regbits

Paragraph 3.6 of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) obligates all ICANN-accredited registrars to submit to ICANN or, at the registrar’s election and expense, to a reputable escrow agent, a copy of the electronic database maintained by the registrar in accordance with paragraph 3.4.1 of the RAA on a schedule, under the terms, and in the format specified by ICANN.

The RAA at paragraph 3.4.1 describes a database containing, for each registered name under a registrar’s sponsorship:

• The name of the Registered Name;
• The names of the primary nameserver and secondary nameserver(s) for the Registered Name;
• The identity of Registrar (which may be provided through Registrar’s website);
• The original creation date of the registration;
• The expiration date of the registration;
• The name and postal address of the Registered Name Holder;
• The name, postal address, e-mail address, voice telephone number, and (where available) fax number of the technical contact for the Registered Name; and
• The name, postal address, e-mail address, voice telephone number, and (where available) fax number of the administrative contact for the Registered Name;
• The name and (where available) postal address, e-mail address, voice telephone number, and fax number of the billing contact; and
• Any other Registry Data that Registrar has submitted to the Registry Operator or placed in the Registry Database under Subsection 3.2 of the RAA.

The attached document reflects an initial attempt to specify the schedule, terms, and format registrars must use to escrow data pursuant to RAA paragraph 3.6.

This document is offered as a “straw man” for further consideration and discussion by the Registrar Data Escrow working group and the larger registrar community. Please feel free to post comments here and I will undertake revisions as appropriate.

Attached file(s):

Draft RDE Specs (v0.1)

Having found myself suddenly buried under hundreds of emails last Sunday, I was finally able to convince the right people that the transfer-questions@icann.org team needed a ticketing system. (And, for that matter, the t-q “team” also needed more than one team member!)

Within 20 minutes of my request (described by some observers as a tantrum), a Transfer-Questions-Triage (t-q-t) team was assembled and a ticketing system was activated.

So this means, for registrars, that you will now begin getting occasional emails from transfer-questions@icann.org in addition to those you receive directly from my address. Thanks in advance for giving these the same attention you give the rest of the emails we send you and for keeping the subject line intact when replying.

Please do share your experiences (whether positive or negative) about this change.

I’ve received a number of emails from registrars asking how and when their customers will be able to transfer names out of Registerfly. Here’s the latest information:

• Registerfly told us on 9 Mar 07 that customers with names on the Registerfly cred can now log into their control panels at registerfly.com to obtain auth-info codes and unlock their names. (Instructions for obtaining an auth code from Registerfly.) Please email me if your customers continue to have problems obtaining auth codes. Screenshots would be helpful.
• Registerfly customers with names on the eNom cred can contact eNom to obtain auth codes and disable transfer-locks. Customers with names at eNom who used Registerfly’s Whois privacy service should be able to get auth codes from either eNom or Registerfly early next week (possibly by 12 Mar 07).
• Registerfly’s port 43 and web-based Whois services are currently not functioning, preventing use of FOAs for .com and .net names. Registerfly has promised to fix this problem as quickly as possible.

I will update this space when there is more to report.

We’re back!

Yes, it has been a (loooong) while since the soft launch of regbits, and I wish I could tell you that our delayed return was caused by our mechanic incessantly tweaking the engine for a few more horsepower, or that we got snowed in by an unexpected blizzard, or that we just forgot to pay the internet bill, but I can’t. The truth is, we’ve just been really busy. And despite the best of intentions, regbits slipped into the black hole for a while.

But with all that’s going on, there is probably no better time to (re)open a new channel of communication to keep you informed. So that’s the plan.

And don’t worry, I’ve already hired a backup team of typing monkeys to keep you informed and entertained in the event regbits falls into the black hole again.