|> -----Original Message-----
|> From: Jon Lawrence [mailto:jon§jonlawrence.com] 
|> Sent: Friday, April 26, 2002 11:34 PM
|> To: dns§lists.auda.org.au
|> Subject: RE: [DNS] RE: auDA to consider new names for .au
|> 
|> 
|> >You would have a lot of trouble with understanding the past
performance
|> >of the major players then.  It still isn't professsional  although
they
|> >charge some of the highest fees.  High fees do not mean better
service
|> >or a professional service.
|> 
|> I'm well aware of the performance of the major players.  I'm 
|> simply talking about what I believe should occur in the
present/future.

You were equating the need for charging (higher) fees with the provison
of a professional service, as evidence in the past and present, this
does not hold true and the level of fees charged has no bearing on the
service provided in most cases.

|> >User pays is good but it is usually a cloak for profit making.  High
|> >fees do not equate to professional or better service.  And lets face
it,
|> >there is little service required for DNS.
|> 
|> I didn't mention high fees, just the fact that I believe they are
warranted.
|>  Remember that I responded to your claim that fees were not
warranted.

And my response has been that the past and current fee levels are not
warranted given the level of service provided.  The same service can be
provided at lower cost to the consumer.  I have shown by practical
example that a DNS service can be provided to a large number of users at
very low cost.

|> It's also a little meaningless to discuss what is a  reasonable
charge for
|> DNS services without considering scale.

Well, given that the free DNS I and my company provide is about equal in
size to the namespace of *.com.au, I feel I am in a position to comment
on this.  Our commercial services btw do not go anyway near covering the
expenses of providing the free services but we have still managed to
maintain and grow for over 3 years.  I don't say it is easy or not
complex to maintain but it can be done.  It does not take large amounts
of money to do so.  Although I have to admit to contributing a fairly
large amount.

|> And, what is actually wrong with making a profit out of providing a
service?
|>  It is after all the basis on which our society is built.  
|> The internet ain't any different.

I don't have a problem with making a profit and I will be turning a lot
of our efforts into this direction in the future, what I have a problem
with is the percentage of profit that most expect.  I'd far rather make
$1 a customer and have many satisfied customers than make $50 per and
only have a few.

Darryl (Dassa) Lynch.