Battle For Control Of .au Domain 200
batty writes: "The Sydney Morning Herald has this article about how Robert Elz, the bloke who connected Australia to the internet in 1984, is refusing to hand domain name authority over to auDomain Administration, the body set up by the politician who introduced Internet censorship to Australia. They're not complaining that Mr. Elz is refusing to hand over control, they just can't handle him refusing to even give them an answer. That's a pretty loud 'Bugger Off' in my book. It is largely due to Mr. Elz's work that Australia doesn't have a 'cybersquatting' problem. I'm not entirely sure what to make of this quote: 'There is almost no litigation in that area ... But we feel the time has come to move on .'"
plusses and minusses (Score:1)
No judgements made....plusses and minuses....
Privatisation? (Score:1)
Is that the system that screwed up California's electricity supply, and England's rail system? Yeah, I heard of that.
Inside the mind of Robert Elz (Score:1)
He was an online panelist in a discussion of the hyped up sell off of com.au to MelbourneIT that was held by the Four Corners (current affairs) program on Auntie ABC (the national broadcaster in Australia).
Check out the forum comments [abc.net.au].
And for a glimpse at his sense of humour, try RFC 1924 [faqs.org]. He really had me going!
Re:"Bugger Off" from me as well!! (Score:1)
I can see why it looks this way to an outsider, but you've got it wrong. The US celebrates individualism and the resulting diversity. We don't HATE people just because they are different from us, even if they do choose the "NFL" attitude. Not all Americans are the same; we don't have nor cling to a national identity.
Braggadoccio and macho sell well in the media (and apparently overseas too, which is why you are so familiar with it) but it should be fairly obvious that it is not unique to the US since we as English speakers had to go outside of the language several times to borrow the words to describe it.
your brought up on it "Im da man", "I am the greatest", "You can't play me" etc.
Another thing we Americans don't tend to do is to attempt to characterize the people of other countries and explain not only how bad they are, but why as if we are experts on what it's like to grow up in a place that we didn't grow up in.
We in Australia really don't give a shit how good you think you are
apparently, you do give a shit since it makes you HATE ... your word.
This means we draw a fine line between confidence and arrogance.
Just as a usage note, that's a solid line. The expression "drawing a fine line" means that it is subtle what the difference is, and the argument you present does not hinge on subtlety. Or wait, maybe it is a subtle point: are you claiming you presented this confidently, rather than arrogantly? :)
Anal Retention (Score:2)
T H I S I S A L L W R O N G (Score:2)
Mr Elz as you can see from the flurry of diatribe thats popped up in the forum, is not well liked here in .au
Cybersquatting is not a problem for .com.au simply because you needed to have an RBN (and recently at least an ABN with a listed trading name) in order to register the domain name.
Dont think that he is being some matyr for the cause, hes just being his usual pain in the friggen ass.
The same was in .cz 2 years ago (Score:2)
The similar situation was in the .cz TLD (Czech
Republic) about two or three years ago. The positive thing was, that the registration rules
were very strict (for example: only one domain
for one subject), there was no cybersquatting, etc.
But this approach was unbearable, because there always were people who did not agree with the TLD maintainer's decision. So the CZ-NIC (the administrative maintainer of .cz TLD) decided to
make the rules more liberal, and charge maintainance fee
for every domain. At first, there was a huge
explosion of new registrations, but after few
months, the situation calmed down a bit and now
it is perfectly OK.
So the "enlightened" ruler of the TLD is a good thing (especially from the technical point of view), but I think a liberal approach makes more people happy (even though the technical status of many zones in .cz sucks).
I've met the guy (Score:5)
He is the sole reason the .au namespace has any coherency. He has been quite passionate about a logical name space. For this reason, all the illogical losers who couldn't handle his rules colonised the .com domain, which was/is run on a pure "cash for crap" basis. I wish he ran the entire Internet!
He could have sold out ages ago for heaps of cash, but hasn't. He is confounding the "greed is good" people. I think it's a hoot!
But I don't expect it to last. In times like these the politicians (bless their black wizened hearts) will find some way to take .au off him. Then the last defender of sanity will be gone, and the .au part of the Internet can be pillaged, just like the rest of it.
Re:you can't register *.id.au (Score:1)
I'm not saying it's right, or elegant, or groovy, but that's how it's supposed to work.
That, or go get yourself a cheap com, net or org.
Re:So *he's* the guy! Yes, move on... (Score:5)
It may not be particularly sexy, but that's where you fit in to the
...j
Re:System 12 *IS* owned by VA. (Score:2)
And in this particular case, it is owned by VA. "Propaganda" is Bowie J. Poag's project, formerly hosted by VA. He moved the project after strong disagreements with them, but they still retain control of everything else that was in Propaganda's name, like that domain.
Re:Domain names suck anyway (Score:1)
Re:Domain names suck anyway (Score:1)
slashdot.org is 12 characters. www. brings it to 16. 64.28.67.150 is 12 characters. Which is easier to remember, Slashdot.org or 64.28.67.150?
And hell, I find slashdot.org a lot easier to type than 64.28.67.150.
Re:Guardian (Score:5)
While I agree with the basic policies, I really do not like the guy at all. Strikes me as a one of those old sniveling monarchs who would cut peoples heads off if they brought him bad news or looked at him the wrong way. I certainly agree that he should have the authority taken off him because he is not worthy of it.
Stick in the mud (Score:4)
This attitude realy sucked and definitely held back Australia's entry into the commercial domain on the internet, ultimately hurting the development of that type of business here.
On a side issue I notice the govt has decided to ban internet gambling here - except horse races (as they have a mechanism for taxing that). The funny thing was many pokies machines use the internet for monitoring them and the wording of the draft legislation would then ban most pokies machines in Oz which via tax are a big revenue earner for the govt!!! The Prime Minister was heard to quickly assure the gambling industry (non internet!) that the draft would be ammended! He said something about "unforseen loophole" - only he meant they *wanted* a loophole and had not forseen to add it.
my 2 cents worth
kre is okay, get off his back (Score:3)
I don't know Robert personally, but I have met him at a couple of lunches for netbsd types. He's just a nice guy with a grey beard. Chris Disspain must have annoyed him somehow.
I am on the auDA DNS Competition panel, and realistically, it is time for Robert to give it over. It's just that he doesn't recognise auDA's authority. auDA has been inclusive. Each of the panels have 30 people on them from all walks of life, including those who represent - in my opinion - fringe interests. It's been a very interesting experience.
The Competition and Name panels have taken public comments, and the Competition panel has a meeting tomorrow to revise our final report based upon the submissions received. That's a public process done right.
As for privacy and anti-squatting, we are more strongly in favor of privacy and stricter on anti-squatting than the current rules, so the fears of delivering this stuff to the hands of big business are unfounded. WHOIS data will be severerly truncated to remove the ability to farm it for e-mail addresses, and includes strict agreements to prevent harvesting by registries or registrars. The consumer protection is going to be even stronger, based upon public input (and our own feelings on the matter as DNS consumers). We are also imposing minimum technical standards on the proposed single registry to make it extremely available, unlike munnari, which is just a Sun workstation running dns, ftp and whatever other jobs kre feels like running up.
auDA's inclusiveness and openness is a valid a reason as any for their legitimacy to obtain .au. In my opinion, it's time for the Internet to grow up in Australia.
Re:Do u have any idea how long it takes to get a . (Score:2)
Get rid of Elz!! It takes 3 months to get a .au (Score:3)
When Internet Names Australia took control of the .com.au domain, that time shrank to 24 hours (premium service) or a couple of days (standard service).
Now, Elz only controls the .org.au domain and surprise surprise, you have to wait at least 3 months to get a .org.au domain.
Meanwhile, all us Aussies who would like personal domain names or would like to register a domain name for our local organistation or club are forced to sit around and twiddle our thumbs waiting for Elz to get off his arse and do something about our request. Either that, or go for a .com or .org.
Elz is your typical academic - disconected from the real world. He is well past his use-by date and the sooner he is replaced by an organistation whose task it is to handle domain name requests the better.
For the record and to his credit, Elz has been handling the .org.au requests by himself as a 'second job'. I believe he isn't paid directly by the University of Melbourne for this work and for this I salute him. However, he should have voluntarily given up control of the .au domain names a long time ago.
Do u have any idea how long it takes to get a .au? (Score:4)
Previously Elz handled all .au domain names and it took around 9 months (yes nine months) to get a domain name. Then Melbourne IT took over and the wait time dropped to 24 hours (premium service) or a couple of days (standard service).
Meanwhile, Elz still looks after the .org.au service and you can still expect months of delays before you get (if you get) allocated a .org.au.
So frankly, while Elz admirably served a purpose at the start, he is well past his use-by date and the sooner he is ditched (since he doesn't seem to want to go voluntarily) the better for the Australian IT industry.
Re:Domain names suck anyway (Score:2)
That said, I still think it's easier to remember slashdot.org than an IP address, and as someone has already pointed out, IPv6 nullifies the argument.
--
Re:Squatting high and low.. (Score:1)
Perhaps you should take your beef up with him instead of publicly insulting VA.
Re:He's still alive (Score:1)
Are you still recovering from dealing with that fscking submit program? I know I am. . .
Your fellow honours student, in case you've forgotten . . .
Go you big red fire engine!
He's still alive (Score:2)
Even within the Melbourne University CS department where he works (as a sysadmin, not an academic) he's legendary for his reclusiveness and the fear he strikes into academics afraid of losing their disk quota . . .
I only ever met him once - to ask him about monitoring the departmental network for faults. He's actually quite friendly and answered my dumb questions with a good deal of patience, once I had spent a week tracking him down. However, I have no doubt that he is impossible for non-technical people to deal with, because he appears to have had the part of the brain that deals with political matters removed at birth. He just doesn't care.
Go you big red fire engine!
Re:"Bugger Off" from me as well!! (Score:2)
I reccomend that every american should spend 1 week in Sydney or even do what I did and tour a very little (the tourist part) of the outback. It makes you realize that Oz is a very different place, both in people and life.
Re:"Bugger Off" from me as well!! (Score:1)
Hundreds of years? Talking about the Australian Aboriginies I take it... Seeing Asutralia had its 100th birthday (since Federation) just this year...
Re:.id.au (Score:1)
Re:Some facts and opinions (Score:1)
So if I walk down to my local Ministry of Fair Trading, register a business name of "Cars", I should be entitled to cars.com.au? Under the current rules this is prohibited. However some slip through such as news.com.au.
I guess another example on the converse as to why the rules need some work: There is a geographic rule that says that you can not register a .com.au that is the name of a place. This is enforced by using the postcode list of suburbs.
Domains like sydney.com.au are already registered because they were applied for before the rule was implemented. So many of the "premium" place names this rule is designed to protect are already gone.
However, Perth Airport can not register perthairport.com.au. Why? Because they have their own suburb called "Perth Airport". Arguably they should be allowed to use this domain.
Whether or not News Corp deserves news.com.au is up for debate but as it stands the rules are inconsistently applied and need review.
Another rule with potentially problematic side-effects is the derivation rule, where you can use an abbreviation of your official name for a domain, which means any subset of letters in your name can be used as long as they are in order. However a company called "Harry's Parrot Seed Exporters" could register hotsex.com.au. This is against the spirit of the derivation rule, but on the flip side the Salvation Army can not register "salvos.com.au" because it is not a derivative of the letters in their full name.
Re:Some facts and opinions (Score:1)
Both apple.com.au and orange.com.au would probably fail under Section 3.8 [inww.com] of the com.au allocation rules. Orange [orange.net.au] also fails Section 3.7 because it is the name of a place [octec.org.au].
I believe apple.com.au was registered before these rules came into effect (it was registered in 1995 or earlier).
Some facts (Score:5)
auDA was not set up by the politician that created Australia's Internet censorship laws. It was setup by the Australian Internet community. It is a non-profit industry association, not a government department. All of our members are people who are interested in the .au domain, and we are all working toward moving .au forward.
auDA does however work with the government to ensure they are happy with what we are doing. Under the Telecommunications Act in Australia which governs the DNS in Australia, the government can forcefully take control of running .au, which would not be ideal. I would rather have an Internet respresentative group running .au than the government. Therefore it is essential that auDA liaise with the government to ensure there are satisfied that they don't need
to invoke this power.
This is the culmination of over five years of ongoing dialogue within the Internet industry. It has the support of all the organisations that run 2LDs under .au (.com.au, .net.au etc.), the Australian government, and most stakeholders.
To suggest "there is nothing wrong with .au so why change" is not true. Firstly, one of the most important things that auDA wants to introduce but can't is competition. The domains in Australia are currently held by monopolies in much the same way Network Solutions held for top level domains until a few years ago. auDA seeks control so it can introduce competition and lower prices for .au domains.
auDA also seeks to be able to introduce new policies for domain eligibility. Whilst the rules have served well, there are changes to be made, loopholes to be closed. One example, currently generic domain names are banned (i.e. cars.com.au) yet many get through (news.com.au) which many people want addressed.
Also, service levels need to be implemented. One bugbear with the Australian Internet community is the level of service for ".org.au" domains. These are administered by Robert Elz himself. It can take months for applications to be accepted or rejected, or for updates to be made. Sometimes you may never receive a response at all - your request remaining in permanent limbo.
Finally, auDA maintains an ongoing dialogue with Robert Elz and to suggest otherwise is wrong. In fact, last year he signed another 2LD he was responsible for - com.au - over to auDA. auDA's approach to ICANN/IANA is just part of the procedure to move forward.
Re:Domain names suck anyway (Score:1)
--
I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations
Re:Now lets all try and some of the FACTS people. (Score:1)
University hackers run UNIX.
Therefore, your conclusion that DNS has to be run by the university hacker in the back is a logical one.
--
Leonid S. Knyshov
Re:He's still alive (Score:2)
I like him already
rark!
Re:Some facts (Score:1)
Re:Litigation (Score:1)
Re:System 12 *IS* owned by VA. (Score:1)
Re:Squatting high and low.. (Score:1)
Squatting high and low.. (Score:2)
It's not just individuals that are squatting on domains. I happen to agree with the guy, but for different reasons--Companies themselves are also engadged in squatting. Hell, our very own beloved VA Linux Systems is still squatting on system12.com/net/org, and has steadfastly refused to relinquish control over it. To make matters worse, they've still got some hokey BS explanation up on propaganda.themes.org [themes.org] that makes people think my project dried up and blew away--Rather than redirect traffic to where they can easilly [tilez.org] obtain them freely, they blackhole it into their own now-dead site.
The squatting issue goes both ways. Its rather hypocritical when Company X accuses someone of squatting on a domain they want when they're doing the same crap themselves.
Cheers,
WIPO won't stop till they own everything (Score:1)
Re:Some facts (Score:1)
Re:So *he's* the guy! Yes, move on... (Score:1)
There's also
.co was the uk/european naming convention,
--
Matt
Re:Litigation (Score:2)
That is patently false. If you are a private individual in Australia, you cannot get a domain name in the
gov.au: Government organisations only.
com.au: Registered businesses only.
net.au: Similar to com.au, but probably reserved for internet providers
org.au: registered nonprofit organisations only.
Nowhere is there room for the private individual who wants a domain name for their own computer.
Mr. Elz has without a doubt had a beneficial effect on the au domain, as is amply illustrated by the near absence of cybersquatting. However, he is only one individual, and can be subject to shortsightedness and personal prejudice. Two examples: businesses could not register domains in
--
Re:Privatisation? (Score:2)
No the system that screwed up California's electricity supply was that politicians decided that they could arbitrarily suspend the laws of supply and demand. The so-called "deregulation" plan set price caps on retail prices, leaving power prodcuers with no means of recouping costs when energy souces became scarce, and their supply prices rose. Additionally, since the retail prices were capped, there was no incentive for people to reduce their usage until the rolling blackouts hit.
The solution would have been to let market forces set the price -- as prices rose during the shortage, people would find ways to conserve and save costs on their own. This is first-semester basic economics, folks.
--
Silly question, but.. (Score:2)
Limiting
Re:Oh.. another way to look at it. (Score:2)
.id.au
Anyone can have one.
I stand corrected. (Score:2)
Oh.. another way to look at it. (Score:5)
Having a
Nobody argues
And as others pointed out,
You aussies should be *happy* your domain name system hasn't been cast to the wolves. It's one of the few run the way it should be.
Risk Management .... (Score:1)
LL
Re:So *he's* the guy! Yes, move on... (Score:1)
Onya Robert E.!!!
dt..
Re:.au Users Perspective (Score:1)
www.mchappyday.com.au (or similar?)
www.burgermeister.com.au
www.pearlharbor.com.au
The first two are both McDonalds sites (I can't remember the proper name of the first one, briefly saw it on a cup) and the second is a site for a movie.
It seems anyone with enough money can get around the .au "restrictions". [sigh]
Re:Stick in the mud (Score:1)
--
Re:.au Users Perspective (Score:1)
www.mchappyday.com.au (or similar?)
www.burgermeister.com.au
www.pearlharbor.com.au
The first two are both McDonalds sites (I can't remember the proper name of the first one, briefly saw it on a cup) and the second is a site for a movie.
It seems anyone with enough money can get around the
All you have to do is register, e.g. McHappyDay Networks as a business name at your local registrar, paying a fee which varies from state to state (here in SA it's $105 for 2 years, I think) and then apply for the domain name using that company name as the company setting up the site. Of course, if you're doing this with the full approval and at the request of McDonald's, you won't get sued
Re:Keep the government off of his back (Score:1)
Re:Oh.. another way to look at it. (Score:2)
IIRC correctly
You aussies should be *happy* your domain name system hasn't been cast to the wolves. It's one of the few run the way it should be.
The only possible issue being if there is a need for additional second level domains. For catagories of Australian entities not currently sensibly catered for.
If people really want
The problem with
Re:you can't register *.id.au (Score:2)
The question cannot be answered without knowing what the persons/organisations/entities are.
Re:MU domain too is for sales and like.. (Score:2)
Nor is this the only example. The situation with the
Re:Domain names suck anyway (Score:1)
Elz Seemed Pretty Reasonable to Me (Score:2)
I asked
He said in part
I would guess that if you don't get a reply then your request is declined.
the major problem with arguing with someone like Robert Elz is that he's right. His decisions are ethically just, logically sound and save everyone having to consult a lawyer.
You know that you're wrong when you're arguing with Robert Elz
Re:.au Users Perspective (Score:1)
shades of gray (Score:2)
a benevolent dictator beats a corrupt democracy any day.
Industry!=community (Score:1)
Industries expecting to make a buck from the Internet (even if their representative organisation doesn't) shouldn't be the only players to have control over the .au namespace.
Xix.
Re:"Bugger Off" from me as well!! (Score:1)
Mr. Elz may be helped by a tendency in Australia (as in other British-dominated areas) to have a greater acceptance of an "orderly benevolent dictatorship" within which some rights are provided based upon good reason, but may not be strictly guaranteed - as long as things work within reason.
On the other hand, simultaneously there is a mistrust of the same kind of system. Social engineering efforts from England invited abuse and the "toadie prefect" sort of situation. Government bureaucracy won't be trusted/appreciated when authority is applied capriciously by a pointy-headed control-minded individual.
Mr. Elz is in the middle. He doesn't work for the government, but he is governing matters of some importance. Is he a benevolent dictator providing order? Or a pointy-headed control freak acting by whim? Depends who is answering...
I don't know much about Mr. Elz, but I feel that concentrating the actual decision-making of an entire nation on DNS issues in the hands of a single individual (at least without any review) may be unwise, as capricious behavior could not really be verified or prevented. OTOH he built something carefully which ought not be destroyed, and it seems crude to sieze it from him. Perhaps Australia should have another top level domain - not really fair though...
Re:Remember the Homestead Act? (Score:2)
LS
Re:Keep the government off of his back (Score:2)
While we saw a lot of useless or even counter-productive "e-businesses" in Silicon Valley, it is only relatively recently that it has been possible to do something as simple as going to buy "commodity" from "commodity".com.au.
I'm the consumer. I want a service - if I have to use a search engine to send flowers to my Grandmother, or to find a place to buy a network card, what the fuck do I care about Elz' sense of fair play? It does Australia no good (nor the internet as a global entity) if the easiest choice for me to make is to go to pricewatch and from there to some US site that is happy to ship.
He's alive. It's probably the ORBS RBL. (Score:2)
The ORBS RBL has Robert Elz blacklisted because they're filtered away from his nets. (He doesn't like them trying to relay mail through his mailer.)
I suspect that auDA is an ORBS subscriber and just aren't getting his mail as a result.
Slashdot is the solution (Score:2)
What domain should Sue's 'Roo Stew In a Shoe Company have?
( ) suesroostewinashoe.com.au
( ) pocketlunch.com.au
( ) savetheroos.org.au
( ) cmdrtacosinthecan.net.au
Democracy at work!
Re:Do u have any idea how long it takes to get a . (Score:3)
You fill out the form correctly with the information they want, it gets a pretty decent turn-around. Although I was somewhat shocked by the speed, average
Honestly, the service/domains are free (yes, that's costed nothing), I am quite content to wait around a bit for a deal like that.
The rules that apply, if your group more or less fits the conditions for getting a
Other then the fact that I actually read an article like this in the Melbourne Age on the day of the Telstra 3GB cap announcement, this has been taken slightly out of context, somewhat.
Give 'em .au (Score:4)
Re:Domain names suck anyway (Score:3)
Umm, 1965?
www.slashdot.org, (31 characters) or 64.28.67.150 (10 characters).
I count 8 significant characters, or 11 if you include the "org". More importantly it parses into two words (slash-dot), which is how the human memory works (we don't store strings of characters -- witness the miserable spelling on this site). AND those two words are somewhat related to the content of the site (brain already had some connections from "geeky stuff" to "slash dot"). Compared to 10 numbers (and there are actually only 9 in that IP address anyway, but a max of 12) 2 words are WAY easier to remember.
And it gets even MORE fun with IPv6...
.au Users Perspective (Score:2)
While it may be true that cybersquatting isn't a problem in this country, it's often been noted by Australians that it's too hard to get a domain here. The commercial community is new enough that the '.com' hegemony is really rife. '.com.au' is a long enough extension to a domain. Not many people use '.net.au' or '.org.au' because it's just too obscure.
It's not just money here, you actually have to have a company registered with that name. It's not so bad for this country, but if everyone else did this now, the Internet wouldn't be what it is, but controlled almost solely by corporate commercial interests.
In isolation, there's never been much of an alternative offered in Australia. So people like us that don't want to register companies are polluting the top level domain space.
Sorry if this sounds like it's not going anywhere, but what I'm pointing to is that it's driving us to further exploit the top level domain. It's not good that the US has such a stranglehold on it. The namesystem needs to be freed up. The policies here are too restrictive for Free Speech, no matter how much lawyers hate them.
Re:Domain names suck anyway (Score:3)
phenomenal troll my friend...no-one seems to have got it even with the intentional mistakes.
nice work
Re:System 12 *IS* owned by VA. (Score:2)
I have domain names of my own, and I've registered a domain for my boss -- Even though I did it through a work machine they were our Private domains, paid for with our money. If somebody tried to confuse my personal domain and the stuff I did with it and the work of my company, I would have told them to go get a brain.
Now, I'm not saying that VA does NOT control system12. I'm just saying that the guilt by association thing doesn't quite cut it as proof for me.
--
Robert Elz (Score:3)
Robert Elz is well known here and I think that he is just great. Keeping
Here in Australia the government is made up of technophobes and economic rationalists. The Prime Minister would sell his wife to Armenia for landfill if he could get a good price.
Robert Elz is our last bulwark against Senator Alston and his kind. If Mr Elz ever gives in (or is broken) then the
We have seen bizarre and unenforceable internet laws introduced left and right over here. Mr Elz is the only person left with both profile and credibility.
The situation looks strange from overseas but here it is very important.
Lord KRE (Score:3)
It should also be pointed out that Robert Elz was one of the first to connect Australia to the Internet, that's WHY he's in charge of
Here's one of his famous usenet postings about the DNS:
Confusing article (Score:2)
I read the article on the Sydney Morning Herald's web site, and came away more confused than anything else.
The quotation from Peter Coroneos (which I am assuming is the hotly-debated part) is truncated, which makes it rather hard to determine what he means. Is there a complete transcript of his interview? That would hopefully make things clearer.
Also, I'm curious as to why Australia's National Office of the Information Ecomony [noie.gov.au] wants Robert Elz to relinquish stewardship of the
On an demi-related subject, it doesn't appear this is even a new subject. A quick search of the Internet found an article dated November, 1998 at the Law Office of Phillips Fox [phillipsfox.com.au] discussing this very issue.
Perhaps someone who is an involved party could provide more information.
Regards,
Aryeh Goretsky
- - -
Re:Some facts (Score:2)
Kind of like ICANN?
Re:Stick in the mud (Score:2)
This attitude realy sucked and definitely held back Australia's entry into the commercial domain on the internet, ultimately hurting the development of that type of business here.
What? They missed the dot.com boom? Missing the dot.com boom from late entry is like showing up late to a feast to find all of the festering stinking poisoned corpses.
Man did they miss out.
Re:Stick in the mud (Score:2)
Robert Elz is annoyingly elusive (Score:2)
So *he's* the guy! Yes, move on... (Score:3)
- You can register a
- You can register a
- You can register a
- You can register a
- (I'm sure there is a military one as well)
Guess which ones's I'm not? This is crazy! How are you suppost to register a domain for personal use? Their solution is to register a
Also, it should be
Zilch.
Has somebody remembered to check ... (Score:5)
After all, the guy isn't answering anybody's questions, 1984-2001 is a long time (at least 170 Internet years) and the ones currently selling namespaces in the .au domain are the Melbourne University ...
<CONSPIRACY_THEORY>Maybe the guy died and the Melbourne University has covered it up to keep selling .au domains</CONSPIRACY_THEORY>
Start digging up the Univerity's Campus, there must be a corpse in there somewhere ...
Why don't they just (Score:2)
.id.au (Score:2)
Sure, you might think that zilch.net.au is cooler, but we're talking a globally accessible namespace here.. cluttering it with vanity names seems kinda silly...
Anyways, go to www.id.au and check out your options.
Re:Domain names suck anyway (Score:2)
Re:.au Users Perspective (Score:2)
It's not just money here, you actually have to have a company registered with that name.
What's the situation with respect to a registered small business?
Keep the government off of his back (Score:2)
Wow. There really are people out there from the days when the net was run by interested, concerned people who aimed to do a good job rather than bend over for the corporate bum's rush.
And suprise, suprise, the Austrailian government can't stand that. Now who'd have thought that of the government eh? :)
Typically, when they find out they can't steal his authroity legally, the government goes to ICANN, another globalist coterie dedicated to one-world politics rather than the genuine welfare of those it is supposed to represent.
Hmmm, I wonder what ICANN will decide? Let me think...
Basically, the government want their slice of the cash cow that USian corporate greed has started, and they are being frustrated by a man who is a true hero of the people. If only more people had stood up to the government, maybe we wouldn't have such a shitty situation today, with unaccountable bodies like ICANN finding for their corporate pals each and every time.
Re:"Bugger Off" from me as well!! (Score:2)
It is dangerous to lump 284 million US citizens together with the attitude of some apelike football player.
Traditional US values have been similar; support for the underdog and a dislike of arrogant Europe. The is why we have the laws we have today.
But the garbage in a river floats to the top, and our media and government are run by people with large egos and small brains. And almost all sports players are idiots the world over.
Re:Litigation (Score:2)
Re:Slashdot is the solution (Score:2)
( ) CowboyNeal.com.au!!!
Tongue-tied and twisted, just an earth-bound misfit, I
Robert Elz (Score:2)
This is the biggest squat of all.... (Score:2)
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0x00
Cybersquatting is real trouble (Score:2)
I'v had more than a few personal encounters with cybersquatters in the past, up to a level that I'v had to handle the issue with WIPO.
Judging from the news I'v been hearing about Australian gov. attitude towards the Internet.. this would be 'the final nail to the coffin'..
To me it seems quite clear: Internet has lived past the age where "information can be truly free" what ever that means. Usually it has something to do with privacy and personal independence. I am really hoping that one of these p2p/alike new communication systems out there will re-establish parts of the original Internet spirit: let the people be independent and in control!
.km
Remember the Homestead Act? (Score:5)
Elz built .au; it's only right that he continue to control it. His silence speaks volumes:
By remaining silent, he grants no legitimacy to the land grab.By way of analogy, imagine a government deciding that it's just too dangerous for something as important as, say, Linux to remain under the control of a private individual, rather than a duly-appointed government contractor. Then imagine the sorts of quotes you'd see from the contractor:
Sounds ridiculous, right?Here's an idea: Let the government ask for a whole new domain, called .oz (but there's some folks in Kansas that might have their eyes on that one) that they can administer according to their whims, and leave well enough alone.
Re:Domain names suck anyway (Score:2)
This is one of the dumber things I've read in a long time (basically, since last time you - and by "you" I mean the general class of drooling morons - posted it).
There are about a thousand domain names I can come up with right and type in immediately off the top of my head. This is because they are made up of words that already associate to something in my head.
On the contrary, outside of networks I manage, I doubt I could come up with 20 IP addresses these days.
Memorizing an IP address, though it may be fewer characters, is far harder for the brain. When I learn www.ford.com, I need to remember, basically, zero things. I just follow a simple rule I've already learned and apply it to the name of a company I already know. On the other hand, to learn 164.109.135.183, I have to learn 12 arbitrary digits in an arbitrary order. And 12 is greater than the number of items that can be held in short-term memory, so I have to go to extensive lengths to store it.
Look from the other side (Score:3)
I'd not comment on anybody in the case. I'd like to tell you a story on domain name registration in Hong Kong. (.hk)
The domian name registration was controlled by a University owned commercial sector. They were having their own regulations like one company one domain name, no personal application, and no domain other than
Later Government took over the domain registration business. We did't trust the Government at all, and expected the worst to come. However, they actually make major improvement in domain name registration like allowing one company apply for multiple domain names, personal domain name registration and soon we can apply for domain name other than
The key point is that their work is now accountable. No more dictatorship and there's communication channels accepting suggestions from all different interest parties, and they actually made improvement out of them - not perfect solutions but at least the process of suggestion to improvement is very open, and the outcome is balanced for most interest parties.
I think as long as the domain name registration process is open, fair and accountable it's fine for any one to run it.
"Bugger Off" from me as well!! (Score:5)
a) A HATE of arrogance. Americans encourage the NFL type of attitude, your brought up on it "Im da man", "I am the greatest", "You can't play me" etc.
We in Australia really don't give a shit how good you think you are, coming across as one of us, a mate as such, is much more important. This means we draw a fine line between confidence and arrogance.
2) A desire to back the underdog (backing the "team" given the least chance to "win") and a attitude of general dislike to positions of authority. Basically, we really get the shits when corporations / big companies try to show their muscle on the little guy.
Note that Im not saying these traits are unique or consistent to just Australians but that are something we claim as part of our identity (well the white mans identity anyway ....)
So what has this got to do with the the story I hear you ask????
Well the government is in a pickle here. They can't just demand that Mr Elz hand over his control of the .au domains because that would cause a HUGE public backlash. It would violate both attitudes above.
In a news bulletin I just watched an hour ago, Pizza hut has just realised how dangerous it is to take patriotic type issues to the court (they are fighting against an Aussie pizza company). I'm sure the government is also fully aware of the implications of getting on the wrong side of the public (admittedly the media plays a big role here).
Mr Elz is considered somewhat of a hero for refusing to create the cyber squatting nightmares some countries have. Sure this has also made .au domain names difficult to obtain sometimes (i.e. you have to actually show you're a legit company, want to use the domain for good reasons - shock horror).
Don't bank on the addressing system changing for a while either, if for no other reason than the mess the government would create if it forced the issue (our elections are coming up this year). I for one don't mind Mr Elz controlling the country's system instead the "regulatory" bodies who have done so (*cough*) well overseas.
Registrar competition is good...look at .com, etc. (Score:2)
Now there are places that will register your .com, .net, or .org for $60/2 years, or even less. Competition has definitely helped. Why wouldn't it help in the *.au domains (as long as the namespace is properly regulated)?
Internet Uber Alles? (Score:2)
-CrackElf
Re:Domain names suck anyway (Score:2)
can't people count characters anymore? the only way slashdot requires more than 30 keystrokes is when you type goatse.c^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hwww.slashdot.org
And 64.28.67.150 is 12 keystrokes on MY keyboard.
btw, try slashdot.org without the www, that works too (and is exactly as long as the ip#
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Re:Domain names suck anyway (Score:2)
Domain names exist as a mapping function. Simple examples:
- Slashdot runs on a cluster of machines, so pointing to a single IP confuses the issue.
- A dialup account uses a dynamic IP, whilst a domain name (updated by the dialup) can point to that very dynamic IP, providing a seamless interaction with that machine.
- Multiple domain names can point to a single IP, providing a larger range of services without lowering the number of IP addresses.
There are plenty of other examples, I'm sure.Hope this clue helped.
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McCarrum!
Re:Domain names suck anyway (Score:2)
Yes, www is a nasty prefix. It's ok to type, but everytime some radio or tv person mentions a web site and they go dubya ... dubya .. dubya..(enough already!), i want to slit my throat.
On a visit to France, I learned a refreshing and fast way to say it: waff waff waff. Saves you half a minute.