Re: [gnso-pednr-dt] a modest attempt to draw the post-expiry flow-chart

[Sivasubramanian Muthusamy <isolatedn@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Mike,

On Sat, Feb 6, 2010 at 1:23 AM, Mike O'Connor <mike@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>
> On Feb 5, 2010, at 1:02 PM, Michele Neylon :: Blacknight wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> On 5 Feb 2010, at 18:05, Mike O'Connor wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Feb 5, 2010, at 11:45 AM, Michele Neylon :: Blacknight wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 5 Feb 2010, at 17:28, Mike O'Connor wrote:
>>> •Mikey’s Wish List – easy stuff
>>>
>>> Originate renewal notices from a consistent/distinctive email address that 
>>> is used for no other purpose (and remind registrants to white-list the 
>>> address in spam filters)
>>
>> For direct registrations under a registrar that shouldn't be an issue. How 
>> it's handle by resellers will vary, but I assume they'd be using an email 
>> addy that is in some way linked to them ..
>
> yah, me too.  one of the tricky bits here is what to do if the reseller goes 
> away (as happened to my friend).  in a way, it would be nice if the same 
> practice could be fostered at the reseller level, with the addition of some 
> gizmo that ensures that registrants get notices from the registrar if the 
> reseller's gone.

Technically, this may be feasible. Most Registrars provides a software
suite to the reseller, which work as easily installable and
customizable storefront for the reseller. This handles functions such
as a new domain name availability search, a link to a whois data base,
a billing interface etc. This software suite can easily be modified to
include another component, which would set a mailing program to
automatically send out an email on pre-determined dates ( 60 days
before expiry, 30 days before expiry and so on) perhaps even with a
copy to the Registrar.

>like i said -- a little tricky.  maybe *renewal* notices *always* come from 
>the registrar?  or maybe a "backup" renewal notice that comes from one level 
>up the chain (from the registrar in the case of reseller, or from the registry 
>if it's a registrar)?

Notices or back up notices from the Registrar even for domain names
registered through resellers would also be technically feasible., All
that is required is for the Registrar to 'capture' and store the
Registrant's contact information and store it in his database against
the domain name registered and the date of registration. Again, a
simple email program may be set to trigger email notices to the
Registrant on predetermined dates, perhaps with a copy to the Reseller
through whom the domain name was registered.
>>
>>> Establish minimum expiration-reminder schedule (pre and post-expiry)
>>> Provide consistent “service disruption” across registrars on expiration
>>> Always disrupt web service on expiration – triggers active/technical 
>>> response
>>> Do not disrupt email on expiration – to aid in contacting registrant
>>
>> That won't work
>>
>> Technically it's impossible.
>>
>> If the registrant registers AND hosts the domain with us, for example, we 
>> could, hypothetically, do this. Stress on "hypothetically".
>>
>> If the domain is using someone else's DNS, which is often the case, we 
>> wouldn't have any real visibility on the email
>>
>> ALSO
>>
>> Email is linked to hosting of some kind.
>>
>> If the registrant registers the domain at the same time as they buy the 
>> hosting then both services will probably (though not always) expire at the 
>> same time.
>>
>> Why would a provider continue giving service if they hadn't been paid for it?
>
> hm.  good points all.  could we narrow it?  dropping the web page is easy, 
> right?  preserving the email of the registrant is tricky.  clever ideas 
> needed here.  maybe validate the email address of the registrant and force it 
> NOT to be in the domain?  dunno -- a head scratcher...  i know that a key to 
> the puzzle is some mechanism to communicate with the registrant *after* 
> expiry.

Yes indeed. Very good points. But I am not inclined to so easily
dismiss the wish by saying "That won't work" and "Technically it's
impossible"

If the problem is one that of perceived technical difficulty, a
solution can come from the Technical Community or from an ICANN
assigned technical task group. Upon expiry the domain name ceases to
point to its erstwhile webhost and gets set to point to the
Registrar's servers to a PPC ad page or to a page that says that the
domain has expired / available. If that redirection can technically
happen, it should also be possible to redirect the mail to the mail
accounts of the expired domain to the Registrar's mail servers. It
might cost the Registrar to maintain a marginally additional server
infrastructure to temporarily 'host' email, but the Registrar could do
this for 90 or 180 days, with a limited mail space allocation per
domain. When the Registrant reclaims or recovers his expired domain,
the Registrar can charge the Registrant for having hosted mail.

Even if half the Registrants choose not to renew the domain name or to
reclaim their email, it can be factored into the costs recovered from
those registrants who choose to recover their domain names and email
messages.

This would require a legal frame work by which a prior approval is
taken from the Registrant to transfer mail traffic on expiry.

Or, all email traffic or all expired domain names could be redirected
to a central storage point. Or a company like Google may be
interested, as a variation of its 'Gmail for Business'
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/gmail.html

Sivasubramanian Muthusamy