Please READ and Please VOTE

Whois-Search · Jun 29, 2013

It is time we sent a message to the Nominet board that disrupting our business models with direct.uk and a new registrar agreement for months and months on end is just not on. In my view Nominet is owned by it's 2,851 members and the 10 board members need reminding who actually owns this company.

If we do nothing and the board gets their way by next year we will be faced with:

- An extra executive board member with a vote (CCO job currently vacant)
- The re-election for three years of the highest ever paid chairman (currently on £90,000)
- NED elections once every three years instead of every two years
- The same non-executives on the board for at least 9 years instead of 6 years
- The introduction of direct.uk at double the cost price of .co.uk (£5 per year)
- .co.uk registrants losing the rights to direct.uk extensions to older .me.uk's or .org.uk's
- Expired domains being auctioned off directly by "Accredited Channel Partners"
- Promotional activity and "other incentives" for "Accredited Channel Partners"
- More five star dinners for "Key Nominet Partners"
- Sanctions against TAG holders for which ever reason Nominet see fit
- Three tier TAG classifications with 'benefits' for the highest class
- The value of our .co.uk portfolios decrease overnight especially recently bought/caught .co.uk
- .wales/.cymru being sold directly by Nominet and we become 'resellers' of them

This really is the last chance to save Nominet from being captured by the Top 10 members and it's board members. We must unite together as members, businesses and competitors to stop this madness and greed.

Therefore I am asking you to contact every single member you know with a vote and DEFEAT the following:

1. Resolution 4
A) Creating an additional seat for the executive on the Board
B) Extending the term for member-elected Non-Executive directors to 3 years from 2014
C) Removing the 6-year limit on non-executive director terms

2. The re-appointment of the Nominet Chair

3. The re-appointment of the Nominet's preferred NED candidates

MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL WE MUST GET PEOPLE TO ACTUALLY VOTE !!!!

Here are the voting rights:
http://www.nominet.org.uk/sites/default/files/List-of-voting-rights.pdf

Find members on the list you know and email them now!

Retired_Member38 · Jun 29, 2013

Whois-Search said:
- .co.uk registrants losing the rights to direct.uk extensions to older .me.uk's or .org.uk's

Yet you don't feel it worth mentioning all of the charities who'd lose out if you flip that around and give everything to .co.uk... which in reality makes things significantly worse.

Whois-Search said:
- The introduction of direct.uk at double the cost price of .co.uk (£5 per year)

Hardly breaking the bank is it?

Whois-Search said:
- Expired domains being auctioned off directly by "Accredited Channel Partners"

Who cares? Domain no longer wanted >> SOMETHING >> domain comes back into use.

Outside of drop catchers and domain registrars, do you think anyone gives a shit what the SOMETHING is?

Whois-Search said:
- The value of our .co.uk portfolios decrease overnight especially recently bought/caught .co.uk

Probably the most pathetic point of all. Investments can go up and down in value. Why do you think someone else should step in and make good on your potential losses? Are you a high street bank?

GreyWing · Jun 29, 2013

Monkey said:
Hardly breaking the bank is it?

Some at Nominet have in the passed advocated taking domains back up to £90. Members are the ones stopping them raising prices up to now on .co.uk's

£5 is the tip of the iceberg anyway, .uk may only be sold to via a limited number of accredited registrars. add £20 through that monopoly.

Monkey said:
Outside of drop catchers and domain registrars, do you think anyone gives a shit what the SOMETHING is?

People pay 123-reg / Heart Internet for domains that aren't renewed at the moment. Imagine that happening and 123-reg keeping your name to add insult to injury. Are they going to send their customers reminder emails? When they stand to gain by not doing so?

Nominet members have a responsibility to protect the public as well.

Monkey said:
Probably the most pathetic point of all. Investments can go up and down in value. Why do you think someone else should step in and make good on your potential losses? Are you a high street bank?

It's been covered elsewhere so won't go into it to much but a stable platform brings in investment onto that platform. The London stock exchange couldn't just start changing the rules like this (legally they could I suppose). But Investors would be running for the hills like they do in countries like Zimbabwe as someone ceases the farm. Nobody is going to be investing in new farms.

Anyway, back to Andrews request. It is extremely serious guys, we really need to vote on the above issues to stand any kind of a chance at having a say in how Nominet is run.