Morning Folks!!
There is a smaller and smaller group questioning the motives of my posts. I admit I may not be the best person to be so outspoken because of the way it might look, but
sitting on the sidelines while the biggest scandal ever is rocking the industry
just ain’t my style and this is way too important to worry who will say what and all the other BS. Even those thatdisagree, do you really question the sincerity of my anger and outrage and love of the industry and what we all do? My anger has subsided a bit because I have been able to express
myself over the last few days with these posts. But it does hurt. Deeply. Maybe it is just me, I don’t
think so, but I have this sort of sick feeling in the pit of my stomach each day. This dark cloud hanging over the Industry is something we will deal with for a very long time and none of us need it or deserve it.
Let's review a few things. We have basically only 5 bits of information. The first was the initial Stories and Press Release which I got fromTheDomains.com &DomainNameNews.com plus the related stories that spilled over to TechCrunch.com and other publications outside the industry. The second was thepostthat was NOT supposed to be posted about 'Coordinating closely' or words to that effect by a lower level employee of Oversee that many never heard of before. Finally thecontract that reveals more than all the other stuff combined as it is a roadmap to what they seem to be scared of when you work it backwards. Then add that nobody is talking regardless of the costs and damage being done and we have four.
The fifth bit is the great and detailed posts again by Mike Berkens of The Domains.com who is not only one of the first to break the story but also is one of thelarger victimseven though his staggering numbers represent only 1.2% of the tainted Snapname.com auctions according to Mike. He was personally involved in 12,000 different auctions that Halvarez was involved in for a staggering total of 360,000 bids. He concluded that Halvarez acted alone based on his 1.2%. But what we don't know is if he was the lone player in this or was it more widespread and systematic? If you extrapolate the numbers from Mike's 1.2%, and I just use 1% and an estimate for the .2 (because I don't want to invest the time to be exact) but we are talking around 1 million different auctions that may have included bids in the area of 30 Million. Just staggering!
Any domainer looking at just these facts alone and plan to be in this business for the rest of their lives have to be rocked, shocked and angered. The rest are defending but what exactly are they defending at this point? I am just not sure what they are defending given the gravity of the matter and what we already know.
Stephen Douglas asked the question (Second comment, 'The Dude') that he saidRon Jackson was too polite to ask. He is right. Ron would not ask it. But now it is out there. For better or worse, it is out there. What was hard to even discuss in private is now out there and I guess we just have to wait until more is known and statements are made. The last days have given us a multi million dollar scandal, and anindustry shakeup with some very high level and highly regarded people. We have no answers or statements for any of what is going on and some are hesitantly asking is this coincidence? Now I am not stating anything because I don't know anything, but the post made me wonder. You wonder. We all wonder except for those that know but are not talking. I would agree withAdam's sentiments, 'I get your point that a wise person would explain their departure'.
As you can see by my series of posts below, the anger builds. It took me nearly 24 hours just to comment initially because I knew that this had wide ranging implications that could disrupt many things. I needed time to think, to understand, to understand the ramifications and the fallout and what it meant and what it means and what it is going to mean and how it will change things. Figuring out how something plays out is what I do for a living. Whether it be domains, real estate, stocks, politics, lighting, furniture, That is what I do.
Don't expect anyone not think and not wonder and not try to make assumptions and not try to connect the dots until we get some concrete and frank answers. We don't know if there is a cover up going on or an investigation. That my friends is it in a nutshell. That is the single biggest point. If there is a cover up, we can't allow that. Period. If there is an investigation, then we need to do everything we can to cooperate. I would only hope if an investigation were going on that it was led by the FBI and not an 'Internal' investigation led by PR firms and lawyers. All any of us want is to know and be satisfied is that they are doing the right things as opposed to anything else. If they do the right thing, they will be applauded and I will be among the first to stand up and do it. If they don't, then I will be the among first to stand up and say so.
I will be writing about this again and again and again until we get some real answers and then I will examine it and see how it fits into what we already know. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Don't feel guilty for being angry and speaking out, feel guilty for sitting on the sides and saying nothing. Feel guilty for excusing it. Feel guilty for minimizing it. Feel guilty for forgetting about it. But don't feel guilty for being angry. Don't feel guilty for DEMANDING answers. Don't feel guilty for protecting your livelihood and your futures that OTHERS have put into jeopardy, AGAIN! And don't let others turn it back on us just for speaking out and saying what needs to be said and asking the questions that BEG to be asked!
Rick Schwartz
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