[alac] (fwd) RE: Call for nominations to RGP II Technical Steering Group

[Vittorio Bertola <vb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have received this request from Tina Dam, about the new RGP-II Technical
Steering Group, which should be formed in the next weeks, and which, as I
understand, would mostly deal with adding a way of transfering the domain
when recovering it from RGP:

>Elana and Vittorio,
>Will you please let me know what your position is on the matter below? Do
>you agree with Jeff or would you prefer to form the group immediately and
>hence have the first meeting of the Technical Steering Group in Rome?

The registries are asking to defer this group since all available volunteers
are already busy with the other GNSO policy processes. What do we think
about this? 

As we are, I think, in the same situation, I think we could support the
request for a postponement. However, I would like to raise the issue of the
unacceptable pricing of RGP domain redemption - many of those registrants
who used RGP to redeem their domain have defined it more like an "extortion"
than like a "service"(*)... and even if it's reasonable to charge a "late
fee" if you fail to renew by the deadline, even if this involves additional
non-automated processing that has a cost, I don't think it's reasonable for
RGP redemption to cost figures like 150$ or more, when you can buy the
domain for 10$. I guess this is an effect of the fact that this is yet
another quasi-monopoly service - when your domain gets into RGP state, you
don't have any other option than paying whichever figure the registrar asks
you, or possibly losing it.

Perhaps, if you could transfer your domain while in RGP, and you could do so
*before* redeeming it, you could transfer it to a registrar that charges
less for the RGP recovery of the domain - and getting prices down by
competition would be much better than getting them down by regulation! If
so, then we should try to make efforts so to ensure that this policy work is
done asap.

But, again, I'm not sure that I understand all aspects of this matter, and
I'm not sure that we have the human resources necessary to participate in
yet another policy process.


(*) A few links found in a minute with a quick Google search:
http://stormsweeper.net/mindspill/archives/000118.shtml
http://www.mltgroup.com/index.php?page=web_hostinghorrorstories (story
one... even if it's used as advertising)
http://lists.directi.com/pipermail/gen.resellers/2003-February/001250.html
-- 
vb.               [Vittorio Bertola - v.bertola [a] bertola.eu.org]<------
http://bertola.eu.org/  <- Vecchio sito, nuovo toblòg...