Aardvark Daily
Caveat Emptor for domain name holders
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How would you feel if you bought a brand new car, filled out all the paper-work, paid your money and drove off - only to find out sometime later that the car dealer had registered it in their name instead of yours?

Well that's more or less exactly what's happened to at least one individual who has discovered that the domain name he thought was his, was actually registered to the organisation that was supposed to register it on his behalf.

It is possible for anyone to check the registration details of a domain name using this form at the ISOCNZ web site and anyone who has a domain name is advised to check that these details are what they expect.

This issue, and another in which a user was unaware of the reasons behind the removal of his domain name (proactive.co.nz) from the registry.

According to ISOCNZ, much of the responsibility for ensuring that the correct registration details and compliance with the relevant rules with respect to domain delegation, etc., is the responsibility of the domain holder, however at this stage, a great many domain name holders are completely ignorant of such things. In the case of ensuring the registration details are correct - it's caveat emptor, and becomes an issue between the applicant and the agent which forwards the registration request.

ISOCNZ appear to be aware that there is a need to increase user-awareness of the privileges and responsibilities of domain name registration and use. Plans are afoot to ensure that a form-letter (email) explaining such information is sent to the holder of each and every new domain registered.

The challenge now becomes one of presenting a potentially very confusing and complicated set of details to people who are potentially quite naive, and doing it in such a way which neither patronises nor confounds.

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