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ICANN Moves Against GoDaddy Domain Lockdowns

Posted by Zonk on from the they-delved-too-deep dept.

An anonymous reader writes "ICANN is finally taking action against Domain Registrar GoDaddy's controversial 'lockdowns'. GoDaddy has long had a policy of 'locking down' domain names for 60 days after a customer updated their contact details. This put customers in a Catch 22 position: ICANN requires customers keep their contact details up to date, or risk having the domain forfeited. Yet during the lockdown period the customer is prevented from transferring the domain from GoDaddy to another registrar. If the lockdown ran over the domain's expiry date, customers were forced to renew with GoDaddy or lose the domain. ICANN proposes to ban this practice. ICANN who is charged with overseeing the Internet has long been accused of giving domain registrars a free ride. But recently after ICANN failed to discipline Network Solutions over a front-running scam, they found themselves both on the wrong end of a lawsuit by lawyers Kabateck Brown Kellner. Is ICANN's action a signal of increased vigilance in policing registrars, or is it a PR move paving the way for a complete removal of US Government oversight?"

8 of 146 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I'd rather not buy from the likes of GoDaddy or by AccUser · · Score: 4, Informative

    I always use 1&1 Internet, which has excellent support and is extremely well priced. For hosting, Joyent is your friend.

    --

    Any fool can talk, but it takes a wise man to listen.

  2. GoDaddy and the spam you received today by Arrogant-Bastard · · Score: 4, Interesting
    GoDaddy is the single largest registrar of spammers, phishers, and the like. On the surface, that might sound odd, given that GoDaddy has published policies that say they'll take action, but the reality is that those are propaganda, no better. GoDaddy's enforcement of its own policies against abusers has been laughable: it's pretty obvious to everyone that they only do so with reluctance and in the face of bad PR. (See Usenet's news.admin.net-abuse.email for many discussions on this.)

    This really isn't surprising, though: spammers and phishers buy domains by the hundreds, if not thousands, which makes them excellent customers. And if you're GoDaddy, you need that income (among other reasons) to fund your offensively sexist commercials.

    How does this tie in? It's all about profits. Profits for GoDaddy are maximized by selling as many domains as possible and then holding them for ransom. Given how weak and slow ICANN has been, this has been a viable strategy for a number of years; it remains to be seen if something meaningful will actually happen in this case, or whether GoDaddy will just continue cementing its reputation as one of the scummiest registrars out there.

  3. Re:GoDaddy not the only one by capnkr · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yes, NS does it too, it has happened to me. BUT...

    If you tell NS that you are trying/going to move the domain due to their (exorbitant) pricing, they will offer you a new price, much more in line with what other registrars like GoDaddy charge ($8.75/yr in my case). So basically, problem solved...

    I do think the lock-down policy is a simple ploy to retain customers, no matter who implements it.

    --
    "...there are some things that can beat smartness and foresight. Awkwardness and stupidity can." ~ Mark Twain
  4. Re:Just a matter of proper ordering... by mwvdlee · · Score: 4, Insightful

    when you need to start thinking like this, there's something wrong to begin with.

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    Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
  5. Re:I'd rather not buy from the likes of GoDaddy or by dmoisan · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm soured on 1&1 too. At work, we have one domain (our primary one) on Netsol, and the rest of the names on 1&1. Unfortunately, 1&1 bounced an email to us and put us in collections and never bothered to give us a phone call.

    We only found this out when we wanted to consolidate all our domains with 1&1. (Of course, I found that our 10-year old domain had the contact info from our old ISP!)

    Because of the transfer screwup, we kept it status quo with one name on NS and the others on 1&1. It was such a hassle with 1&1 that I am thinking seriously about consolidation again, only to Netsol instead! (and that is saying much!)

    I'd like to see reforms at ICANN, so I don't have to worry about being screwed when some registrar is bought out by someone or when some different set of suits is put in management.

    P.S. Direcnic is not the cheapest, but I use them personally and I have no reason to switch. Besides, considering their location, they have disaster preparedness down pat. :)

  6. No no no! by Spazmania · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As someone whose ass was saved by Network Solutions' lockdown, let me tell you the lockdowns are a Really Good Thing.

    Hackers can break in to your account. It can happen even when you're being careful. A lockdown means that you have time to track down a real human being and get it reversed before the domain is transferred to some registrar in China whose support reps don't even speak English.

    --
    Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
  7. Re:I'd rather not buy from the likes of GoDaddy or by neurovish · · Score: 5, Informative

    insecure.org put up a nice list at nodaddy.com when their domain was yanked. It looks like it is still there.
    http://nodaddy.com/#alternatives

  8. Re:is there any decent non "evil"registrar out the by kalirion · · Score: 4, Funny

    and (if this matters to you) they're carbon neutral.

    I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with that alignment. Is that like "True Neutral", or does it lean towards "Lawful" or "Chaotic" ends?