Om Wed, 21 Nov 2001 13:05:14 +1100, Dave Hooper wrote:
> Hears a solution. Get this industry working for you.

On Wed, 21 Nov 2001 13:19:58 +1100, Chris Disspain wrote:
> Thanks Dave. That's a good idea . . .but please don't expect
> it to happen tomorrow ;-)

On Wed, 21 Nov 2001 13:20:59 +1100, Dave Hooper wrote:
> That's the whole point. It could probably happen in about an hour if the
> will was there. Sadly, I don't think it is.

Hi Dave & Chris

First, I'd thank Mark Highes and Bruce Tonkin for their recent input.  It is
always helpful when people with industry competence contribute to the
debate.  If nothing else it helps to relieve Chris Disspain from having to
answer all the questions raised.

Sure, auDA is a self regulatory industry body.  It is not short of funds in
the sense that it levies fees on the industry.  Recently, for example, auDA
charged a $2,000 "application fee" to each prospective registrar.  Multiply
that by how many applied and you have an income stream!!  [Note.  Later on
there will be annual accreditation fees.]

But how do you set that fee?  Grab a number out of the air?  Of course, you
base it on all sorts of considerations like (a) the expected number of
applicants and (b) the amount of work involved in processing those
applications.

Now as to Mark's comments.  Of course anybody can sell domain names.  You
don't need to be a registrar or a reseller.  Clearly there must be some
advantage in paying $2,000 application fee to auDA (or you wouldn't do it).
As well, any economist (or even any business person) will tell you that a
potential domain name seller will decide whether they want to be a
"registrar" or "reseller" based on considerations like the cost vs value of
each option.

That will naturally include the expected number of domain name sales either
way.

Of course, in some cases, technical considerations influence business
choices.  But there are many other factors.  A sole trader can "sling up a
link" in an hour, as Dave Hooper suggests, but an industry reegulatory body
needs to give these matters just a little more consideration.

I would argue that, for example, there may be some prestige in saying that
you are "an auDA accredited registrar".  If so, you might want your link to
appear on auDA's website.  That would be a neat way to pick up traffic.

But auDA could still do the reverse and put up a webpage that explains
"stuff" to consumers like "who are the bad guys" and "what the dirty tricks
are".  The trouble is auDA would need to run that past the lawyers first.
What happens if a bad guy sues for defamation.

Or auDA inadvertently tells other shonks what tricks to play.  I'd hate to
see the Court case when the shonk was being prosecuted:

Question    "And how did you think up this nefarious scheme that you
perpetrated on the unsuspecting consumer?"
Answer    "Oh, I found out about it from the auDA website"  !!

So any suggestion, however, mild it seems, requires a certain amount of
thought.  Just ask any lawyer in the world.  Chris Disspain is, of course, a
lawyer.  And a very good one too.  He can think up a hundred problems before
you even finish the sentence.

Plus, he really is a very busy person.  The applications for new registrars
closed on Monday and that for Registries the week before.  And there's a
whole load of other stuff to do.  The answer may not be to "take on more
staff" as this is a temporary situation.  But I would recommend Chris
consider an extra temporary person to assist.

So, no Dave, let's not "sling up a webpage" in an hour.  However, if you
could spare the hour, perhaps you could draft a page with an outline of what
you would like to see.  Then Chris would have something constructive to work
with.

And I know that Chris genuinely appreciates input from people in the
industry..

Best regards
Patrick Corliss
Speaking Personally

ADDENDUM
After I wrote the above, but before I sent it, I saw Chris Disspain's reply
along the same lines.  I think mine adds another view so I'll send it
anyway,










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