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AOL domain hi-jacking: Part Deux
The accusations of domain-hijacking on the part of AOL, over aolsearch.com continue to fly. In corrospondence with Cybele, she's alerted me to the fact (can anyone confirm?) that her new site is being blocked from anyone within AOL, even going so far as to talk with AOL's tech staff, who didn't know what's going on.
It's not AOL blocking them... :)
The DNS at interland.net is messed up.
if you query them for www.webmasterfx.com you get the answer:
www.webmasterfx.com. 3h45m56s IN NS dns3.interland.net.webmasterfx.com.
www.webmasterfx.com. 3h45m56s IN NS dns2.interland.net.webmasterfx.com.
Somebody has forgotten a dot and a A-record
Maybe it's time to verify ones DNS-records before going public..
Did a little research and it appears something is certainly amiss with AOLSEARCH.COM
Here's the details that we know:
1. AOLSEARCH.COM appears to have been transferred to AOL
2. NSI was able to send the original Registrant a bill their address must be valid...unless they later moved?
3. AOLSEARCH (AOL SEARCH) is *NOT* registered as a service mark anywhere I'm aware of. NSI's dispute policy only kicks in for domains that match EXACTLY to a registered mark. This is not the case here. Furthermore NSI's policy clearly states that while NSI may cancel a domain registration in the case of a dispute (in this case by court order only), NSI will *NOT* transfer the domain to the other party. The other party, namely AOL, *must* do a NEW registration to obtain the disputed domain.
With the above information I draw the possible conclusions:
1. AOL submitted a bogus RCNA to NSI (or AOL just called and convinced someone) to do the transfer - most likely conclusion
2. AOL initiated NSI's dispute policy - but not sure how AOL could have since the domain does NOT match any mark exactly that I'm aware of
3. AOLSEARCH.COM was voluntarily transferred to AOL for whatever reason
Bottom line is something is certainly amiss and without more details it's difficult to know for sure what happened. However, in my view from the
information I've seen so far it appears that AOL *and* NSI are both at fault and the AOLSEARCH.COM registration should be restored to the original Registrant immediately.
Without a RCNA, NSI is wrong to transfer the domain to AOL unless there's other
details I'm not aware of such as a court order.
Some have mentioned that the supposedly faulty mailing address of the Registrant was grounds for the transfer to AOL. This is pure nonsense!! Mail, etc is irrelevant. Ignore that because the real issue is did NSI receive a valid RCNA from the original registrant?? If not, the domain must be restored since NSI's policy is clear in this regard.
If NSI doesn't correct the registration, then the next logical legal step for the original Registrant would be to get a *subpoena* for the RCNA agreement...if NSI can't produce one, then it's clear that the original Registrant still owns the domain, NOT AOL. Simple!
[originally posted on Usenet and CCed to NSI and the original Registrant - to date neither have responded]
FWIW, I can get to that site on AOL.
As a former AOL employee I can tell you that this sort of thing happens often, but is not as sinister as it seems. This is usually due to proxy problems. The easiest way to confirm this is to minimize AOL (assuming you are using the 32-bit version) and launch IE/Netscape/etc and try to reach the site. This bypasses one of AOL's proxy services. If that works then AOL's proxy cache is probably old, slow or not responding. In fact, most people don't know that you can run any browser you like on top of AOL and get better performance. Unfortunately for AOL, they don't get any marketing information (what web sites are visited for how long, etc) when you do this.
Regarding calling tech support, I'm not surprised they didn't know. Like most big corporations, AOL considers tech support to be an expensive, non-income producing liability. Consequently, this is where the most aggressive budget slimming occurs. Most of AOL's tech support is out-sourced to other companies. This is fine if you're new to computers and need someone to hold your hand while you install, on need a local access number, etc. If you have a problem that isn't listed in the tech support database, and especially if it requires information from actual Admins, you're SOL. In that case, your best bet is to bypass tech support completely, and write to stevecase@aol.com. The CEO isn't going to read your message  However, those that do are the most likely to be able escalate these types of issues to someone with a clue.
Aramis
From the looks of it, the reason she mentioned the website is too drive slashdot traffic to it. Notice that the website has nothing to do with AfroAmerican Search. Either that, or she is overreacting. As one AOL user and a technie said, they don't see anything wrong.
Whatever the case, Hemos or CmdrTaco better hide the link. I don't think we want slashdot.org look like a bunch of dolts!
If someone can't resist telling me how to avoid these things, don't bother. That's not the point.
She's using frames without alt tags. Who cares if her page is blocked, her site sucks.
But could we find a better looking AOL graphic? I think that's one JPEG that's been through the washer one too many times.
-NG
+--
Given infinite time, 100 monkeys could type out the complete works of Shakespeare.
+-- (Score:-1, Moderator on Power Trip)
If so, then our antagonist in this case should have THEIR domain removed. My proof:
A search at USPS ZIP+4 Code Lookup for the address listed on aol.com, which is: 22000 AOL Way, DULLES VA 20166 (note the lack of zip+4, which I imagine NSI must retrieve before mailing) comes back from the USPS' own database as: "he address you entered was not found in DULLES VA in our database." Hmm, very interesting?
Now, once one corrects for the obvious flaw in the CITY (which is not commonly known), the new address becomes: 22000 AOL Way, STERLING VA 20166-9302, which is valid. But why, oh why, is their registration record incorrect, yet their domain continues to exist, in violation of NSI's standard for complete addresses?
One more thing to consider: Is my address wrong because I add a "tag" to trace junk mail or because I omit the street suffix, as in: 1208 Tiffany #K5 (no Ln, add #K5), but the USPS still delivers it correctly?
Just a thought.
Count me in on that grass roots movement.
Thad
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