Domain tasting exploits a loophole in the domain name registration procedure where people can “return” a domain name for a full refund. I’m betting your domain name registrar didn’t tell you that was even possible). Read the Wikipedia entry on domain tasting for more info.
Over the next few weeks, Google will start looking for names that are repeatedly registered and dropped within a five-day grace period for full refunds.
Google’s AdSense program would exclude those names so no one can generate advertising revenue from claiming them temporarily.
Since Google profits greatly from this and other unscrupulous internet marketing practices, we’ll see if they implement something that actually does what it sounds like it’ll do or whether they do something that still allows them to profit from this but say they are trying to help the internet.
The very first time I bought a domain name (in 1995) I knew this would happen eventually. Domain name registrar, Network Solutions LLC, is now locking domain names after people type them in their webform to see if they are available.
Here’s how their scam works:
someone visits a site in their network of affiliates or their main site looking for a domain name.
You type the domain name in their form to see if it’s available for purchase.
If it’s available they show you the price and you realize (after you fill in all kinds of info on several pages), it costs more than a domain name should so you leave their site and go to or somewhere else.
Network Solutions LLC “locks” that domain name making it unavailable for purchase through anyone else but them and also triples the price for the domain name.
Network solutions LLC is trying to say this is a public service. That’s like Dick Cheney trying to say we went to Iraq to fight terrorism (hint - their was no terrorism in Iraq before we came). This servers the public in no way and in fact just lines Network Solutions pockets by guaranteeing you buy from them and at 3 times the already overpriced price.
This article is mostly for the other web designers and web publishers in the Florida area and a few of my clients who have purchased their won domain names. I will try to keep the language simple enough that non-trained people will be able to read it, but it is an intensely technical subject matter so some “tech speak” will make it’s way in.
Registryfly.com is a domain name registrar, a company people buy domain names from. It seem it was run by some very unscrupulous people who had an internal power struggle over control of the profits of the company and how they were paid. Things got so bad during this struggle they stopped doing the actual work they were being paid by their clients.
Here’s a little video that sums up the devastating consequences of RegistryFly.com failure:
As you know, you must renew a domain name yearly, some times, you need to transfer ownership of a domain name, and sometimes you have to change the location of where a Domain name points too (the address of the server where the files that make up that web site reside - aka; nameservers).
Each of these transactions costs a little money (it can add up if you have many domains). It seems registryfly was taking the money for these transactions and not performing the transactions. Including renewals! This caused peoples domain names to expire and the web site the domain name pointed to disappear. Clients of RegistryFly.com were also unable to transfer the management of the domain name to a different company.
There is even news of even more unscrupulous activities from this company. Things like changing the information about the ownership of the domain name etc.
On March 16 of 2007, ICANN (the non-profit group in charge of all domain names and domain name registrars), announced the de-accreditation of RegisterFly. This means RegistryFly.com can’t sell, renew or transfer domains any longer. No one knows what is going to happen to the domain names they still have.
ICANN also indicated that “ICANN intends to hold a forum to discuss the reform of the Accreditation policy and process at its Lisbon meeting in a week’s time.” What will come of this meeting is uncertain but there is no doubt that ICANN needs a far larger stick to wield at future companies like RegisterFly.
ICANN just makes the rules that govern how a registrar and individuals must manage domain names, the protocols used, the technical specifications etc. They don’t monitor registrars activities and their only recourse against n unscrupulous company is de-accreditation.
How can you stop this from happening to you? (more…)
