Dave Zan

A thought occurred to me and I thought I'd discuss it as
a new thread.

Some of you know that GD has a strong anti-spam
stance. Based on the stories I gave in my last post in
another thread, apparently they'd shut down a domain
name upon receipt of a spam complaint.

To be fair, however, they'd first attempt to notify the
domain name owner about the spam complaint and
have that owner respond accordingly with an explanation
and proof, if possible.

One internet marketer I know (and perhaps some of
you do) experienced this. I'm not sure but I think GD
told her who complained, she researched her files,
and found the complainant as a confirmed opt-in of her
mailing list.

The complainant apparently received one of her
emailed newsletters, forgot that she/he actually opted
in & confirmed, & complained it to GD.

Thankfully GD didn't just shut it down just like that.
But the experience was enough for the IM to decide to
eventually transfer the domain elsewhere.

All of us (except the real naive newbies and spammers)
hate spam like the plague. But I'm left to wonder how
far should registrars or resellers butt in on a domain
name's activities.

For example, NSI will shut down a domain name and
its services if they discover, one way or another (via
spam complaint especially) that the domain name
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/domain-name-discussion/45024-how-far-should-registrar-reseller-step.html
owner is using their email servers for spamming. But
if they receive complaints from people about a domain
name being involved in spamming using either a
different hosting provider or their own servers, they
respectfully but firmly say they don't "police" the
internet and would tell them to take it up w/ the
proper authorities.

Another thing NSI doesn't butt in is if they receive
complaints from people about a domain name involved
in, say, an MLM or pyramiding scheme & would also
tell them to report those cases to the police instead.

There's another registrar who also adopts this stance,
though I forgot that name.

Another time they'd step in, of course, is if the domain
name is the subject of a legal dispute (i.e. trademark,
ownership dispute between 2 persons, etc.).

So guys, in your honest opinions, how far do you think
a registrar or reseller should step in?

PokerGuide.com

Registrars manages domains, they shouldnt do anything else that the owner or the law say about a domain. Hosts, comapnies that host domain do have other things to look for. If they know that there is a site on their network that are breaking the law they should take it away. But they shouldnt do that before there are some real evidence, and that you allmost allways only can get from the police and law orgs.

Raf

I ditto that cmos.

Banned User

I notice GoDaddy and Directi both have Anti-Spam policies and will lock/delete domains who violate it.

Is this even permitable per ICANN guidelines?

RJ

First, I HATE spam. It's the #1 problem on the Internet today. That being said, I do not like that registrars are jumping in to be spam police, taking spam complaints and shutting down domains.

This is the problem, the domain owners are "guilty" until proven innocent. I've owned several domains that have been the subject of spam complaints -- NOT because I've spammed, but because spammers often use domains they don't own as the return address. Domain spoofing is not only common in spamming, it's become a standard practice.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=45024

Web hosts and upstream providers have already appointed themselves judge and jury over spam complaints. You can find hundreds of stories from webmasters that have had their websites yanked because of false or poorly investigated spam complaints where the hosts have overreacted. We don't need registrars also taking this position.

__________________
Reach me at rj at namepros dot com

csmaster2005

I would agree, spam is a huge issue now. I receive MANY spam emails a day, and as RJ said, it is becoming a standard, as most of the emails I receive are just return emails saying the receipient didn't receive the email because my email was used as the return address.

My question is, how exactly can this be controlled?

Dave Zan

With a very simple but virtually impossible solution: people should
stop buying from spam.

There is one solution being worked on, w/ Microsoft taking the
lead. You can read it here:

http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/twc/..._senderid.mspx

Anthony

Domain registrars probably get involved with this sort of thing because they are worried about legal action being taken against them. That being said, maybe ICANN should put a system in place to take care of this, like a WIPO for spam...

Dave Zan

There is already a first-ever attempt of a law prosecuting against spam.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=45024
I believe you've heard of it, the CAN-Spam Act?

For all its bungling provisions, it's still a start.

But I won't be surprised if ICANN's already working on such but is keeping
it under wraps for the meantime until it's 100% sure of its position...

theparrot

Hmmm... not sure I would say microsoft is taking the lead, so much as they are on the bandwagon, and trying to appear they are taking the lead, with their markering again.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=45024

I notice they want you to agree to a licence if you use their info to impliement it also.

I would suggest learning about it here : http://www.spf.pobox.com/

they are the true orginators of it, and you stay free of licensing issues.

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Mark

Ditto on all above ~ How many times a day do You guys get "returned mail errors" that you didn't send to begin with !!! ~ I forward ALL email being sent to most all of my domains to one address .... It really freaks me out sometimes how many "errors" and "threats" you can get in a day or two because someone else is using your Addresses

__________________
When the man at the door yelled "Alcohol , Tobacco , and Firearms" .... I just assumed it was a delivery !

Dave Zan

Thanks for the correction!

Redleg

I've even got a Viagra spam mail from one of my own domains once!!
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=45024
Some sh*thead used one of my domain names for spoofing, and was kind enough to include a real e-mail address i had on that domain on his spam list as well..

__________________

edkerry

Viagra spam? He he