ICANN approves waiting list service

Website domain names are normally registered for a 1-, 2- or 5-year period. At the end of that period you have to renew your domain name or it becomes immediately available for other people to register.

A niche industry has developed around registering sought-after domain names the very millisecond they expire. The owner of the name might not have intended to give it up, but simply forgot to have it renewed, or perhaps the e-mail address given as an administrative contact when the name was registered is no longer working.

Some people say that it is a company's responsibility to ensure that their domain names get renewed. Others argue that it is a fact of life that certain organisations are not as technically proficient as others and this should be allowed for.

VeriSign's controversial call for a waiting list service was passed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) late last week, despite objections raised earlier by one of its supporting organizations.

After a six-month grace period on expired domain names has passed, VeriSign will begin a one-year test program to determine whether the service is a boon to domain name owners and domain name wannabes.

The amendment gives the registry another revenue stream to pocket and essentially puts companies that offer to grab a domain name for interested buyers out of business. A waiting list service lets interested domain name seekers pay for the opportunity to grab an existing domain name once it expires.

Though VeriSign won't offer the service directly to domain name holders, it will charge registrars an undetermined fee ($25 has been mentioned) to offer the service to its customers. The fee is assessed whether the original domain name holder gives up the domain name or not.

In July, the domain names supporting organization (DNSO), one of three technical bodies whose task is to advise ICANN directors, rejected the amendment VeriSign was looking to adopt, but said it would cooperate if the board voted otherwise - provided that the board adopted several conditions.

They are:

• A six-month redemption grace period for all deleted domain names, so owner's who inadvertently let their domain expire could get them back.
  
• The WLS will run on a trial basis for one year.
  
• No preference or exclusion because of any registrar reservation service.
  
• Registrars won't be able to put a name on the WLS more than 60 days from expiration.
  
• Current domain owners will be notified their domain has an interested buyer, though the prospective buyer's identity won't be revealed.
  
• Collect data on the WLS trial period to determine if the service is really necessary.

While the idea appears reasonable at first glance, such a system immediately creates a monopoly in which the opportunities for abuse are enormous. Any domain not re-registered will fall under the control of Verisign. It seems almost certain to favour domain registrars that it has close ties with.

It can also charge whatever it likes for the service, since there will be no other route to getting hold of an expired domain. It may be helpful here to remind you it took years to wrestle the .com and .net domains out of VeriSign's hands - a move that resulted in the price of new domains plummeting as competition entered the market.

It does not appear that ICANN followed democratic processes in reaching their decision. The majority of parties including their DNSO policy subcommitte (15 versus 3), registrars (19 versus 14) and the public have voiced their objection.

A large registrar, www.dotster.com, has indicated they will appeal against the decision using ICANN processes. Failing that they will use other legal means.

Related links: