Nominet NED election time again

[Edwin]

I think once he realised he had absolutely no power to do anything and was just a token he decided not to bite the hand that was feeding him and started licking it to make sure he carried on being fed. The same will happen to every NED.

And at that point it became as-plain-as-the-nose-on-your-face obvious why he doesn't deserve to get a second crack at the Nominet NED trough. Let somebody else test their principles against Nominet's resilience - maybe they will endure better... Or maybe, just maybe, they will find enough tenacity and grit to actually make a little bit of a difference.

What's worse than voting for an unknown candidate? Voting for a candidate whose principles have clearly shifted dramatically over the course of their tenure (and very quickly, I might add - we're talking months not years).

 

[RobM]

Well it doesn't matter anyway. They have already done everything they wanted - the only thing left is to keep raising prices which they'll do (as they always have) regardless of whose snout is in the trough. At least they keep all members focused on something irrelevant once per year and can claim they're doing their bit. Rather than voting and debating maybe UK members would be better trying to force an overhaul by contacting MPs, media etc. Nominet have strayed so far away from their original remit and upgraded their gravy train to keep themselves on board that all this does is give you the option of deciding which you'd prefer to stand in - cow pats or dog mess. I choose neither.

 

[Whois-Search]

Nominet have just put the candidate list online:

https://www.nominet.uk/about/corporate-governance/agm/#board

ERS will email the statements shortly.

James Bladel from Godaddy is standing.
So he will be getting the first seat

 

[Systreg]

James Bladel from Godaddy is standing.
So he will be getting the first seat

That's the vote settled before the vote then

Also, what's the point in candidate statements, you could have the greatest statement in the world and be the most qualified person for the job, but if you don't own 6 million domains, you ain't getting nowhere, what a completely pointless crock of shite voting system.

 

[RobM]

Lol what an obvious corrupt farce. No doubt some people will still approach it professionally and try to debate the merits - like asking a lamb how it would prefer to be slaughtered.

 

[ian]

That video statement was painful to watch!

 

[Systreg]

My vote has been placed for Alex, I didn't choose anyone for the second preference vote.

 

[monaghan]

That video statement was painful to watch!

I didn't do a video as I expected them to be painful viewing! Happy to answer questions directly.

Have had a power cut this afternoon and main server not booting so may be delayed in answering as I have a few things to get back on-line

 

[Whois-Search]

The full candidate statements can be found here:

https://secure.ersvotes.co.uk/V2-4-.../Resources/Attachments/k0553_2/statements.pdf

Looks like Nominet has missed the spacing out and are no longer hosting that on their website !

 

[martin-s]

I didn't do a video as I expected them to be painful viewing!

Not sure the photo does you justice either Alex!

 

[Edwin]

I've now voted. Alex #1. I also voted for Rob Golding as #2. Good luck, chaps!

 

[martin-s]

I have voted 1: Alex, 2: Rob.

Edit: Jinx!

 

[meslam123]

I've voted only for Alex, Good luck

 

[philiporchard]

Looks like I became a member just in time

Not sure if my vote will count for much, as I'm not registered as a registrar yet.

 

[ian]

It always interests me when a candidate appears on here only when up for election. Although you may have the very best of intentions, without continuous interaction with one of the largest UK domain forums, how can we be sure you have the interests of the domainers at heart? Fortunately this year we have "one of us" in the form of Alex.

 

[monaghan]

I've "known" Rob on other (mostly hosting) forums for a number of years and in my opinion he would appear to be one of the good guys. His company sits between the large and small registrars so I believe he gets invites to both level Nominet events and based on his "performance" at the recent Chelsea event does not seem afraid to ask difficult questions to the exec. Whilst he may not fully understand the domainer business model, I think he would serve you guys far better than the other candidates. Cameron would also appear to be working at the smaller business end of the market, I didn't speak with him for long, but he would be a possible alternative, but I don't know enough about him to comment further.

You guys who've not yet voted, please read the paperwork from Nominet, if necessary ask questions of any / all the candidates and then place your votes based on your own opinions. As Rob says, if we don't vote then the outcome is already known, if we do vote it may not go the way we want, but at least we've done our part as members.

 

[Whois-Search]

As per the answers given at the Annual Registrar event, the trust is gone, but the spend (3 to 5 million per year) on "good causes" will continue, just managed in-house rather than externally (I predict 4 years before that changes again) and to be more "tech" focused than before.

When they started that conference they didn’t mention domain names for about half an hour! It was all about cyber security constantly as if I’d walked in to a Cisco sales pitch.

The problem with Nominet only giving away a few million internally (from domain names) is the Nominet Trust was an arms length charity to donate the surplus profits to. It acted as a way to get the excess money out of Nominet rather than it staying in the coffers (even if it had its faults).

Now the money will only be given away to market Nominet (the company) itself and to make its other cyber products look good.

Also Nominet is expanding the “cyber” department at a rate we can’t see from the outside. However if you look at the careers page you can see all the people they are hiring: https://www.nominet.uk/careers/vacancies/

Why do they need Web developers in “cyber” etc ? To develop the recent Government cyber security contracts they have won:
https://digileaders.com/digital-transformation-is-not-a-destination/

Then see their project 2020 plan:
https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/nominet-prod/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/17161317/Our-strategy.png
Domain names will become the tiny core.

So what are they going to do with the even bigger profits when Nominet is more known for Government cyber security software than domain names? The extra money has to go some where and continuing to give away £3-5 million internally isn’t going to do it.

 

[Michael Benton]

Yes, currently we have all of "our" slots on the board (which have gone over the years from half of the board to 1/3rd) taken by representatives from the largest 1% of registrars

You must know this to be a blatantly untrue statement.

With 2 seats available this time, you have the chance to change the make-up of the 4 member-elect positions to get more registrant/small-business focus, rather than more of the same - not voting (due to the weighting/cap) will be essentially the same as voting for the largest registrar and the encumbant

Looking back, you lost in 2015 (the first person to be knocked out of the running). Why do you believe that was and what's really changed since?

Denesh lost last year and was the encumbant (sic) then (2017). He came third of three candidates (even beaten by a candidate who isn't even standing this year). Why are you advocating for him this year when he was on the Board last year; a Board you wish to see changed?

It always interests me when a candidate appears on here only when up for election. Although you may have the very best of intentions, without continuous interaction with one of the largest UK domain forums, how can we be sure you have the interests of the domainers at heart? Fortunately this year we have "one of us" in the form of Alex.

Most only come out of the woodwork when there's an election on!!!!!!

I've "known" Rob on other (mostly hosting) forums for a number of years and in my opinion he would appear to be one of the good guys. His company sits between the large and small registrars so I believe he gets invites to both level Nominet events and based on his "performance" at the recent Chelsea event does not seem afraid to ask difficult questions to the exec. Whilst he may not fully understand the domainer business model, I think he would serve you guys far better than the other candidates. Cameron would also appear to be working at the smaller business end of the market, I didn't speak with him for long, but he would be a possible alternative, but I don't know enough about him to comment further.

Don't know him well enough to mention Othello Technology Systems Ltd went backrupt with him as a director?

Also don't know him well enough to point out the multiple ICANN breach of accreditation notice his registrar Astutium has had and currently has? Here (2013) and Here (current). It's noted that he's appealing the current breach notice but the registrar he is director of has the potentially to be discredited.[/QUOTE]

 

[Michael Benton]

Yes, currently we have all of "our" slots on the board (which have gone over the years from half of the board to 1/3rd) taken by representatives from the largest 1% of registrars

You must know this to be a blatantly untrue statement.

With 2 seats available this time, you have the chance to change the make-up of the 4 member-elect positions to get more registrant/small-business focus, rather than more of the same - not voting (due to the weighting/cap) will be essentially the same as voting for the largest registrar and the encumbant

Looking back, you lost in 2015 (the first person to be knocked out of the running). Why do you believe that was and what's really changed since?

Denesh lost last year and was the encumbant (sic) then (2017). He came third of three candidates (even beaten by a candidate who isn't even standing this year). Why are you advocating for him this year when he was on the Board last year; a Board you wish to see changed?

It always interests me when a candidate appears on here only when up for election. Although you may have the very best of intentions, without continuous interaction with one of the largest UK domain forums, how can we be sure you have the interests of the domainers at heart? Fortunately this year we have "one of us" in the form of Alex.

Most only come out of the woodwork when there's an election on!!!!!!

I've "known" Rob on other (mostly hosting) forums for a number of years and in my opinion he would appear to be one of the good guys. His company sits between the large and small registrars so I believe he gets invites to both level Nominet events and based on his "performance" at the recent Chelsea event does not seem afraid to ask difficult questions to the exec. Whilst he may not fully understand the domainer business model, I think he would serve you guys far better than the other candidates. Cameron would also appear to be working at the smaller business end of the market, I didn't speak with him for long, but he would be a possible alternative, but I don't know enough about him to comment further.

Don't know him well enough to mention Othello Technology Systems Ltd went backrupt with him as a director?

Also don't know him well enough to point out the multiple ICANN breach of accreditation notice his registrar Astutium has had and currently has? Here (2013) and Here (current). It's noted that he's appealing the current breach notice but the registrar he is director of has the potentially to be discredited.

 

[monaghan]

Unlike the major political elections, are we not supposed to be voting based on what we believe the person will do for the members rather than whether we like the person or the company they work for? Each potential candidate has to be "vetted" so that they would be able to serve if elected.

Let's focus on providing a board member that will do their best to serve the interests of as many members as possible.