Zach,
I thank you for the compliment and yes I put a lot of time and energy into the discuss names forum and many fine domainers posted there too. I used to take much pride in the community there.
You are correct also about how I managed to get thru a couple times and implement some new change for the better.
They actually listened to us and that is a good sign of of a great forum.
But something happened and now they don't answer people who want answers.
Member after member asking questions, looking for some explanation and none came forward. The shock of that kind of treatment took a while for some of us to engage.
Today the very best have left and that will surely have a impact on them. Zach, one thing for sure, I am not leaving domaining and what small contribution I can make I will continue to do so. For now I am dedicated to encouraging domain owners to not let these types of actions go without cost.
Industry leaders will only know our influence if we stand up when we are mistreated. As others have stated before me if we allow them to have no regard for the very people who fuel this industry and that is you and me who register the names we will be mistreated in other auction houses too.
Standing together we have a strong voice. That voice is we are important to the industry.
Even if they have an agenda, how they pulled it off is the key to professionalism.
In other words if they had simply stated they don't want such names they do have that right.
But as a industry leader on their landing page you will see a almost dictorial statement.
That names that have any refrence to an adult term even if the name could be used for education purposes are to be labeled by the domain industry as not up to professional standards for the small business community.
In other words they are saying if you want to register under the new terms your name must not have any refrence to perfectly legal activities in America. If you want to have a name in their system called ladiesnight it would be banned!
I think the amount of names taken out is staggering. I remember a few weeks ago Afternic announced they now have over four million names for sale.
The new letter declaring the sale of Afternic yesterday announces they now have a little over one million names! Where did the three million missing names go?
But the real slap in the face to us who have built up their wealth and made the name Afternic a industry leader is the way we are treated when they want to promote their agenda.
Can you imagine how some very successful domainers feel when for years Afternic encouraged them to sell their gambling names and to park them?. They also were happy to charge us domainers a fee to get an appraisal with adult names or gambling names.
I never paid for appraisals as they are worthless in the real world of domains. But Afternic made hundreds of thousands of dollars from domainers with the very names they are banning now.
So if all of this is approved by Afternic and actually encouraged, does it seem rude to you that with no notice at all in one email on one day you are told that the rightous good ol boys at Afternic have announced you own names that are a bad example?.
You are told your names promote hate and violence.
Ha, they should change their name to comedy central as they are really losing it.
Do you like hypocrites?
Think about this. At the same time they are taking out everyones names they are taking in thousands of dollars by appraising the same kind of names and charging a big fee to do so.
Plus they are allowing people to bid on and pay for the names in the auction houses. You would think a big company like that who announced those names are promoting hate and violence would not even allow a sale to go thru.
Pages after pages of the very kind of names deleted were selling daily after the announcement and appraisals were too!.
Hypocrites in my view.
Yes I used to support Afternic with all my energy. Now my hope is you will join me and not support them.
Heres my capper to how silly they behave..
Only six weeks before we received the President of Afternics announcement by Roger Collins, he was on a private yacht doing of all things, playing poker for money with his buddies from the Traffic domain convention they were attending!.
So how does that settle with your sense of right and wrong?
If you are going to declare that poker is a bad image for the domain industry leaders such as Afternic why in the world would you play poker for money with the industry leaders of the auction houses?.
This is no small thing for Afternic.
In my opinion they will never be the same.
Its up to us to make it known we want industry leaders who set the proper example by promoting professionalism and supporting the names we all own.
See the Presidnet of Afternic, Roger Collins gambling on a private yacht only six weeks ago with money probably earned from gambling domains or adult names from the members in Afternic.. scoll down the page you will see the newly converted Afternic President "raking it in".
Heres the link to the dnjournal article only six weeks before Afternic denounces such activity as not being a professional image for domainers.
West Coast Domain Owners Meet at DomainFest LA 2006
You know before the announcement I used to think that photo was cool.
I thought, some day when I sell a big name I want to go to the Traffic convention, as these industry leaders look like a cool bunch of guys, casually playing poker with anyone and having fun.
Now I see that photo and am disgusted about how they treated me and my fellow domain members.
Join me by leaving Afternic.
In my opinion why pet the dog that pisses on your leg.
