<< The writing on the wall is clear Mr. Ambler, you lost
in your bid to own .web >>You seem educated. Why then confuse IOD losing a trademark
as IOD losing a bid on the .web registry?
<< It's also not surprising
that nearly all the people in support of IOD are stakeholders in the firm. >>>
You
say that like being an IOD registrant were a dirty thing. I resent that.
<<
If ICANN was to decide that no pre-registrations of .web would stand, these IOD supporters
would have no real pressing reason to support their bid for the .web registry. If
that's not obvious, I don't know what is. >>
I would, because IOD deserves to be
rewarded for having been in this for so long, and for having been there first. And
because I think they have a strong registration system. Your tone is filled with
resentment and bitterness. Might I recommend that you veil these underlying motivations
a bit better. You are trying to hide them behind a pretense of objectivity--but the
frilly lace is showing.
And for the record, if ICANN were to disregard IOD's registrants,
that would be criminal--because IANA had authorized IOD's registrants as being valid;
we were not intended to be pawns in the early days of registration; we were not stooges
being lied to for some abstract, technological purpose. If we are treated as such--if
IOD is approved, and its registrants DUMPED--we would have legal recourse BASED upon
IANA's authorization.
Here is a quote from a previous post I wrote on the matter:
"In 1996, IOD brought their
.web TLD to IANA and received approval to open their databases to the public in order
to take REAL--not SIMULATED registrations. They did this in large part to iron the
wrinkles out of databases, and to make sure their mainframes were stable. Those who
registered with IOD were a part of this pioneering process--but NOT in some make-believe
enrollment system. IANA knew the registrants were true registrants--not a pretense.
Imagine yourself enrolled in a college, having gone through the 4 years.....only
to be told by the college at the end, 'Oh, we were just testing out the curriculum,
the professors, the computers in the library, and the alarm systems. . . And you
really don't get a diploma.'
"So
to now tell these registrants that their registrations (which they secured in good
faith and which they paid for) were only part of an elaborate simulation, is fraudulent.
IOD is not doing this. Yet third parties…Individuals more than agencies….are DEMANDING
that the registrants simply be wiped away, eradicated, buried and forgotten because
OTHERS would love a crack at their domains. I BEG your pardon, but are you crazy?
Again, how DARE you.
"Imagine
being forced out of your house--oceanfront or otherwise--because there are those
who want another chance at owning your piece of real estate. You found your home
IN AN OPEN MARKET, bought it in good faith, signed the deed and paid for it in full.
Yet somebody likes what you have and is calling for it to be taken from you. Do you
realize the PRECEDENT this would set? In governmental terms, this is totalitarianism.
It is oppressive and flies in the face of human rights. The right to ownership is
the most basic freedom-even more fundamental than the freedom of speech, in my book.
"No, these are not platitudes.
Pull generic domains from registrants today simply because others deem them valuable
and want to personally claim them or redistribute them…..and it could happen 5 years
from now, after registrants have branded their domains, marketed them, and built
a life and career on them. Frightening prospect.
"And kindly don't make the assertion that domains are rented, not owned,
by individuals. The principle applies to renters of properties who have a lease and
are paying their rent on time.
"Likewise, do not make the claim that because the .web TLD is not yet online, that
these principles do not apply. My parents recently inquired about a townhouse that
they wanted to buy for retirement--but found that even before the first shovel struck
the soil to build the foundation, the coming townhouse had been sold. This is commerce
in the world of brick & mortar, and is as valid on the Internet.
"My parents knew they had no basis to whine, and
it would have been outrageously improper of them to have tried to steal the townhouse
from those it rightfully belonged to. Yet this is what so many people are doing with
regard to the .web TLD. My parents recognized that they couldn't get what they wanted,
had no moral or legal CLAIM on what they wanted, and went looking for alternate real
estate. These are the grown up facts of life.
"Get the picture? If you refuse to, your obstinacy is your own problem,
your own character flaw, your own toxic, misguided sense of self-importance--having
no bearing on my reality or Reality at large."
******************************************
In
short, kind sir. . . WE WERE APPROVED AS VALID REGISTRANTS, PENDING FINAL APPROVAL
OF IOD AS THE REGISTRY. IF THEY GO IN, WE GO IN, ACCORDING TO THAT FIRST AGREEMENT.
TO BE DISCARDED NOW WOULD BE A CRIMINAL ABOMINATION ON ICANN'S PART.
NSI
took registrations before THEY were approved--and THOSE registrants were rightfully
grandfathered in.