Tony Owen <tony&#167;seol.net.au> wrote:

> Perhaps all resellers should be banned from any direct marketting ...
> on any tier, from Registrar down.
>
> At this stage about 25% of my clients have been duped / swindled or 
> misled into paying extra for something they dont need.
>
> Perhaps a percentage of the revenue should be put into policing
> scams, even from overseas resellers.


auDA might send a form letter to all Australian domain name registrants
explaining the domain name system, and also including information such
as what the ACCC produced in the PDF that was recently posted to this
list:

 How to avoid problems 

 Businesses can avoid these problems by becoming familiar with the domain
 name renewal process, and setting in place some simple administrative
 practices. 

 Do not assume that any renewal notice is from your original supplier 

 Domain name registrations are renewed every two years. Keep a good
 record of domain name registration details--including the name of the
 registrar and the renewal date. It may be wise to keep a copy close at
 hand for quick reference 

 Check all details on any invoice or letter. Is it the proper name of
 your website address? Is it .com or .com.au? The letter might be trying
 to sell you a new domain name rather than trying to renew your existing
 one 

 Be aware you may receive offers or notifications to renew your domain
 name licence from one or more suppliers (or resellers), other than
 your original supplier, wishing to compete for your business. Remember:
 you have the choice of who you wish to deal with 

 Carefully check the rates, terms and conditions of the renewal notice
 and compare this with the current provider of your domain name licence. 

 Verify claims of an association with auDA or Ausregistry--in particular
 companies that use names that sound like industry leaders. 

 Be aware that your current supplier may also be providing you with other
 services such as internet access and email, and that the price of the
 domain name registration may be bundled with these services. Under these
 circumstances you may already be paying for your licence renewal. 

 To check that your domain name is registered use a whois search to check
 the details of a domain name.  

 How?  

 For .au domains go to www.ausregistry.com.au 
 Use the search box provided to find the name of the registrar and the
 domain name administrator.   
 

I realise auDA has already sent out a mass mailout about the new domain
name system, but it did not include an articulation quite like that from
the ACCC above.

auDA could probably send this mail more cheaply by merging addresses for
multiple domains and sending one notice to each unique address.

I think such a mailout would achieve a significant result in terms of
increasing the public awareness of the direct marketing environment that
surrounds domain name registrations, in such a way that restricting
access to the whois or posting warnings on websites can never seriously
hope to realise.



Regards

Chris Langlands