Goodies v Baddies
- Thread starter neddy
- Start date
eBranding.com.au
Top Contributor
VentraIP is not the registrant, they are the registrar.
I've got some domains with them and it will always list 'VentraIP Wholesale' as the Registrar.
Edit: Sorry, that last one does actually list VentraIP as the registrant.
VentraIP
Top Contributor
Hi neddy,
We recently received a complaint regarding a questionable domain name registration that was made by one of our staff members several months ago, and as a result of that complaint we conducted a full internal audit of all domain name portfolios held by our staff. This resulted in a very small number of domain names being deleted for a variety of reasons, most importantly for the avoidance of any doubt regarding their intentions.
Our staff members are allowed to have their own domain name portfolios and they can do what they like with them for the most part (so long as they are following policy), but as a registrar who prides itself on being an advocate for the .au namespace as well as one that has always followed policy to the letter, there are clear lines that we must draw for our staff to ensure that we maintain that arms-length approach while still being able to let our people have freedom outside of their day job.
FWIW, the Gordon Ramsay one was actually legitimate and was previously linked to a proposed fan web site belonging to one of our staff members. It had already satisfied an auDA complaint back in 2010 however due to an erroneous CoR that was performed on it some time ago it mistakenly made its way in to our company name and instead of their personal name. They made the decision to just let it go since they had no time to continue development of the web site and there was a potential for it to be considered a trademark issue (even though that has never been disputed).
An internal email was sent to all staff reminding them of how they need to conduct themselves if they wish to register personal portfolios and how to avoid issues like this in the future.
We recently received a complaint regarding a questionable domain name registration that was made by one of our staff members several months ago, and as a result of that complaint we conducted a full internal audit of all domain name portfolios held by our staff. This resulted in a very small number of domain names being deleted for a variety of reasons, most importantly for the avoidance of any doubt regarding their intentions.
Our staff members are allowed to have their own domain name portfolios and they can do what they like with them for the most part (so long as they are following policy), but as a registrar who prides itself on being an advocate for the .au namespace as well as one that has always followed policy to the letter, there are clear lines that we must draw for our staff to ensure that we maintain that arms-length approach while still being able to let our people have freedom outside of their day job.
FWIW, the Gordon Ramsay one was actually legitimate and was previously linked to a proposed fan web site belonging to one of our staff members. It had already satisfied an auDA complaint back in 2010 however due to an erroneous CoR that was performed on it some time ago it mistakenly made its way in to our company name and instead of their personal name. They made the decision to just let it go since they had no time to continue development of the web site and there was a potential for it to be considered a trademark issue (even though that has never been disputed).
An internal email was sent to all staff reminding them of how they need to conduct themselves if they wish to register personal portfolios and how to avoid issues like this in the future.
neddy
Top Contributor
Appreciate the quick response and explanation. Thank you.
As I said, I'm a fan of VentraIP, so I was dumbfounded to see these registrations (and I did notice a few others as well). It was not what I would have expected - particularly the misspelling registration of another sponsor of DNT!
That said, well done on stepping up and fixing the current situation.
Cheers, Ned
eBranding.com.au
Top Contributor
Further to my edit, seems I was completely off the mark here, sorry Ned!
Definitely not appropriate for registrar staff to be registering these sorts of domains. At least you're taking some action now, albeit after a complaint has been lodged.
johno69
Top Contributor
I guess they need to be aware before they can take action. With everything being automated it would be easy to have some slip through.
eBranding.com.au
Top Contributor
My point was more about proactively ensuring that staff are doing the right thing if they're registering domains, given they're employed at a registrar.
Disclosure of relevant interests seems like the basic starting point. I have to disclose my relevant business/investment interests, any potential conflicts of interest etc for my role.
If you work at a registrar, common sense suggests that you should be required to disclose domain names registered or held during the course of your employment - otherwise this kind of nonsense occurs.
johno69
Top Contributor
It would be common sense yes but that's becoming more a thing of the past I'm finding.
eBranding.com.au
Top Contributor
Here we go again: ginarinehart.com.au
Attachments
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rinehart.jpg
findtim
Top Contributor
gina: i saw that and went WTF ! maybe its a "fan site" LOL
http://screencast.com/t/HxE287ZSQ
lets hope james warne is good friends of A
tim
http://screencast.com/t/HxE287ZSQ
lets hope james warne is good friends of A
HTML:
jacquilambie.com.autim
neddy
Top Contributor
Same guy that picked up ShaneCrawford.com.au.
Perhaps BF can do one of his special memes?
Data Glasses
Top Contributor
Who is James Warne ?
Bacon Farmer
Top Contributor
Who is Shane Crawford?
It's funny I've never seen Gina and Clive in the same picture.
It's funny I've never seen Gina and Clive in the same picture.
robert
Top Contributor
Anyone who buys these names ginarinehart.com.au - ShaneCrawford.com.au - and givenchy.com.au and adidas.net.au is not necessarily a cowboy. I bought those last two myself when I was just starting out in August. Then gave them up a few weeks later with around 10 other cybersquatting-type-names once I realised it was wrong. I was just a newbie at the time. We've all been a newbie at some point! I don't think naming and shaming someone who's just started out, on a public forum, is the right way to go. Maybe more like a personal friendly "do you realise you are hurting the industry?" email is a better way to go. Then if they keep doing it, maybe then the gloves can come off. That's what I think.
robert
Top Contributor
How about BitCoin.com.au ?
I see it has a PD next to it on netfleet.
If you look up the trademark - there is a current trademark under evaluation... but it's not approved..
and from my understanding - isn't bitcoin a currency? not a company name?
wouldn't it be like someone trademarking the name "money" and not letting anyone use it?
i wonder why it has a PD next to it?
I see it has a PD next to it on netfleet.
If you look up the trademark - there is a current trademark under evaluation... but it's not approved..
and from my understanding - isn't bitcoin a currency? not a company name?
wouldn't it be like someone trademarking the name "money" and not letting anyone use it?
i wonder why it has a PD next to it?
findtim
Top Contributor
no tolerance is my view, many people have worked very hard to get domaining where it is today in australia, i think post replies are based on how you present yourself........ "domain broker australia" represents you as someone that understands the rules set by auda , you may have been new to DNT but your avatar suggested not new to the industry, i'm "findtim" this means when i started i was a newbieeeeeee, as i was, i didn't choose the avatar " grand master domainer "
i think this is why comments were made harshly against your purchases, you however did the right thing and got rid of them and personally i really respect your actions as MANY people before you have not taken such action.
if we just PM you then nobody else knows any action has been taken, its like sending a letter to a politician that gets shredded before reading.
it also shows auda that DNT members stand up for auda policies, YES, we do not agree with many auda policies but i also obey the speed limit on country roads when its a straight road with no other cars and i can see for milessssssssss ( dubbo to broken hill )
the moral is having a forum and a thread that picks up on baddies is our only way to help people who over step the mark and educate them + give the governing bodies a good reason to believe that most of us are really trying to do the correct thing.
there's major things happening in the domain world in the next 5 years so lets not add to list.
tim
robert
Top Contributor
It's a shame you didn't choose "Grandmaster Domainer" as your identity, that would have been awesome!
I chose Domain Broker Australia because when I do something I go all the way. I have faith in myself. I make no apologies for going in all-guns-blazing. I live by my mistakes which helps me learn fast. I always find it best to test the boundaries. I do however appreciate the few industry veterans who reached out to me personally to give me some friendly advice. That helped a lot.
Bullying "baddies" (who, most of the time, are just newbies testing boundaries) in a new industry not only turns them off the industry, but also off communicating with it. I can tell you that from experience. I still don't like the way I was treated by auDA for a "grey-area" misspellings domain name. More communication on a human level would have been greatly appreciated. Still, now I don't go anywhere near those grey areas because I know it's a waste of time. But I wouldn't have known that, had I not gone there...
If there are any new guys starting out buying domains, please don't hesitate to contact me over at my website so I can give you a few pointers so you don't get hammered in domainer forums like this or receive template legal withdrawal notices that no one will explain to you!
I'm sure we'll all run into each other over the coming years when buying various domain names because I'm only just getting started. In future, I'd appreciate people in this Australian domainer industry to keep their condescendence to themselves. As far as I'm concerned, three months in - I'm already on your level.
[That should rack up more replies to this awesome thread]
See you out there!
Grandmaster Domain Broker Australia
I chose Domain Broker Australia because when I do something I go all the way. I have faith in myself. I make no apologies for going in all-guns-blazing. I live by my mistakes which helps me learn fast. I always find it best to test the boundaries. I do however appreciate the few industry veterans who reached out to me personally to give me some friendly advice. That helped a lot.
Bullying "baddies" (who, most of the time, are just newbies testing boundaries) in a new industry not only turns them off the industry, but also off communicating with it. I can tell you that from experience. I still don't like the way I was treated by auDA for a "grey-area" misspellings domain name. More communication on a human level would have been greatly appreciated. Still, now I don't go anywhere near those grey areas because I know it's a waste of time. But I wouldn't have known that, had I not gone there...
If there are any new guys starting out buying domains, please don't hesitate to contact me over at my website so I can give you a few pointers so you don't get hammered in domainer forums like this or receive template legal withdrawal notices that no one will explain to you!
I'm sure we'll all run into each other over the coming years when buying various domain names because I'm only just getting started. In future, I'd appreciate people in this Australian domainer industry to keep their condescendence to themselves. As far as I'm concerned, three months in - I'm already on your level.
[That should rack up more replies to this awesome thread]
See you out there!
Grandmaster Domain Broker Australia
neddy
Top Contributor
Robert, I admire you - many of us do. You were defensive to start with, but you then realised the error of your ways with some of your "brand" registrations, and you fixed the problem. Kudos to you.
As you know, I reached out to you, and we had a long productive phone conversation. I would do the same for anyone to try and point them in the right direction. I've seen too many auDA audits of portfolios - and I don't wish that on anyone who genuinely wants to try and do the right thing.
Nor do I want the actions of a few to have a potential impact on my domaining business (it's been a long road to remove a lot of the restrictions and rules the .au space - and there are still areas that need fixing / relaxing imho).
Also, there really isn't any public naming and shaming or bullying - only signed in members can see the screenshots of the WhoIs. So nobody's name or domain is indexed by Google.
And only really blatant infringements have ever been listed.
Best wishes for your future success.
Cheers, Ned
