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All rights to a domain should be derived from the Subscription and we should protect Subscribers - not domains -- as there are no property rights in the domains themselves. Yet, today there is no explicit protection policy for subscribers who rely upon these database listings. With the mandated Subscription Rights proposed herein, the domain system itself remains a public resource. Property rights need not - and should not -- be granted.
With Subscription Rights It should be clear that those Registrars who have withheld domains from the public have no right to retain them. Verisign Registrar and others should immediately be compelled to release all expired domains as they, as Registrars, are illegally blocking public access to a public resource. In addition, no Registrar inherently has the right to seize and reassign domains simply because they have control at the time of deletion. In contrast, were Property Rights to be conferred there would be no way to compel Verisign and others to release the hoarded domains. They would simply take confiscate them!
With no rights in place, possession rules the day. In fact, domain theft is rampant because possession is currently sufficient to declare "ownership"(by "ownership" we mean control, not property rights). Creating Subscription Rights and correcting the irrational transfer, deletion, and pricing policies will solve 90% of all ills. In our view, WLS should be "DOA" yet it lives (see www.evil.biz). So what to do:
SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS
Subscription Rights: It should be a Registrant's right to recover a domain for a minimum of 6 months beyond expiration. We've heard of a proposed 30 days, but this is by no measure sufficient time for the Subscriber. Often, it takes months to even recognize bad actions. This timeframe is akin to the Status of Limitations and no rational policy would be limited to 30 days.
Recovery due to inadvertent non-payment: Domains should go into a 6-month deletion cycle before they are released for re-assignment; during which time they could be recovered by the prior Registrant.
Recovery due to negligence: For domains that are lost due to theft, deletion, and de factor wire fraud, the Registrants' right would extend for 6-months past the expiration date. Anytime during that time, Registrants could then assert their superior rights and recover the domains, absent a signed release waiver.
Transfer Validations: In conjunction, it is essential to mandate that the existing Registrars validate transfer requests - and not allow this most vital task be performed by the "gaining" Registrars. The current system invites perfect strangers to take domains without the knowledge or permission of the Registrant or their agent, the existing Registrar. Only the losing Registrar has a known-certain* business relation with the Registrant; the gaining Registrar may not. Further, there must be a defined procedure in place to use the help desk - I assume Registrars have a help desk -- to override uncooperative Registrars.
*Known-certain prior to theft and "whitewashing."
Recycled Domain Waiver: In conjunction with Subscriber Rights, it is essential that new domain holders sign a mandated waiver that allows the prior Registrant to recover the domain for six months beyond the expiration, absent a signed release. This presents no risk for a new Subscriber if the domain has been properly aged (see below). Most significant, this clause makes theft a fruitless act as the prior subscriber can execute their rights to recover without regard to possession, use, or even "detrimental reliance" by the new domain holder. For those unwilling to allow such rights, they simply use a domain that hasn't been "recycled." We must respect the rights of others if we are to have these rights ourselves.
Registry Level Listing: Registrants name should be held at the Registry level so it cannot be so easily "whitewashed." This need not be in the zone file and, in fact, we are 100% in favor or unpublished listings. Although unpublished, the domain holder's identity would always be know to the Registrar and Registry. With that, bad actors can easily be uncovered.
History Files: Registrants should be able to access history files, for recovery action as well as assurance that a domain is "clean" of reversionary Subscriber Rights, i.e. that the domain has cleared the 6-month recovery period.
DELETION POLICY
The problem associated with mass deletions is primarily a result of domains being dropped en mass and at random -- while no one knows when to quit asking.
If there are hundreds of thousand of "checks" per registration, these are self-inflicted wounds! The pool system is essential but Verisign needs to remove all uncertainty aside for the random drop time within a known window. Dropping domains in smaller, scheduled lots and eliminating the random drops would make the drop system run like clockwork.
Once Subscriber Rights have fully expired, think Hockey. The puck drop is random yet immensely efficient. Although the real game allows only two participants, in Cyber Space there can be dozens of combatants competing for one domain. The current uncertainty invites 24/7 random checks, although the bulk of domain drop within a known 30 minute window.
Domains Drops: Details aside, the key concept is to drop domains in small lots, publish the drop times, and allow a check command so that the combatants know when to STOP! These have been proposed by Elliot Noss of Tucows in detail. Then, like hockey, the combatants line up, take swipes, and move on - all within a short period of time, perhaps randomly during a 10-second with sequential lots every 15-seconds.
PRICING POLICY
As to the 24/7 random drops - which results in 24/7 checks -- we've come to believe that they are actually a result of an irrational pricing policy. Apparently, Registrars are relieved from paying for domains if manually deleted within a few days of expiration. BulkRegister made this a practice until recently. Other Registrars pay the initial charge, but then play the refund policy by dropping domains within 45 days. Tucows makes this a practice. Then there's the Verisign own Registrar who pays and keeps expired domains -- for months or years -- positioning themselves with a treasure cove of bounty once they find a way to do arrange a legal take-over - remember they also own Great Domains! Clearly, this silly pricing policy creates enormous instability -- and it is completely out-of-sync with good customer service.
No industry can survive with a Sudden Death customer service policy. The Registry must be made to conform their pricing to reality. Currently, Registrars must pay the annual fee on or within a few days of expiration.
30-Day Grace: Registrants should be given a 30-day period before the domain goes "on-hold." If the Registry has a REAL problem with this 30-days, simply mandate the first "year" to be 11 months. Let's not lose site of the fact that domains are but a database record and there is no REAL incremental cost here. Alternately, allow the Registry to charge $6.50 for the first year's service and make is a sensible 12 months. Better yet, tell them how we saved money with our new deletion policy so domains are now $4/year!
60-Days to Pay: There should be a 60-day grace period before Registrars are compelled to pay. The effect would be a rational customer service policy devoid of any incentive to dump domains, as Registrars currently do to avoid payment. At the 60-day point, control of the domains would go to the Registry.
4-Month Aging Cycle: A 4-month aging process, i.e. transition period (currently 5-days), would fill out the 6-month deletion cycle, and allow consumers ample time to recover domains lost to non-payment. While in this aging period Registrants would be (a) allowed to work only with the existing Registrar to recover the domain or (b) absent cooperation, have the absolute right to take the domain to another Registrar with appropriate paperwork and the intervention of the help desk. By no means should automatic recovery of domains be allowed via 3rd party Registrars. This would only invite fraud.
We believe that Subscriber Rights in conjunction with a rational transfer, deletion, and pricing policy will become the foundation of this industry for years to come.
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