NetAlliance Townsville.com.au Matter

[TroyW]

Sorry everyone, I'm moving at the moment so haven't kept up with recent correspondence however, after reading some of the comments I thought I should take a side.

I don't know the NetFleet guys personally but I do know them via this forum and through the support they offer through their NetFleet service. For mine, they offer a great FREE service to domain owners and have been pushing the envelope for some time with respect to innovative domain services. When all's said and done, they've probably helped more domainers for free, than I have for payment so frankly, I cut them some slack.

The whole registrar thing was a really stupid mistake - I actually find it funny. Personally, I would have registered a business in my wife's name and there'd be nothing to complain about. They have admitted the mistake (again, I wouldn't have) and if you're not happy, you should make a formal complaint to AUDA.

Developing systems like NetFleet and the back-order system cost money and time. The NetFleet guys have been prepared to put their own up and were lucky enough to wrestle some out of Larry Bloch - the same guy that was publicly bagging the AU after market earlier this year.

I missed out on Townsville too but I never expected to win! If the smart guys like NetFleet don't grab it then the cashed up players like OMG will. Level playing fields don't exist - AUDA proved that when they auctioned generics to the highest bidder a few years back. Don't try and tell me that was a fair deal for small businesses. Money talks, the other stuff walks.

I'm big enough to put my hands together and congratulate a couple of domainers who were prepared to have a go and build a successful system.

If you disagree, write me a reply here. I doubt I'll read it though as I'm way too busy working on my business.

 

[neddy]

Hi Troy,

I respect your opinion (and more importantly your right to have one), but David shouldn't have tried to duck and dive so much when questioned. He lost the PR war last week. If he had just fronted up and said he had made a mistake, then it would have been a storm in a teacup.

I also congratulate the NetFleet boys for what they have achieved, and I have publicly said so many times on this forum.

But I am also entitled to an opinion, and shouldn't be denigrated or targeted just because I highlighted what they did!

Cheers, Ned

 

[TroyW]

Hi Troy,

I respect your opinion (and more importantly your right to have one), but David shouldn't have tried to duck and dive so much when questioned.

Cheers, Ned

Hello Ned,

Sorry for any confusion - my comment wasn't aimed at anyone in particular.

I haven't read the 5 pages of messages and I don't pretend to know who said what. Your recent comment wasn't there when I started typing - you're probably just a quicker typer than me.

My comments were my thoughts regarding the Townsville win and the NetFleet guys in general.

 

[geodomains]

Hi Ned,
Yes we are all entitled to our opinion without being called as having doubtful integrity.

Don

 

[DomainMarketPlace]

As far as I'm concerned this issue has been put to rest. Some of us have differing opinons on what happened but auDA has made their decision and I'm going to leave it at that.

 

[neddy]

As far as I'm concerned this issue has been put to rest. Some of us have differing opinons on what happened but auDA has made their decision and I'm going to leave it at that.

I was also happy to leave it at that DMP and accept the umpires decision (even though I disagreed). But David's latest post could not be left unchallenged, particularly as it seemed as if he was having a go at me personally.

 

[dotworx]

I really can't keep silent but giving out my thought:

NetFleet has made some great contribution to the Australia domain industry. Its innovation and product offerings have benefited a lot us here. Domain Snapper was meant to be to be another popular NetFleet product. But unfortunately a series of coincidental events has made it a PR disaster for NetFleet.

Australian domain industry is so small that no company in this space can afford to have a bad reputation (whether they are really dishonest guys or not isn't important. It's the perception that matters).

If I were NetFleet, regaining some trust and repairing its credibility in the industry would be my top priority.

I thought the charity auction suggested by some member was a great idea for this purpose. That's the only way NF can convience people that townsville was a by-product.

But if NF thinks holding onto a good domain is more important than other things. Well, everyone is entitled to their own values. I have no more to add.

 

[iejs]

I've got to say I agree with Dotworx.

AuDA has made it's ruling and 'Townsville-gate' is dead in the water, but it's ripples continue to radiate throughout the Australian domaining community and will do so for some time.

If nothing else, aren't we all a lot better informed than we were a week ago? Many of us (myself included) were naive enough to think that there are only 2 groups operating in the drop auctions, when in truth, NetRegistry are in there are well, 'snapping' domains for their associates. And they've been doing it for a while too, if Fascinators.com.au/MobileTanning.com.au and the like are any indication.

Troy is absolutely right. Netfleet have done a lot of good for the local domaining industry and David, in particualr, has always been quick to share his insights, which is hugely admirable.

And this is exactly what makes the whole Townsville incident so sad and disappointing.

After all the posting ping-pong and accusations Netfleet have the spoils and are showing no indication that they will give them up, despite pressure from members of the community to 'do the right thing'. They've 'won'. But really. Was it worth it?

So it's a new week and another set of drop auctions - but aren't we all a bit more suspicious and twitchy than we were last Monday?

 

[Jonathan]

Well whatever side of the fence you're sitting on, I think we're all pretty much over this Townsville issue.

I will say that, for what it's worth (not much, probably), I really think Netfleet should pursue the charity auction idea. Obviously there's nothing wrong with testing your dropcatching system, but I'm not really sure how you can justify keeping the ones you catch for yourselves.

And again, I really am a huge fan of what Netfleet has done and is continuing to do - I think most of the people on this forum have good cause to be grateful for David & Mark's efforts. I just don't like the idea of an uneven playing field.

Finally, I have to say that it's a shame that both sides weren't able to be a little more civil to each other. I hope next time a disagreement comes up we can all be a little more mature about things and leave the bullshit out of it.

And that's my 2 cents worth - I'm not going to post about this issue anymore.

 

[TroyW]

Won't a charity auction just hand the domain to the bidder with the most cash? Is this a level playing field?

 

[Jonathan]

EDIT: Wrote a reply, but I've since deleted it. Going to let sleeping dogs lie.

 

[DavidL]

Just responding to a specific point - the other names we caught a few weeks ago (eg fascinators.com.au) were also as part of our testing. I'm sorry if I had mistakenly suggested that townsville was the very first successful test.

However the real point to this post is to inform you that I have just got off the phone from Ned.

We have had a candid discussion and agreed that whilst we have differing views on the subject, we do now also share some understanding for the other party's viewpoint.

For example, I only just found out that Ned was representing a syndicate to snap that name on the drops. I had no idea about this and if I had realised earlier that it was he who missed out at the last millisecond, I would have been much more sympathetic to his cause and more conciliatory in my first and subsequent postings.

Anyway so that's where we're at. I'm over it, Ned's over it, auDA are over it and I think we all want to move on into more productive discussion.

 

[neddy]

I thank David for his phone call, and our forthright chat. We are both strong minded people and believe in our own positions.

However, I concur with what he says, and we've agreed to end this matter for the sake of getting on with life. To this end we have agreed that neither party will continue the argument or our disagreement in any form. (Everyone can either breathe a sigh of relief or sorrow!).

From my perspective, I wanted this issue dead and buried last week after auDA had made their ruling.

As David rightly points out, the reason I was mad as hell was that I was the top bidder on both drop catchers (on behalf of a syndicate). When I learnt that is was NetAlliance that won them from under our nose, I rightly fumed! Whilst I didn't declare the price I bid etc, I did say the following on my very first post on this matter on the 26th October:

I took my hat off to you earlier in the day, because you pipped me at the post on a number of domains that I was bidding on.

In conclusion, I think it's fair to say we have all learnt valuable lessons from this. I wish NetFleet all the best.

Cheers, Ned