Morning Folks!!
I have been involved in some 55 industries in my life. The core of most industries are the same. How they run is very similar and the back biting is pretty much universal.
But most of those industries had associations that were widely supported. That offered group discounts and were powerful by their sheer numbers. They had standards of conduct. Most associations charge up to $99 for annual dues that are easily offset by the benefits. Some are higher some are lower.
But with all the grandstanding and all the talk about all the bad companies out there that hate domainers etc. None have done more damage than domainers themselves.
Obviously the big one is trademark infringement. Let's make it easy. If you have a company name inside your domain without a specific "Free Speech" twist or agenda, then your domain has a high likelihood of infringement. But I am not a lawyer. I just know the difference and so should every domain investor.
Maybe before we have a "Bill of Rights" (Which there is no reason not to support) we need to set STANDARDS of what WE stand for. Standards of OUR OWN responsibilities and even self-policing. Who we are as professionals and clearly separating ourselves from the MASSES OF ABUSERS that DEFINE domainers!
I will never apologize for investing in domains. They set the rules and many of us simply played by the rules and have found all levels of success.
That said, NOBODY on the planet gives a rats ass about domainers except us! We are TOE JAM at best! We are looked at as some of the lowest forms of life by those heavily involved with the Internet. Cockroaches! And some of it with good cause! Most domainers are an embarrassment! Infringers to the nth degree!
And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Shill bidding. Scandals swept under the rug. Widespread abuse of all types of things. Clawbacks. Auction houses with disgusting business practices. Add your own in comments!
The "Domain Industry" is a Dirty Rotten industry such as it is. And again, let me state clearly, there is no industry. There is no association that represents rank and file domainers. There are no standards of conduct.
I appreciate the work the ICA does but my point of contention from the get go has been "Inclusion". There is power in numbers. One $5000 member does not have the power as 100 $50 members. One $25,000 member does not have the power that 500 members have. There should be TENS of thousands of members and THEY (the ICA) should be putting on the "Industry Show" for the overall good like other industries do. Serving and representing an entire industry vs 20 SELF SERVING wildcatters with an agenda!
In the way I saw things and how it SHOULD have unfolded......it would have been my desire and long term vision to turn TRAFFIC over to the ICA to run. That was what I had hoped for. It was just not possible with the makeup of the ICA as I saw it and decided to just pull the plug instead and preserve whatever history we had.
And to be honest, the window of opportunity on this has all but closed. There is no domain industry and there never will be! Domainers are very charitable but charity starts at home. When the money was flying around we helped many causes but we never cemented or protected our own cause in an effective, meaningful and long lasting way. That window of opportunity is gone.
Just sayin'
Rick Schwartz
Mark Thorpe
Bill of Rights is a good idea.
But it makes me wonder if it’s just being brought forward as a CYA (cover your ass) thing at Uniregistry.
Highly doubt they are worried about the domain Industry as a whole.
Ibrahim Khan
Association always works great for any group. Do we have any domainers group?
Fellow Domainer
King Rick,
Thank you for speaking to us. I totally agree with what you say
John
1. Google, et al, in bed with government. Not just about money and market share, but also control of information and society. The bigger picture.
2. Domainers, from top to bottom, definitely including many at the top and not just the bottom. Zero-sum gamers shooting themselves and everyone else in the foot needlessly and with great consequence and cost. Groupthink, mindless mantras, needless brainwashing, stubbornness, being “part of the problem,” etc.
3. Internet bill of rights, not just domains. Due process, as RM has pointed out so well lately.
4. Lobbying money and access to officials and politicians almost always trumps almost everything including the most eloquent thoughts and sentiments sent forth like puffs in the wind, and tears in the rain (yes, Blade Runner reference that last one). The pillars of oligarchy learned this long ago.
Jay
It’s all these new fckrs and gtld holders.
Ben Deschenes
I think that a domainer would be happy to pay an extra 1cent/year in ICANN fees to be covered by an office of a “Commissar of Internet”. Also, it’s a non-sense that “registrants” and “registrars” are put in the same group (Commercial Group) in ICANN constituency. Registrants should have their own and unique seat on ICANN’s board, even without a “voting right” as representation.
The Commissar could see about all registrants rights as a group.
The commissar could also see about education and prevention with unwanted registrants and brings more stability and security to the internet in his ensemble.
EMMA
This industry is too small in terms of demand but too big in terms of offer. The end-users have too many options to avoid/escape your speculative occupation.
Remember: most end-users are not ordinary people. They are people with mind, and if they can make things happen then it means they are also too creative to escape your speculative business.
The first question that come to their mind is: if you are so creative to register domains that make sense, why can’t you develop them into websites whose service can generate lots of money? Most people with mind are not ready to enrich spoiler/speculators, just like they don’t like websites to exploit them with just unsolicited ads. Develop develop develop develop develop develop develop develop
John
Yes, they sometimes do seem to have that kind of entitled selfish narcissistic attitude, but this is what such an attitude deserves:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpugp6DIb3I
Jose
I have always read a domainer is a domain investor, who buys and sells.
I can not understand why since I started 10 years ago the times I ask other domainers if they have a system that represents them as any other industry and market, there is silence.
I do not live in this country of opportunities and I think it has been many years since I lost being a model country for reasons that the industry itself and the stock markets send over 55 industries, here you have Verisign what it really is to spend Olympically of this industry and market domains in a great speculative benefit for its partners and administration of this great country.
The history of our ancestors repeats what happens that we never remember what really happened, we forget until it happens to ourselves.
Happy Day.
Jose
Iggy
ICA is a joke. I never took them seriously. Whoever runs it and whoever joins is made to feel as if they are they are something special. But it has no power. It has no recognition. Another outfit can come along and do exactly that. And then another, and another.
EFF is a real entity. Something of that stature would never come to being with domainers. Domainers want to be the “boss”… so this one fights that one, etc. It’s dick-swinging at it’s finest with the hopes of slapping someone with their dick square in the face. LOL
The blogs and forums are all dead. The auctions attracts fewer bidders, and competition for names are at a low never seen before- and it’s getting worse. Imagine what a recession and/or a crash would do to this so-called domain “industry” in it’s current state?
Names with value will last and domains will always be around. But forget about the charlatans, and the way things were. That’s all over.