.TC registry - AdamsNames vs Meridian, what is the outcome?

[Tribulatio]

I have only one .TC domain name, that I use primarily for email purposes. I need to transfer it from the current registrar, and I become aware of a major dispute between AdamsNames, who used to run the registry, and Meridian. AdamsNames accuses Meridian of having attempted to hijack the registry, and warns against registering domain names with them. The dispute was documented on some domain name blogs last March, e.g.:

http://www.thedomains.com/2013/03/1...-of-tc-gd-vc-key-systems-highjacked-our-site/

I remember being in touch with Adams Names people at the time I registered my .TC, years ago. They were handling domain names in a very old-fashioned way, but they were courteous and helpful. Probably no longer the same people in charge.

Anyway, if you look at Adams Names' current website, http://adamsnames.com, you will see their accusations against Meridian. Meridian doesn't mention the dispute on their own website: http://meridiantld.net

Before initiating the transfer, I want to clarify. I have asked the support of the registrar I want to transfer my .TC to, and the reply has been the following one:

If you request a domain transfer it will be requested with Meridian, the only active registry for .TC.​

Since the new registrar knows his business, I assume I can trust him. Still, I would like to understand what really happened, and what the outcome was. Moreover, what happens in case people register through AdamsNames? The irony is that AdamsNames claims that domain names are put in danger in case they are registered through Meridian!

Anyway, non partisan clarification/explanations woulkd be much appreciated. And probably of interest to some other people on this forum as well. I have looked online, but nowhere found a clear answer.

 

[mobilespecialists]

well, this things made me think its generally better if the final registry is no private company but a public organization. Especially with the small countries ccTLDs funny things happen. As far I remember prices can rise some 1000% next year, etc. Funny. As long you dont have your domains there. It depends on how serious the companies are, also some account on how big they are, and on the other hand of course there are also public ccTLDs with a bad reputation.
So with ccTLDs, as long not the top 20, one needs to be careful.

 

[naeng]

Had a .vg domain they apparently don't like which I transferred to them, now it is all gone. Turns out someone is mad at them according to some site thevgwarner.com or something.
Been looking into a lot of this myself, seems like a huge scam if you ask me.

 

[Tribulatio]

Had a .vg domain they apparently don't like which I transferred to them, now it is all gone. Turns out someone is mad at them according to some site thevgwarner.com or something.
Been looking into a lot of this myself, seems like a huge scam if you ask me.

When you write "to them", do you mean Adams' Names or Meridian?

There seems indeed to be a scam, but what is unclear is who is doing what.

 

[naeng]

When you write "to them", do you mean Adams' Names or Meridian?

There seems indeed to be a scam, but what is unclear is who is doing what.

I transferred a domain to Meridian. The website I mentioned earlier shows that Ertan Ulutas moved the AdamsNames domains into his name last year. That way, he could transfer the domains to him whenever he want. And as they say in the release on the adamsnames website, moving the domains to Ertan's name was an unauthorized/criminal act.
Just checked out Pinebrooks Development Ltd. Turns out they where dissolved two years ago for not paying fees to some company. "The Company was automatically struck-off/dissolved on
October 31, 2010 for non-payment of fees for 10 years".
To me it is pretty clear that Ertan took over the domains and the registry. Someone should make IANA re-delegate the entire .VG as this is just one entire mess at the moment.

 

[Tribulatio]

Well, I moved recently my only .TC domain name from Network Solutions to Hexonet (both being well-established registrars), and they used Meridian. Difficult to see the truth, but anyway Meridian seems to be in control of the registry. I assume that large registrars have reasons to consider them as the legitimate registry.

But considering the unclear situation, I would definitely transfer any domain name only to a (well-established) registrar, and not to the registry itself: in case things turn bad, the registrar will (hopefully) make what is necessary in order to keep control of the domain names, especially if paid in advance.

 

[naeng]

Well, I moved recently my only .TC domain name from Network Solutions to Hexonet (both being well-established registrars), and they used Meridian. Difficult to see the truth, but anyway Meridian seems to be in control of the registry. I assume that large registrars have reasons to consider them as the legitimate registry.

But considering the unclear situation, I would definitely transfer any domain name only to a (well-established) registrar, and not to the registry itself: in case things turn bad, the registrar will (hopefully) make what is necessary in order to keep control of the domain names, especially if paid in advance.

Well yeah. And if you look on the IANA whois for .vg, you can see that Adamsnames is listed as the registry technical, but all the domains for .vg is in control by Meridian.
It is indeed safer to use a registrar instead of Meridian. If Meridian starts to mess around with a domain which a registrar is responsible for, they could get issues in their business relationships. Worst case scenario, they would terminate .vg registrations.

 

[Tribulatio]

Maybe an end to the saga in sight regarding .TC? On the websitze of Meridian, the visitor is wecomed with the following notification:

We would like to inform you that the .tc Top Level Domain will be dealt with by NIC TC Registry Ltd, Providenciales, TCI.
​

The website of NIC TC is: http://www.nic.tc. Their address is located in the Turks & Caicos Islands, but since it is a P.O. Box, it does not really say something about the physical location of the managers.

The is no information regarding the relation between Meridian and NIC TC - i.e. if the same people remain in charge under a new name or not. Most of the DNS servers remain in Turkey, but since it is known that .TC has been popular in that country, it does not indicate if .TC actually remains under the management of Turkish people or not.

According to IANA records, the technical contact remains in Turkey: https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/tc.html
Thus it is somewhat unclear. I have no idea if Mr. Ali Yilmaz was associated with the Meridian team or not.

Any clarification regarding what happened would be appreciated. Let's hope this will bring a lasting solution.

In April, KS Registry (Germany) had taken over from Meridian for .VG TLD (see post dated 2014-04-11 on the following page: http://www.ksregistry.com/english/news/news.html)