OT: But, Important to all Internet users

[RobW]

IAWEveryoneElse! I signed both as well.

-Rob

[themagpie]

I was able to sign the second petition just a few  minutes ago.  The link works now.

Margie

[kps]

Well, ICANN is listening and has asked VeriSign to "voluntarily" drop the redirection...but at last news, VeriSign has ignored the request.

http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2003/09/22/icann/

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[Paddy]

Karl, meant to mention that I've used GoDaddy as my registrar for over a year now - very good price too ($8.95/yr or less if you sign up for multiple years) in case anyone else is looking for a new registrar.

[Mayo]

I switched from Versign to directNIC 1-2 years ago and I never looked back... Versign's customer service interface was truly terrible in those days, while directNIC has been a breeze to use, not to mention less expensive.

One suggestion to those who are now going to switch from Verisign because of its redirection scheme:  how about sending an e-mail to Verisign letting them know why you are leaving the fold.  It may not help, but it certainly can't hurt to ley them know that their recent actions are costing them customers.

[kps]

Paddy, the reason I went with GoDaddy[/b] is because you mentioned it previously in several posts.

Mayo, I plan on doing just that, but reading about VeriSign's antics...such as, holding domain names hostage, I'll wait until GoDaddy is the registrar on record.

[Mayo]

Sounds wise to me KPS.  When I was making the switch I was advised that Verisign might hold things up for at least thirty days, during which time a domain I hold would expire. So I wound up paying to renew one domain with Verisign in order to ensure I didn't have a problem.  As it turned out, the registrar switch went quicker than a month, but the fact that I had to spend some extra $$$ because of Verisign's intransigence really ticked me off!

[Xairbusdriver]

Do I understand correctly that this will affect only .com and .net addresses? Since I keep the 'location' box hidden, I doubt that I would ever see the Verisgn site, but I realize many use that thing all the time. Main reason I don't use it is to gain a little more screen space and I'm such a terrible typist, I would be getting those error pages all the time!

I've spent a lot of effort making navigation easy on the site I maintain but I still created (borrowing from a few that I liked) an error page. At least that page seems to still work, but it is a .org domain ( error page )

Heard something on NPR today, but was not listening close enough to understand what was said. But it may be that the message is getting to somebody with authority!

Jim C.

[Diana]

Hi airbusdriver,

Yes, this thing Verisign has done only affects .com and .net. But, the organizations that control some of the newer TLDs such as .biz and .museum have been doing this for some time. There wasn't a big outcry because there truly aren't many names registered in that name space. I don't think it should be allowed there either though, so if Verisign has to back down, so should the others.

What you're concerned about though with your personal website is unrelated to what Verisign or anyone has done. The error page you created only kicks into gear if someone asks for a page at your domain that doesn't exist or was moved. Your domain _must_ resolve properly for your error page to work.

The bad thing that Verisign has done would hurt you in this way if you had a .com/.net:
Your domain = airbusdriver.com
Someone types it in by hand or someone somewhere creates a link to your domain, but they don't double check their typing and the surfer ends up at = airbusdrover.com.

Well, airbusdrover.com isn't a valid name so surfers end up at Verisign's page. Say you were an air taxi service and your competitor was airtaxi.com. airtaxi.com pays Verisign to display them prominantly on the sitefinder page. So someone thinking they're going to find your site actually end up at a direct competitor and in essence, a very close "near copy" of your name put them there. What if you had a name-based trademark that would be tainted by mis-spellings? What would Coca Cola think if someone typed in pepsi-vs-coke.com and the only advertising on the page at Verisigns was for Pepsi? Verisign never had to pay to register airbusdrover.com or any other non-existant domain, but they benefit because of a mistake. To prevent that mistake and protect your business, you would have to purchase every possible mis-spelling of your business' domain name, an expense that Verisign never incurs. Sure, you could purchase "keyword" advertising from Verisign, but wouldn't that be like paying protection money to the street bully so he won't take your lunch?

I could go on about the insecurities introduced regarding personal/business privacy because e-mail also relies on DNS to work properly, but my feet are tired of standing on this soapbox anymore tonight...*grin..and my brain hurts.

see ya,

Edit: I forgot to point out that if you were to actually register all the mis-spellings of your own domain name, Verisign benefits then too...to the tune of $6.00 for every domain you register. See, they win coming and going. We lose.

[kimmer]

Diana,

Thank you for a very clear presentation on the why's and how's of this. I've been chatting with a webmaster at a site I visit and he couldn't see what was so wrong with all of this. With your permission, I'd like to share your explanation with him.


kimmer

[Gary S]

I finally got my second sig in!  

[Diana]

Hi Kimmer,

I'm glad I was able to make myself somewhat clear. *grin..I was tired last night when I wrote that so I wasn't sure it would make sense by morning.

Feel free to use whatever part you want. You might also refer him to any of the links in Paddy's post where she includes the message she received from the person who started the petition. The forums at those links are ongoing and very long, so if he isn't really interested or concerned, he may not take the time, but I would encourage him to do so. My explanation was not inclusive by any means, there is so much more to the whole thing that can be explained in one sitting. The main thing that gripes me is the cavalier attitude that Verisign has taken, the attitude that so clearly establishes once and for all that ethics mean very little to the top brass. It leaves one feeling helpless. No amount of reasoning, screaming or ranting will change the ways of unethical people. They just enjoy the disruption they cause.

What all this does do for me though is confirm the emerging importance of our personal responsibilities for security on the Internet. I don't think that the Internet is being "tamed". It's getting wilder and wilder by the day. As the technologies become more secure..(which I believe for the most part they do or I wouldn't do my banking online anymore)..but the human crooks and crazies are benefitting from the anonymity..(anonymity being something I also value). People who would restrain their baser actions in public will drop _all_ pretense of morality and restraint when using the Internet. In my view it seems that these criminally minded people are numbered in far greater numbers than one would imagine.

Hubby and I were talking about the difference between skepticism and cynicism today. I find I cross over to cynicism more and more myself so I will quit here for now.. I sure appreciate this forum. Again I thank each and every one of you for your interest and support.

see ya,

[pendragon]

VeriSign Ignores Request To Suspend New Service:

Today's Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2003Sep28.html

Harv

[Diana]

Verisign has shown an unprecedented arrogance over the last two weeks. They don't seem to be relenting in the least.

Now they have won a contract with a company called Accenture to secure Internet voting procedures as governed by the DoD.

SERVE project

I dispair, how can even thousands of people fight a multi-billion dollar company that collaborates with other multi-billion dollar companies and our own government?

I'm not giving up though. I'm now on crusade to let Internet shopping sites who use Verisign's SSL certificates know that I'm no longer shopping with them until they get certificates from some other CA...(knowing all the while that even those "other" CAs are ultimately beholden to Verisign since Verisign has bought out some of them). I've personally started with Amazon. They got a letter from me yesterday.

[kelly]

ICANN seeks views on VeriSign's Site Finder

http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2003/1...t=1064998392000

Know anyone who has one?