From: Anthony Peake Date: 1 June 2011 3:49:55 PM AEST To: lujia.chen@auda.org.au Subject: Netfleet response to auDA Secondary Market Working Group, Issues Paper, May 2011 Lujia, Please find below Netfleet's comments on the issues and proposals outlined by the Secondary Market Working Group, Issues Paper, May 2011. Consumer Issues 1. Registrant transfer process and fees. We support the Working Group proposal for a process which "requires registrars to send a transfer confirmation request to the registrant contact email address, and receive a positive response before proceeding with the transfer". Just to clarify this point further we believe that this email and confirmation should replace the existing paper/fax based systems currently in use by registrars. We believe that this would benefit consumers as the lack of administrative overhead involved in the process should lower the transfer (Change of Registrant) cost to that of a domain Registration. 2. Six month prohibition on transfers. We find that there is confusion over how a registrant can apply to auDA for authorisation to transfer their domain name as paragraph 4.2 of the Transfers Policy states that "A registrant may apply to auDA for authorisation to transfer their domain name licence" without pointing out that the registrant needs to involve the registrar in the process. If the 6 month rule remains then some clarification on this in the policy might be prudent. Having 10,000 members and 40,000 domains listed on Netfleet, we have found that any speculation made by domainers tends to be based around long-term growth and development, so the 6 month rule has little impact on reducing speculation - it’s original stated aim. We have also seen no evidence that domainers are registering domains with the intent to sell them in the short-term. Even the most naïve investor would be unlikely to think that a domain name that had never before been registered, just happened to have been overlooked for all these years and could be hand-registered and sold for a healthy profit the next day. In keeping with the emphasised rationale from the 2007 Names Policy Panel "to give people access to domain names that would not otherwise be available, and allow the transfer of domain names to those who have best use for them" and since the existing 6 month rule does not seem to deter nor promote any particular behaviour, only adding administrative overheads to auDA, sellers and secondary marketplaces. We think it is beneficial to relax the 6 month rule and give people access to domains names as soon as they are registered. 3. Drop catching services. As a provider of "Drop catching services" we believe it is beneficial to potential registrants that they are made aware of our services before a domain has been purged by the registry as we occasionally encounter parties wishing they had known about our service 24 hours earlier. We would volunteer to participate in an approval process which allowed auDA to direct relevant registrants to our services. A link to an auda.org.au page explaining drop services in the whois results for domain in state pendingDelete and serverRenewProhibited would go a long way to help educate potential registrants about the existence and operation of registrars specialising in providing "Drop catching services". We occasionally encounter registrants who were only aware of our services and are frustrated that we "lost" their domain to a competitor. Both dominant "Drop catching services" currently operate on a no win no fee basis to be as fair as possible to these registrants and while it is not in our interest to promote competitors we do feel that it is in the registrants interest that auDA make them aware of other "Drop catching services". We would also like to make the point that any manipulation of the marketplace to encourage more registrars to engage in drop catching would mean registrants will need to 'cover their bases' on more platforms. 4. Domain name sale listings. Netfleet has already committed itself to a process of reducing the number of listings which are out-of-date. All expired or available domains are removed from the aftermarket on a daily basis. We agree with the Working Group belief that it is the providers responsibility and best interest to reduce out-of-date listings. Industry Issues. 1. Registry operations. It is interesting for us to see the purge process taking more than 15 minutes instead of just 1 minute however, like the Registry, this is not a cause of concern for us. As participants we foster good communication to ensure that the Registry is never at risk and would attempt to resolve any concerns as quickly as possible. It is maybe worth noting that this paper mentions blocking EPP Create commands for 15 minutes before and after the Purge Cycle, which might need to reviewed in light of the longer than usual purge process, to ensure it is not being circumvented. 2. Registrar connection sharing. We support the Working Group suggestion that auDA publish a policy which specifically prohibits connection sharing between unrelated registrars, to address security and privacy concerns. We would like to note that multiple dedicated drop catching services have been in operation for about three years now without any flooding of the market with "shell" registrars. During these three years there is also evidence of smaller registrar groups dominating the market. It would seem unfair to try to restrict large registry groups because of an unfounded belief that EPP connections equals greater success. 3. Registrar competition. By providing a public auction the "Drop catching service" providers are producing a level playing field for the Consumer. Snapping expired domains is not just down to the number of Registrars in a group. Domain8 proved this two years ago when it took on Domain Watch's four registrars and Netfleet's five registrars using only one registrar initially and two registrars for most of its success. It might be worth noting by competitors that it takes many years to create an "overnight success" like Netfleet. The biggest barrier to entry is the effort required to keep trying for two years before seeing success. If any other competitor invested the same effort they will also see some success. We do not think that auDA nor the Registry have any obligations nor right to help new teams become better. With regards to the risk of new competitors destabilising the registry we believe that the OT&E environment together with open communication with the Registry is enough to ensure your domain snapping software is safe to use. Regards Anthony Peake Netfleet.com.au