Slashdot Mirror
VeriSign Withdraws Domain-Suspension Proposal
GeorgeK writes "To update Wednesday's Slashdot article, VeriSign, the .com/net domain name registry, has withdrawn their controversial proposal which would have allowed them to suspend domains without a court order and without due process. VeriSign did not give a reason for the withdrawal. Slashdot 1, VeriSign 0."
How arrogant! Do you really think Slashdot had anything to do with the withdrawal ?
Write boring code, not shiny code!
When I saw this story I thought I was entering a lovely dream in which whining on message boards got results and counted as political participation.
Then you woke me up. Jerk.
Make outrageous proposal... when everyone howls, withdraw proposal.
Make outrageous proposal again... some people howl, others think "meh", withdraw proposal.
Make outrageous proposal again... a few people howl, a few people think "sounds reasonable", most think "meh", withdraw proposal.
Make outrageous proposal again... a few people think "sounds reasonable", most think "meh", implement proposal.
Yeah they put it out in the public but don't you think they would do it behind closed doors or with secret courts that issue warrants for terrorism and recovery from "stolen" iPhones on the back of bar toilets?
Reason? We just wanted to see how much we could get away with because we are slimy worms.
Or perhaps they ran it up the flagpole to see how various parties would react.
Could well be an attorney or Attorney General or Powerful Industry Lobby Group or very well placed janitor convinced they they would be wise to bin the idea.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Those holding the pen write history.
I don't think Slashdot can claim any credit for Verisign's change of heart. I mean, after all, I didn't even post a comment on that article.
They can say they aren't going to do it, but in the end somebody at Verisign can make a unilateral split second decision to shut down any domain they want. Who's to stop them?
I would suggest it be part of your contract that they won't do this to your domain without a court order and notifying you first. Otherwise find a different registrar.
Reason? We just wanted to see how much we could get away with because we are slimy worms.
Could well be an attorney or Attorney General or Powerful Industry Lobby Group or very well placed janitor convinced they they would be wise to bin the idea.
Hardly. The Attorneys General and Powerful Industry Lobbies would love a ruling that lets them heroically take down the ne'er-do-wells of the Internet without all those messy judges and their "due process" nonsense screwing things up. After all, we all know cyberterrorists don't have rights, and they'd promise never to misuse the process. They even pinky-swore.
Seriously, I don't know that they were intentionally being slimy worms, or if they were just trying to do something to "help fight teh ebil wikileakers" without thinking through all the negative ramifications that would grant any old TomDickAndHarrystan the "right" to take down sites like freeTibet.org. Or maybe they didn't care because they are slimy worms. It's hard to know for sure as I'm not a Versign employee, and last time I checked I wasn't a slimy worm, either.
John
I doubt they're INTENTIONALLY being slimy worms, they just ARE slimy worms so that's what they'll be.
the weekly multilevel department meeting included caffeinated coffee this time, forcing all in attendance to reconsider things like domain suspension, repainting the parking lot into one great big parking space, and reassigning the gender and sexual preferences of the copy machine.
Good people go to bed earlier.
Many of the popular Registries have this ability, and use it everyday to take down sites serving up malware and phish. There is an extensive investigation done before a domain is suspended- the Registry loses money when it is suspended. Too bad, really, I was looking forward to having another tool in the box to fight crime on the internet, but instead must beg a shady ISP to take action...tin foil hats- 1, internet crime fighters- 0.
Thank God
Spammers 1.
Hijackers 1.
We at Verisign apologize for the silly proposal we had proposed. Those twits responsible have been sacked.
This space unintentionally left blank.
While it's tempting to attribute human motivations (being a slimy worm) to corporations, that would be a mistake. There motivation was, or should have been, one of profit and nothing else. Yes, many considerations must be factored into a business decision like this, and clearly at least one such consideration (how much ill-will and lost business it would generate) was left out or poorly calculated. In the end though, "the right thing" is not something that any corporation gives a shit about if it costs money. That's the way corporations are supposed to act - completely and utterly without morals. Now, think about that the next time you vote for someone who will appoint Supreme Court justices who will grant citizenship, and all the rights thereof, to corporations.