going to happen of course, but people who have to deal with both Nominet and Network solutions a great deal know why I wish this.

    1. Re:... we will take care of you ... by sheppos · · Score: 1

      I agree - Personally I would like to see these run by the likes of the not-for-profit mentioned in the article. I'm not too keen on one company owning more than one TLD either...

  32. Probably not just highest bidder by bitingduck · · Score: 1

    It's probably not just a highest bidder thing-- they probably have to demonstrate technical capability as well.

    And in light of that, I can't help but wonder if the Panix domain-jacking wasn't someone's attempt to make Verisign look technically inept with low security, in addition to the complaints about their business practices. The timing is too close...

    It's very much in Verisigns interest to figure out how it happened, who's responsible, and make sure it's less likely to happen in the future.

  33. Can't win - getting a "stable" address by dpilot · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Years back, between migrating from AOL and my dialup ISP getting sold, resold, and resold, I decided to go to a third party for a popbox, so I could get a stable email address, and that worked for a few years.

    Then the popbox provider changed their policies. It wasn't just that they weren't free - I could have handled that. They really didn't want to fuss with individuals, they wanted to provide for businesses.

    So I bought a third-level domain, forwarding email to my ISP's popbox. That worked for a few years, and during that time their billing department was a bit odd, at best. Then last year their billing department got to be too much to deal with. (They wouldn't accept a cashier's check issued to the name of their company - they wanted it to a person . Sounds too shady, to me.)

    So I went to DynDNS.org and bought my own domain last year, along with mail forwarding, etc.

    My domain is a ".net".

    --
    The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
    1. Re:Can't win - getting a "stable" address by Quaryon · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Country-specific domains might be the answer here - you don't need an international (com, net etc) domain suffix for a stable email address. In the UK we have .uk run by Nominet who seem far more clued up than Verisign.

      I'm sure there is a .us domain somewhere even if no-one uses it ;)

      Q.

    2. Re:Can't win - getting a "stable" address by dpilot · · Score: 1

      Actually, I'm not going to panic. I'm due for renewal in April, and will re-up for this year. Ater that, we'll see. I would expect that in this matter, the scythe will swing well above my head, or even DynDNS.org's head.

      --
      The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
  34. I got $20 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anybody else want to throw in some money on this one?

    It's this or another cheese pizza...

  35. Ever heard of letters of reference? by glrotate · · Score: 1

    If I was bidding out for someone to fix my PC and 'Puterz-R-Us shows up with recomendation letters from Microsoft and IBM you bet I'm going to take it seriously.

  36. Re:I HATE VERISIGN - Dotster by markdowling · · Score: 1

    Dotster were the people Panix put their trust in before their domain was hijacked - not sure how good an eye they were keeping on that situation.

  37. Two words... by drakaan · · Score: 1
    Fuck Verisign.

    Ahh...I can feel the karma leaving my body...

    --
    "Murphy was an optimist" - O'Toole's commentary on Murphy's Law
    1. Re:Two words... by elemental23 · · Score: 1

      Are you kidding? If anything, that'll get you modded up as "insightful" around here. I'd do it myself if I had mod points.

      --
      I like my women like my coffee... pale and bitter.
  38. Any non-profit in US by teaDrunk · · Score: 0

    Are there any non profit registrars in US ?

    1. Re:Any non-profit in US by rs79 · · Score: 1

      .ORG

      They get multi millions of dollars a year. But hey, they're non-profit so it's ok.

      Non-profits are one of the best ways to spend lots of money and ignore accountability. "hey, they're a non-profit" doesn't mean they can't piss away millions stupidly on things this crowd might think inappropriate.

      --
      Need Mercedes parts ?
  39. So? by fm6 · · Score: 1
    A lot of posts on this story. A lot of them are actually written by intelligent people. To whom I address this question: Why do you care? The only real purpose of the net TLD is to provide a separate address space for network services provides. That purpose has been pretty much ignored for years now. I think 80% of the domains are in .net just because the name was already taken in .com and .org, or because somebody wanted to lock up all variations of a name. Is anybody going to go through all those millions of domains and figure out which ones really belong there?

    I find it pretty hard to take the whole TLD thing seriously anway. Even when the rules are applied consistently, all you get is a lot of obscure suffixes that are of no real use to anybody. And when the rules have never really been applied, as with .net, .org, and most of the national domains, it's hard to understand why anybody cares who administers the domains.

    1. Re:So? by Desert+Raven · · Score: 1

      A lot of posts on this story. A lot of them are actually written by intelligent people. To whom I address this question: Why do you care?

      hmm? oh, you were talking to me?

      That one's easy. My job is directly affected by all of this. I work for a company that has a lot to gain/lose depending on who gets this contract.

      Dunno about the everyone else though.

    2. Re:So? by fm6 · · Score: 1

      So it's basically a welfare program for unemployed techies?

    3. Re:So? by Desert+Raven · · Score: 1

      Absolutely. Any job that you don't understand must be meaningless.

      Hire me! [picknit.com]

      I'd wish you luck, but somehow I think it would be wasted.

  40. letters of support from microsoft? by drew · · Score: 1

    apparently microsoft wasn't too upset when verisign accidentally issued a certificate with microsoft's name on it to some scammers.

    --
    If I don't put anything here, will anyone recognize me anymore?
  41. Why avoid appearance of bias? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What's wrong with having a bias against a company that is abusing the responsibilities of the position they hold? I think VeriSign's application should simply be thrown out. "Sorry, we're not interested. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

  42. VeriSign gets in trouble regularly by iabervon · · Score: 3, Informative

    The article mentions SiteFinder, but before that VeriSign was sent fraudulent email to owners of domains registered through other registrars, and just this weekend they transferred panix.com (registered through a different registrar) to a hijacker. Considering the way the seem to have blown off both the rightful owner of the domain and law enforcement, I think it would be appropriate to take into account the possibility that VeriSign will be convicted of computer crimes and banned from computers by court order within the period of this contract when deciding whether to give it to them.

    1. Re:VeriSign gets in trouble regularly by rs79 · · Score: 1

      and just this weekend they transferred panix.com (registered through a different registrar) to a hijacke

      No they didn't. A Melbourne IT sub-registrar did[1]. NSI did exactly what is was told by the registrar. If they did anything else than do what their registar told them too they're in breach and risk losing everything.

      It may not make sense, but that's the way the ICANN contracts are worded. NSI is simply not allowed to fix shit that's broken, even obvioulsy so.

      [1]Apparanly this sub-registrar was consolidating a list of domains and typod one causeing panix.com to be transferred. Since ICANN's new rules do not require the losing registar to acknowledge the transfer you're completly at the mercy of the accuracy and intrgrity of the sum of all ICANN registrars. If that doesn't scare you, nothing will. I repeat: some regustrat caused all these troubles by typoing a critical DNS name and it took two days to unfuck it. In the past when NSI had screwed up like this (2 times in 15 years) they fixed it in 3 hours.

      --
      Need Mercedes parts ?
  43. WHOIS Microsoft.com by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A letter of support from Microsoft. Interesting WHOIS Microsoft.com
    Looks like "Registrar of Record: TUCOWS, INC."

    Registrant:
    Microsoft Corporation
    One Microsoft Way
    Redmond, WA 98052
    US

    Domain name: MICROSOFT.COM

    Administrative Contact:
    Administrator, Domain domains@microsoft.com
    One Microsoft Way
    Redmond, WA 98052
    US
    +1.4258828080
    Technical Contact:
    Hostmaster, MSN msnhst@microsoft.com
    One Microsoft Way
    Redmond, WA 98052
    US
    +1.4258828080

    Registration Service Provider:
    DBMS VeriSign, dbms-support@verisign.com
    800-579-2848 x4
    Please contact DBMS VeriSign for domain updates, DNS/Nameserver
    changes, and general domain support questions.

    Registrar of Record: TUCOWS, INC.
    Record last updated on 23-Jun-2004.
    Record expires on 03-May-2014.
    Record created on 02-May-1991.

    Domain servers in listed order:
    NS1.MSFT.NET 207.46.245.230
    NS5.MSFT.NET 207.46.138.20
    NS2.MSFT.NET 64.4.25.30
    NS3.MSFT.NET 213.199.144.151
    NS4.MSFT.NET 207.46.66.75

    Domain status: REGISTRAR-LOCK

  44. Sad... by Saeed+al-Sahaf · · Score: 1

    It's sad to say, but VariSign might just be a cut above the two other fly-by-night operations...

    --
    "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
    1. Re:Sad... by Desert+Raven · · Score: 1

      I'd hardly call Afilias a fly-by-night. They currently manage a number of significant TLDs and CCTLDs.

      Besides, the ones listed in the article are just the ones who have publicly announced their bids. They're NOT the only ones who bid.

      Oh, and for your homework. Recently, Verisign improved their service, making updates to the root servers every five minutes, instead of twice a day. They didn't do this out of the goodness of their heart or some sense of customer service, they did it because another bidder(s) already had proven infrastructure in place to make those changes in real time. In other words, they did it in order to be competitive for this bid. They're not the leader anymore, they're following.

  45. Re:I HATE VERISIGN - Dotster by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Verisign were the people that changed the transfer rules for .com domain names however. Dotster should have locked all the domain names themselves, but ...

  46. So... by Uber+Banker · · Score: 1

    ...you register thousands of domains and manage them by bulk?

    Talking about unethical slimeballs, what do you think about those guys that bulk buy websites with name like (with the odd spelling mistake) or names easily mistaken for other websites? Or domain campers that auction them off to the highest bidder?

  47. No way in hell by Abhorsen · · Score: 1

    There is no way they should be alowed to keep them. all domains should be run by not for profit. in the best intrest of the net

  48. DeNIC eG? by cpghost · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Aren't those guys extremely burocratic w.r.t. domain transfers etc? Didn't they require real paperwork to transfer domains in their .de ccTLD (at least in the past)? Anyone with DeNIC experience cares to comment or explain?

    There's also another point here: transferring .net to a ccTLD operator would also mean that all .net domains would be subject to the national laws of that operator's country. Do we really want the whole .net domain managed by an entity outside the US, governed by totally different rules and regulations?

    This is by no means a rebuttal of or prejudice against DeNIC eG or other ccTLD operators. I'm just a bit worried that such a transfer would affect existing domains in negative ways (like less legal protection, higher legal costs, UDRP overrides, etc...).

    --
    cpghost at Cordula's Web.
    1. Re:DeNIC eG? by kju · · Score: 1

      This is nonsense. DeNIC does not require paperwork, and did not require paperwork, at least not since i'm in the business (since 1995).

      However as a german i hope that DeNIC does not make it, because after all its still a shitty NIC with much proven incompetence.

      But your "outside the US" argument is inacceptable. I for one am not too happy to have my .net registrations under US jurisdiction, so the problem is the same, be it US or be it germany.

    2. Re:DeNIC eG? by rs79 · · Score: 1

      Aren't those guys extremely burocratic w.r.t. domain transfers etc? Didn't they require real paperwork to transfer domains in their .de ccTLD (at least in the past)?

      God I hope so. Your domain has never been as fungible as it is right now.

      --
      Need Mercedes parts ?
    3. Re:DeNIC eG? by cpghost · · Score: 1

      This is nonsense. DeNIC does not require paperwork, and did not require paperwork, at least not since i'm in the business (since 1995).

      Ah, okay. Thank you for the clarification. There's a lot of FUD going on w.r.t. DeNIC.

      But your "outside the US" argument is inacceptable. I for one am not too happy to have my .net registrations under US jurisdiction, so the problem is the same, be it US or be it germany.

      Yes, you have a point here. However, the .net gTLD has always been under US jurisdiction (not that it is any better or worse than other jurisdictions; please don't get me wrong here). Changing the rules for already registered domains could prove really problematic. Some domains that are perfectly legit in the US could be banned in Germany (or vice-versa), and moving the complete registry from one jurisdiction to another is like opening up a window of opportunity to *a lot* of lawsuits. Mind you, your courts won't be all that happy about the additional burden :)

      There's nothing wrong with gTLD registries outside the US, like, say, .info or .name. The point here is that they didn't move between jurisdictions in the first place. That's the biggest difference between those gTLDs that are outside the US, and .net, that has been in the US and would move outside (DeNIC or whatever).

      See my problem?

      --
      cpghost at Cordula's Web.
  49. Not Verisign, not again... by elronxenu · · Score: 1

    ... Anybody but Verisign!

  50. ...and I'm glad. by game+kid · · Score: 1

    I'd rather not see EA release a new .net every year.

    E. A. Sites. It's in the domain.

    --
    You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
  51. i disagree by harmlessdrudge · · Score: 1

    I have used all of these (except Dotster) and more: namecheap, domain people and others. The idea that network solutions offers value for money is surely a joke. Do you hold stock in this company by any chance? Currently, I use and recommend GoDaddy. It went through a bad patch for a while--for anyone living outside the US in particular. Now it works well and it's good value. It also seems to be an ethical company. I moved all my domains away from Network Solutions when they started sending bogus renewals to customers of competitors--voting with my feet. Monopolies are bad for business. Unethical monopolies are worst of all.

    1. Re:i disagree by lukewarmfusion · · Score: 1

      No stock, just a lot of frustration with most registrars I've dealt with. I hate paying so much for NetSol, but I've gotten great support.

      The biggest horror story was waiting three weeks for a domain to be unlocked by Register.com. During that whole time, the client's site was down and the client's email was unavailable. It was resolved by transferring it to Network Solutions who eventually called Register.com to make sure the transaction was approved. Within an hour, we were back up and in control.

      As for bogus renewals, I haven't seen that from NetSol. Domain Registry of America does it all the time - we just moved a client away from them (classic: he got a letter, thought it was real, unwittingly transferred his domain).

      Funny...as I recall, the reason I tried one of the other registrars was because of the SiteFinder crap that Verisign was pulling.

  52. .net eh? by Calamormine · · Score: 1

    Al Gore should try and get his hands on it! After all, he invented it...

  53. They aren't mutually exclusive. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They've done a great job with .org, I think they'd also do a great job with .net.

  54. url by demon411 · · Score: 1

    where can i bid on this? i'm willing to go up to 10 dollars. sig = scott is gay