Network Solutions's Abuse of the Naming Process

[James Lesnick <jlesnick@world.std.com>]

To:
ICANN

Re: Domain Name Registration System and Abuse



Please consider the following:

--Internic's history has been one of restricting the development of the
internet domain system. Using fear and trumped up reasoning they are
secretly using what should be a public process for private gain.

--Internic's redirection of the registration process to Network
Solutions was a restriction on the process of acquiring a domain name.

--Last March with their new website for approximately two weeks, as I
recall, they even distorted the definition web page and defined
"registration" as the process to sign up your name with Network
Solutions. Furthermore, they introduced the term "reservation" to
confuse the user and directing them further into their profit making
side.

--A review of their finances may reveal that money they claim was used
for the basic registration process is actually being used to finance
their expansion of services beyond the required services and also
overseas investments.
   The cost to maintain their system fore intial registration I believe
is much lower than reported by 50%.
   The cost to renew a registration is MUCH lower than they have
reported by 75%.

They have created an highly restrictive mechanism to prevent the
creation of unique domain names by preventing the download and access to
names of a certain length. Try creating a name up to 4 characters and
you end up entering hundreds and even thousands of names before a
suitable availible choice emerges.

There is little need to restrict the process by limiting the top level
domain names. Open these to three and four letter names and an unlimited
selection will emerge which will give the smaller companies that arrived
later the advantage of having a relevant combination of letters in their
name reflective of the business they carry on. This endless variation
will then prevent the hoarding of names by domain squatters since there
will be millions of "Real Names" available.

Look more closely, if Network Solutions was really trying to improve the
naming system they would offer a trademark searching service to help
PREVENT future problems.

Network Solution did a terrible job of protecting the use of  the .ORG
and .NET TLD. Finally they washed their hands and now promote everyone
to REDUNDENTLY register all three.  That's three times the income!!!!!!!
THRee times the cost to the public!!!!

In the future I expect they will release new TLD very slowly in a
deliberate fashion suggesting this will be beneficial__just the
opposite___!!! Slow release is playing into their hands and allows them
to sell names as they appear resulting in more hoarding and squatting of
names. Open the process to allow the full creative use of the
alphanumeric cominations of three letters and over a practical 30,000
TLDs (35 x 35 x 35 = 42,875 actual) can be made. This will relieve the
market of emphasis on a limited selection and help end the abuse of the
current process.

Finally, they have failed to create an organized and responsive system
for dealing with errors.
   --There is no phone cue when initally calling and usually a busy
signal. After dialing repeated, only then to you get a chance to enter a
cue.
   --There is no system to fix a problem with email.

This company is undeserving of a government contract to manage domain
names. Please open the entire system to competitive bidding. In the end
the cost to the public will be  a fraction of the current price.

I am available for discussion on this matter.

Sincerely,
JeffChapel
jeffchapel@hotmail