Jim

A BIG WIN!

I have copied the full list of signatories below in this email.

After collating the response to the Open Letter, I mailed this of to Peter
Gerrand on Friday last week. He had been aware of the letter and its support
prior to that.

In response to this community effort, Melbourne IT issued a statement
indicating that they had approached the company concerned and requested they
cease their activity in this area or be discontinued as a Channel Partner.

I note that faxes from Internet Domain Protection have not ceased, so
presumably Melbourne IT will take action in due course. What would be useful
is if we collect any further evidence of continued faxing by Internet Domain
protection and fax them to Prof. Gerrand to assist them in monitoring any
continued abuse.

I also had lengthy discussions with members of the AUDA Board, who felt it
inappropriate for AUDA to co-sign the Open Letter. Perhaps AUDA would like
to indicate to this list why this was the case, but under the circumstances
it is understandable.

I also submitted the Letter to a number of Journalists and the matter has
been printed up in the Australian and The Age.

Below is the Open letter.

------------OPEN LETTER-------
Professor Peter Gerrand
CEO
Melbourne IT
Level 2, 120 King Street,
Melbourne Victoria 3000
Australia

4 August 2000


Dear Sir

OPEN LETTER regarding the "Domain Renewal Scam".

We, the undersigned, are aware of the activities of Internet Name
Protection - a licensed INA Channel Partner -  and consider their activities
to be contrary to the best interests of responsible governance of the .au
domain name space. We believe domain owners are being given misleading and
misrepresentative information, and are being overcharged as a result. This
activity is damaging the business of your existing channel partners and is
harming the reputation of the domain registration industry and the Internet
in Australia.

We are dismayed at the lack of action by Melbourne IT in addressing this
matter and your implicit support of this activity. Your lack of action
endorses this business behaviour, and we consider it imperative that you
take a stance on the matter. Whilst their activities may not be illegal,
swift comment by industry players is the only way to set the ground rules on
what is acceptable and what is not. In a relatively new industry such as the
Internet, the legal system can take some time to protect consumers, and in
this vacuum, curbing irresponsible business practices are the responsibility
of industry leaders.

We believe that the industry should stand together as one in condemning this
practice to send a clear signal that such business ethics are not
acceptable, and call on you to take appropriate  visible action to prevent
Internet Name Protection  from continuing their misleading activities.



Larry Bloch
CEO
NetRegistry

Vasil Vasiliades
Director
Export Mission Information Systems P/L

Jim Birch
Manager
Multinode Computing

Lee Sanders
Senior Network Engineer
Commerce Australia

Paul Galea
CEO
Beyond Net Pty Ltd

David Blears
Owner/Operator
"Closer To Home Systems"

Ken Joyce
Manager
The South Coast Professional Computing Centre

Luke Kee
Client Connections Co-Ordinator
Connect.com.au Pty. Ltd

Ron Read
Managing Director
Oakridge Computers

Raoul Wegat
Managing Director
Domainshop

Cliff Reardon
General Manager
Click'nGo!

Alastair Waddell
CEO
legion.com.au p/l

Tony Brown
Network Administrator
Labyrinth Connections Pty Ltd

Peter Coburn
Managing Director
xcelNet Pty Ltd

Kenneth Brownsmith
kb§kb.au.com

Carol Avis
E-Commerce Director
Hot Chilli Media and Design

Dr Paul Brooks
Director
APAC Regional Engineering
Global One Communications

John Mackerras
Consultant
Desmac Computer Services

Chas Cleland
AUSCITY
Web and Ecommerce Development

David Goldstein, Salzburg, Austria (david.goldstein§sbg.nic.at)

Steve Cummins
Shareholder & Director of Australian e-Commerce P/L
ClickOn (Australia) P/L

Michael Lacey
Manager
Techcel Computer Services Pty Limited

Tania Wickman
Sales Manager
Domain Registrations Pty Ltd

Justin Sullivan
Managing Director
JustNet Pty Ltd

Edward Hore
edward§now.com.au

Vic Cinc
CEO
Connect Infobahn Australia

Gary Allpike
General Manager
Indigo Networks

Warren Marsden
Brisbane Internet Group Pty.Ltd.

Michael Harris
Manager
Winchester's Outpost

Hubert Wagner
IT Consultant
Credenza Pty Ltd

Doug Robb
CEO
Clarity Software Pty Ltd

Gaelyne Gasson
Web Administrator
VCSWEB

Kerry Henry
Deputy Chairman & CEO
ClickOn Australia Pty Ltd

Lev Lafayette
State Field Officer
Parliamentary Labor Party (Victoria)

Dale Shaw
Systems Engineer
Select Approach Pty Ltd

Paul Foxworthy
Director
Coherent Software Australia Pty Ltd

Anne Jessel
Director
Coherent Software Australia Pty Ltd

Wayne Lawrence
Manager
Internet Services
Firstnet.com.au Pty Limited



-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Birch [mailto:jbirch§multinode.com.au]
Sent: Thursday, 17 August 2000 11:36
To: dns§auda.org.au
Subject: [DNS] Internet Names Protection

What's the latest on this scam?

Jim Birch


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Regards

Larry Bloch
Chief Executive Officer
____________________________________________
NetRegistry     http://www.netregistry.au.com
Tel: +61 2 9699 6099 | Fax: +61 2 9699 6088
PO Box 207 Broadway NSW   2007 Australia