ICA and SEDO spam

[Peter]

ICA and SEDO seem to have taken the decision to start spamming. I received the following email from them earlier today:

Sedo would like to pass along the following message from the Internet Commerce Association (ICA). As a founding member of the ICA, Sedo is committed to working with others in the domain space to ensure that the business of buying and selling domains and monetizing natural domain traffic remain unrestrained by short-sighted laws or regulations. Sedo encourages all of its members to support the ICA through donation or membership.
2009 -- The Year That Domainers Stood Up to Special Interests and Began to Turn ICANN Around

2009 has been a challenging year for domain investors. While the Internet Commerce Association can’t change the economic environment, ICA can – and is – fighting for you against wrongheaded laws, bad judicial decisions, and mistaken ICANN policies.

If you’ve been following ICA’s activities at Internet Commerce Association - ICA | The Voice of Internet Commerce and Entrepreneurship you know that we has been speaking out for domainer rights throughout 2009 – and having a real impact marked by important victories.

We took on the special interests and succeeded in blocking the most outrageous recommendations of ICANN’s Implementation Recommendation Team (IRT) – particularly the Universal Rapid Suspension (URS) proposal that would have gutted domain owners’ rights at new gTLDs. And the special interests were openly planning to quickly impose these same unfair procedures on .com and other existing TLDs in your domain portfolio.

ICA’s steadfast opposition led to ICANN’s Board interning with a new policy process that included ICA – and that has just recommended a balanced approach to trademark protections at new gTLDs that not only preserves but also strengthens domainer rights in many ways – including a declaration that holding a large domain portfolio is no indication of bad faith, and creation of a “safe harbor” defense that recognizes domain parking as a bona fide business activity.
ICA has shown that it can make a measureable difference in protecting your rights and your domain portfolio’s value – but we need your support to continue our vital work!
Because the special interests aren’t done with trying to dilute domain registrants’ rights. Both WIPO and the CAC are now proposing their own versions of “fast track UDRP” that would threaten all your .com and other generic TLD domains – and is even worse than the URS.

Once again, ICA is leading the fight against this blatant attempt by UDRP providers to encourage more UDRP filings at your expense – by providing complainants with a faster, cheaper UDRP that will lead to more reverse domain name hijacking, and less ability for you to defend your domains.

ICA’s position is clear – any changes in the UDRP must be fair, balanced, and uniform reforms that address the concerns of domain registrants and trademark holders. ICA will oppose any attempt by the individual UDRP arbitration providers to give away your rights to trademark holders.
But to keep making a difference we need your continued support.
As 2009 draws to a close, we urge you to join the ICA, or renew or upgrade your membership
(join or renew at Join ICA or Renew Membership | Internet Commerce Association - ICA ), or make a donation (donate at Donate to the ICA | Internet Commerce Association - ICA ).

ICA dues and contributions are tax deductible business expenses for U.S. taxpayers (see below for details).

Annual memberships in ICA start at less than $1 a day – a small price to pay for an insurance policy that helps protect your portfolio value.
In addition to representing the domain industry at every ICANN meeting held in 2009, as well as in the halls of Congress and other decision centers, ICA –
• Filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that helped reverse a lower court ruling, and revived CFIT’s lawsuit against VeriSign’s sweetheart contract that allows unjustified increases in .com pricing.
• Filed a brief with the Kentucky Supreme Court to uphold its quashing of the Governor’s outrageous attempt to seize domains as “gambling devices”.
• Spoken out within ICANN to successfully stop governments from gaining unwarranted control over geo-names at the second level of new TLDs.
Looking ahead, 2010 will bring new and unanticipated challenges – and opportunities:
• While we succeeded in quashing the Snowe bill, CADNA and others have openly stated their intent to seek Anticybersquatting Act changes that dilute domainer rights and vastly increase your legal liability.
• We are exploring proactive initiatives for domainers, including potential legislation to make domain theft a designated crime with serious consequences.
We welcome your feedback on how we are doing and where we should be focusing. ICA has given the domain industry a seat at the table within ICANN, Washington, and those other places where the decisions are made that affect the fortunes of every domainer.
ICA is only as strong as the combined support of our members and contributors.
And 2010 is shaping up as another year in which our industry will face serious challenges – and new opportunities - on many fronts.

With your continued generous support we pledge to keep fighting the good fight for all of you.

Thank you! And best wishes for this holiday season and the coming New Year!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ICA will be updating its website in January 2010 to list new members, reflect the upgraded status of those members who have renewed at a higher level, and delete those members whose membership has expired. By acting today you will ensure that your support for ICA is properly noted in the New Year.

ICA operates as a Business League under Section 501(c) (6) of the Internal Revenue Code. United States residents cannot deduct membership dues or contributions (such as donated domain names, or the proceeds of the auction of such names) as a charitable contribution for Federal income tax purposes. However, for U.S. tax law purposes, dues and donations to a business league (including non-cash donations) are generally deductible as a business expense, except for that portion that is devoted to lobbying and political campaign expenditures. The ICA does not anticipate incurring any political campaign expenditures in 2010. ICA estimates that ten percent (10%) of its dues and donations received for 2010 will be devoted to nondeductible lobbying expenses, as defined for U.S. Federal income tax purposes. ICA is required by Federal law and regulations to provide this estimate of the percentage of members’ dues and other receipts which will be devoted to lobbying expenses for the calendar year 2010.

The above general information may not be relied upon as tax advice, and any affected ICA member or donor should consult with the member’s own tax adviser regarding the proper treatment of their ICA support under the tax laws of the U.S. or any other nation. In particular, affected ICA members should consult with their tax advisers as to whether the excess of the auction sale price for a donated domain name, over the member’s cost for the domain name, should be reported as income or gain to the member for U.S. Federal income tax purposes.
If you do not wish to receive emails with ICA news updates, please email us to unsubscribe.
2009 © Internet Commerce Association (ICA). All rights reserved.
Internet Commerce Association - ICA | The Voice of Internet Commerce and Entrepreneurship

The link at the bottom that mentions to unsubscribe is an ICA email address. I have never signed up nor woulr I ever sign up to receive emails from the ICA so why should I have to email them to stop this crap coming into my inbox.

As I am not a registrar or major Domain portfolio holder I certainly would not even consider supporting an organization like the ICA. Lets face it those are the only people they actually want to represent.

 

[SpareDomains]

If they dropped their prices they could probably gain hundreds of domainers, even on their lower $295 plan I think it will be hard to gain significant members with the current economy and will stay just a small pool, there is power in numbers, shame DNOA never prospered as I felt it was geared more to the common domainer.

 

[addaminsane]

stuff like this is what causes me to hardly use email at all anymore. i do most online communication over pms and facebook

 

[Kate]

Peter, are you a Sedo customer and did you elect to receive newsletters from them ?

 

[WebIntellects - Rob]

Peter, are you a Sedo customer and did you elect to receive newsletters from them ?

As far as understand from the original post - no he did not

 

[gpmgroup]

There are a quite a few proposals before ICANN at the moment from vested interests. These vested interests are seeking to tilt the domain landscape to their favor. Small businesses and individuals don't have the lobbying power of big business and single issue groups, and whilst the ICA isn't 100% aligned with the small business and individuals they do raise detailed and thoughtful responses to proposals that would seriously disadvantage most NamePros Members and Sedo users.

I would guess Sedo thinks these issues are serious enough to warrant sending their users the chance to support a non profit organization lobbying predominantly on issues aligned with their interests.

Disclaimer - We are not members and we try and take the submit comments to many of the ICANN comment periods. These comments take a lot of time and if we couldn't make the time we would probably join the ICA to help them in their efforts.

 

[exsedo]

Sedo would gain a lot more credibility and also dispel a lot of perceived hypocrisy if they stopped allowing cybersquatting and typosquatting domain names in their auctions. One example I noticed the other day was 'fwcebook. com' What possible use could a domain like that have, other than to make money off someone elses mark.

 

[mjnels]

people complain about spam in the year 2009?

 

[Peter]

Peter, are you a Sedo customer and did you elect to receive newsletters from them ?

Hi

Yes I do have a SEDO account however it has not been used for months (if not a few years). By all means I have no problem receiving messages about SEDO however I did not sign up to receive spam from the ICA.

I have never supplied the ICA with my details nor have I ever consented to receive literature from them. Why should I have to them (NOT SEDO) to stop their crap coming into my inbox when I have never requested it.

---------- Post added at 07:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:56 PM ----------

If they dropped their prices they could probably gain hundreds of domainers, even on their lower $295 plan I think it will be hard to gain significant members with the current economy and will stay just a small pool, there is power in numbers, shame DNOA never prospered as I felt it was geared more to the common domainer.

Even if you fork out $295 you still do not have a proper say in what happens. You do not have a vote at all, You are just a member in name only.

To get a membership that has any real say you need a membership that costs $50,000 a year. The ICA has absolutely no interest in what the common domainer thinks nor does it want to look after the common domainers interest. They look after their own interests nothing more.

---------- Post added at 08:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:59 PM ----------

people complain about spam in the year 2009?

Why not? These are supposed reputable companies.

 

[equity78]

I have written about this many times with Michael Berkens. He has many times advocated joining, I said I agree but the ICA needs numbers so make an entry level membership. $20 and gain 1000 members. I was told $20,000 ain't shit. My point was $20,000 may not be shit, but it gets you numbers and $20,000 you are not getting without doing that.

SEDO feeds CADNA and the other tm groups when they profit from a sale like FWCEBOOK.com. This shows the hypocrisy of the whole industry.

Next question would be why doesn't Godaddy belong to ICA or 100 other top companies.

Lastly small domainers are not stupid, they know the big domainers will still support ICA because they have the most on the line.

If you are going to ignore the requests of the small guy, they are going to ignore you.

ICA would have more juice in Washington if it had 5,000 members instead of 100 but they choose not to get the members with a low price membership fee. Again IMO

 

[SpareDomains]

Even if you fork out $295 you still do not have a proper say in what happens. You do not have a vote at all, You are just a member in name only. To get a membership that has any real say you need a membership that costs $50,000 a year. The ICA has absolutely no interest in what the common domainer thinks nor does it want to look after the common domainers interest. They look after their own interests nothing more.

While I may not exactly like the current structure of the ICA I think they have added their comments on a few issues kentucky gambling issue was one of them and with no current better alternative my stance would be neutral or slightly positive as basically it's all we have right now, hard for me to bash someone when I see no alternative.

 

[Ronald Regging]

It's like giving someone a dollar a day for a year and then kicking in their front door and stealing everything they own... Lol. Sometimes one bad act can outweigh many good acts. The ICA might be all we have, but they definitely don't have our interests in mind. Even if they offer a cheaper membership, I doubt people will be flocking to join, because most people know that their true agenda isn't about domaining in general, but rather preserving the interests of the wealthy domainers. Sometimes these interests overlap... but sometimes they kick in your front door.

Also, I never got that spam mail.

 

[Carlton]

Reading over the comments above, I think the ICA's representation serves more people here than meets the eye. I agree that they seemed to be funded initially by some TM interests, but they separated themselves from those interests in order to gain credibility, and to purify who and what they should represent.

The various issues that the ICA have taken on are important to ALL domainers, not just big portfolio holders. I was surprised to read that sentiment above. The ICA have aligned themselves with fundamental domainer rights, needs, and interests. Not trying to be a spokeperson for them, but I do think the ICA (and Phil Corwin) deserve acknowledgement for the good work done over the past two years.

As far as fees, I agree there is merit in a more affordable entry level, maybe $79/yr or $99/yr. Having more members would seem to carry weight down the road as the organization tries to expand or pursue some call to action that requires many members to do something in unison.

 

[SpareDomains]

The ICA might be all we have, but they definitely don't have our interests in mind. Even if they offer a cheaper membership, I doubt people will be flocking to join, because most people know that their true agenda isn't about domaining in general, but rather preserving the interests of the wealthy domainers. Sometimes these interests overlap... but sometimes they kick in your front door.

With their current pricing structure the majority of their members would be wealthier domainers, I think it is normal to have the interests of those funding your progress, can you get a lawyer to defend you in court without paying them? Unless it's a bullshit slip and fall guaranteed settlement television attorney I doubt anyone is gonna go to work on your concerns for free unless it's a public defender and to them your just a number as they are overloaded with work.

Reading over the comments above, I think the ICA's representation serves more people here than meets the eye. I agree that they seemed to be funded initially by some TM interests, but they separated themselves from those interests in order to gain credibility, and to purify who and what they should represent.

The various issues that the ICA have taken on are important to ALL domainers, not just big portfolio holders. I was surprised to read that sentiment above. The ICA have aligned themselves with fundamental domainer rights, needs, and interests. Not trying to be a spokeperson for them, but I do think the ICA (and Phil Corwin) deserve acknowledgement for the good work done over the past two years.

As far as fees, I agree there is merit in a more affordable entry level, maybe $79/yr or $99/yr. Having more members would seem to carry weight down the road as the organization tries to expand or pursue some call to action that requires many members to do something in unison.

I agree and feel they should consider a new pricing structure as 100's of voices are stronger than a handful.

 

[Ronald Regging]

With their current pricing structure the majority of their members would be wealthier domainers, I think it is normal to have the interests of those funding your progress, can you get a lawyer to defend you in court without paying them? Unless it's a bullshit slip and fall guaranteed settlement television attorney I doubt anyone is gonna go to work on your concerns for free unless it's a public defender and to them your just a number as they are overloaded with work.

I agree with you... I guess my real contention comes from the fact that they try to pass themselves off as a non-profit organization. I guess it's just that when I typically think of non-profit, I do in fact think of an organization who is out to help the little guy... I envision an organization whose membership structure is INCLUSIVE and whose agendas are wide-ranging. This isn't the case with ICA and in fact, even though they claim to have taken on the special interest groups, in reality, they are nothing more than a special interest group, funded by deep pockets... As carlton pointed out, there were a lot of credibility issues with TM interests and I believe some issues with tax classifications and other agendas and whathaveyou. Honestly, I haven't been followign too closely. I was a big fan of DNOA back in it's heyday, because I think it had the interests of the actual domainers in mind.

I generally am just not trusting of special interest groups and people who claim to have my interests in mind... lol. I might be biased.

 

[Name Trader]

If DNOA couldn't make it pay on their fees, I don't see 1000 people signing up at $20 without any rights.

 

[Peter]

As far as fees, I agree there is merit in a more affordable entry level, maybe $79/yr or $99/yr. Having more members would seem to carry weight down the road as the organization tries to expand or pursue some call to action that requires many members to do something in unison.

What does iut matter if their entry fees were $1 or $1000? if you have no rights at all and basically just have a right to display their seal then that membership is worthless. All you would be doing is help to fund what companies such as SEDO actually want the ICA to do, not what you want them to do.

 

[Carlton]

What does iut matter if their entry fees were $1 or $1000? if you have no rights at all and basically just have a right to display their seal then that membership is worthless. All you would be doing is help to fund what companies such as SEDO actually want the ICA to do, not what you want them to do.

Peter - The ICA are advocating for domain registrant rights and protections with ICANN. They are actively working to confront inappropriate UDRP rulings resulting from complainant over-reaching, as well as to squash the URS and URT which would likely burden you and others with frivolous attacks on your domain registrations. The ICA draft letters, make presentations and personal appearances in a number of policy-making forums in an effort to clarify the important distinction between legit domaining vs. cybersquatting. In other words, they are the voice of reason for all domainers in a world in which domain registrant rights are being challenged & reduced.

You say membership is worthless, but the ICA (above any other organization) is working to protect the rights and interests of domainers and the domain name industry.

 

[Ronald Regging]

You say membership is worthless, but the ICA (above any other organization) is working to protect the rights and interests of domainers and the domain name industry.

The simple fact is that they aren't working to protect our rights and interests. They are working to protect the rights and interests of major domaining companies. Yes, some of these interests will overlap, but a lot of my interests as a domainer are far different and at direct odds with those interests of companies such as Sedo. It's in my best interest to know what percentage I get paid in parking from PPC revenue. It's in their best interest not to tell me. Their interest is to keep domaining viable and collect as much money from domainers as possible.

Why not let them foot the bill? It's a simple cost of doing business. If domaining becomes impossible due to legislation, those companies lose a lot more than we do.

I'm simply not going to contribute money to an organization that when it comes down to it, will put the needs of a domaining company ahead of mine. Give me an organization that is for the people and I will gladly join, as I did with DNOA.