Laos gonna take back 1 char .la domains from domainer?

[owntype]

UPDATES:

After my enquiry, INFO WAS CONFIRMED BY WWW.LA

Hi ***

that is right. No renewals will be accepted for .LA domain names.

Kind regards,
Jon

Then I emailed back to ask will this affect other premium .la domains, I got this reply.


Hi ***,

only one-letter .LA domain names are affected.

Regards,
Jon

One letter? but it seems one number .la also shows Status:RENEW PROHIBITED

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Checking whois record, all 1 char .la domains has got "Status:RENEW PROHIBITED"

What does this mean?

Also, I saw from another forum, that a 1 char .la domainer has received the following email from domain registrar:

Dear Mr. *****

LA Names have placed the above domain name on the "serverRenewProhibited" status code. Apparently, the registration of this domain was allowed in contravention of the rules laid down by the Lao Government.
The domain will continue to be registered and to resolve until the expiry date (14-Dec-2007), upon which it will be deleted and may not be renewed.

I apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Please let me know if you require any further assistance or have any questions regarding this matter.

Anyone can confirm this info?

 

[accent]

Another apparent blow to the integrity of the domain system. No talk of refunds or compensation. Just {poof}, if this story is true, your prize (and formerly valuable) domain no longer exists. I too would be very interested in further information. This just does not seem ethical.

 

[htmlindex]

I haven't heard of this, but if it's true it would suck big time to anyone who owns them. If I had one of those names, I'd sell asap.

LA Names have placed the above domain name on the "serverRenewProhibited" status code. Apparently, the registration of this domain was allowed in contravention of the rules laid down by the Lao Government.

Hmmm, but isn't www.la saying that the .LA extention is now the officially the internet address for Los Angeles?

.LA is the official internet address for Los Angeles, the world's first city to receive this accolade.

 

[Coopey]

Hmmm, but isn't www.la saying that the .LA extention is now the officially the internet address for Los Angeles?

Doesn't make it true...

I could say .sc is the new extension for Scotland. Buy .sc domains from www.register.sc in time for Scottish independance in 2010!

 

[ToryC103]

Someone said this is an unethical move....??

Well, it's the nation of Laos, what can we expect? Democracy and Free Speech? They are just wishing you were in their country so they could steal your domain and then burn your house down! "That will teach you not be smart no more, Round Eye!"

 

[accent]

Never been there but I hear that Laos is a very friendly and low pressure country. The government - well....?

Still and all the .LA registry wants people to buy their domain names, and they are marketing them to Los Angeles, although I have yet to see any evidence that the city or county is paying any attention. If they want people to buy their names then they had better have a reliable product.

Let us not forget that there is no verification that anything is happening to owners of 1 character .LA names - I was not aware that they even existed before this.

 

[fonzie_007]

The domaining industry truly is the wild west-just about anything goes. The one thing we are blessed with is the chance for astronomical profits. Along with that potential benefit comes risk. In this case, there is a good lesson to be learned regarding ccTLDs. The domains are only as safe as the registry that sponsors the extension. Before dropping large sums of money on domains, make sure you do your research. Similar things have occured with the Isle of Man extension.

 

[AdoptableDomains]

From the wording of the letter, it sounds like they don't allow single letter .la's but somehow a bug allowed the registration anyway. Instead of saying okay we took your money for something you shouldn't have gotten, they should have said here's a refund of your original fee. To keep the reg fee for a domain without a future seems like a ripoff.

As previously stated though, when you register ccTLD domains, you live by the rules, ethics, and stability of the sponsoring government.

 

[owntype]

UPDATES:

After my enquiry, INFO WAS CONFIRMED BY WWW.LA

Hi ***

that is right. No renewals will be accepted for .LA domain names.

Kind regards,
Jon

 

[sibaong]

:td:

SEDO
K.LA - Previous Offers for this Domain: 5
M.LA - Previous Offers for this Domain: 8
P.LA - Previous Offers for this Domain: 12

:notme:

 

[circa1850]

Don't be at all surprised if the Laotian domain agency ends up auctioning these off.

There simply seems to be some other ulterior motive to such a move. Perhaps they know now what a single character domain can bring on the open market.

 

[htmlindex]

Instead of saying okay we took your money for something you shouldn't have gotten, they should have said here's a refund of your original fee. To keep the reg fee for a domain without a future seems like a ripoff.

I agree, they should refund the money to the people that own these domains

 

[RogueWriter]

Don't be at all surprised if the Laotian domain agency ends up auctioning these off.

There simply seems to be some other ulterior motive to such a move. Perhaps they know now what a single character domain can bring on the open market.

:imho: exactly right.

 

[accent]

Don't be at all surprised if the Laotian domain agency ends up auctioning these off.

There simply seems to be some other ulterior motive to such a move. Perhaps they know now what a single character domain can bring on the open market.

If they were to re-sell those domains it would do far more damage to the credibility of the extension than they would gain in proceeds. If the one character names were registered by mistake (there is a new company running the .LA registry) then they should at least refund the registration and renewal fees, although really they should honor the commitment made.

.LA is in a position to become the second most popular open-use CCTLD after .TV. The way to accomplish that would be to create agreements with the city and county of Los Angeles, and perhaps the state of Louisiana. If the registry has a history of reneging on their domains, then such agreements are unlikely.

 

[kev]

single letter names are very valuable so it would be worth defending them. could a registrant take the .la registry to court over this?

 

[AdoptableDomains]

.LA is in a position to become the second most popular open-use CCTLD after .TV. The way to accomplish that would be to create agreements with the city and county of Los Angeles, and perhaps the state of Louisiana. If the registry has a history of reneging on their domains, then such agreements are unlikely.

Yes, there are a lot of people in Los Angeles and Louisiana. However, I don't think it's in any position to become the second most popular open ccTLD. I'd take .ws or .cc any day over .la. Now, if .la were remarketed as Latin America sort of like .asia or .eu have done on a continental basis, I might agree. However, even for that, Latin America seems to lag behind in internet use and household income to become a lucrative market.

single letter names are very valuable so it would be worth defending them. could a registrant take the .la registry to court over this?

Yes... but the real question is could you win? Odds are even though it was registered, some TOS paragraph probably lets them off the hook. If you think you could win by going around them to the Laos government, that would likely be an exercise if futility.

 

[Sam]

Well, I am pretty sure this site owner will be sad:

Alexa Traffic Rank for c.la: 4,741

OUCH. I dunno where you could get a replacement name. Poor guy.

 

[markmiddleton]

If this really is the case, which it seems it is, it has that has turned me off any investment into any potential .la names or buys, which I was looking at just yesterday as a matter of fact. (a couple of three letter domains).

Personally I would sue them if I had a .la name of significant value.

Does this mean 2 letter .la's are next? Who knows but if you own one, I wouldn't be sitting on a one year contract thats for sure.

 

[italiandragon]

I warned people that .la was Lasos and NOT Los Angeles. Before you choose your investments, be sure to know the rules.
ccTlds are great, except the ones that try to associate to other meanings.