What Is IDOA.info?

How Does IDOA Work?

The Benefits Of Joining IDOA

• Keep Domain Registration and Renewal Prices from Increasing
• Prevent Registrars from Deleting your Domain
• Prevent Registrars from Denying your Domain Transfer
• Prevent Registrars from Automatically Locking your Domain
• Prevent Registrars from Automatically Setting your Domain to Auto-Renew
• Demand ICANN and Worldwide Recognition of your Ownership Rights of your Domain
• Lower the cost of using the Dispute Resolution Procedure
• Outlaw Registrars "Redemption" Fees
• Be Represented Collectively at ICANN
• Prevent your Domain Brand from Becoming Diluted by the Addition of Similar gTLD's
• Obtain Assistance if your Domain is Hijacked, Deleted, Stolen or Sued
• Receive Quarterly Domain Owner News and ICANN Meeting Updates

Which Domain Rights Are Threatened?

New Registry and Registrar Pricing was illegally approved by ICANN over the last 2 years, and new prices took effect in October 2007! Prices increased again in October of 2008, and will probably increase each October forevermore unless we group together and use the courts to stop this illegal, unfair practice, which , in fact, amounts to fraud and theft - and on a massive scale. ICANN participates in the crime and shares the associated guilt with the registries.

Don't forget to keep yourself informed about the recent changes in the various registry agreements with ICANN, the Internet's governing body:

The Revised Verisign [.com Registry] Registry Agreement.

The .BIZ, .INFO and .ORG Agreements.

Look at the New Sponsored TLD's that will DILUTE your current domain Brand. In fact at the recent (June 2008) Paris ICANN meeting an unlimited number of new gTLD's was approved - all to fund ICANN's expansionist and social agenda. We don't need another United Nations just for the Internet, ICANN.

Here's a complete list of the TLD's (Top Level Domains or extensions after the ".") already in use.

Terms of Reference

What Can You Do? JOIN US, and make Your Voice Heard!

Thanks for visiting! Check back periodically for new DOMAIN NEWS.

IDOA.info
Internet Domain Owners Association

Here's a copy of our letter to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which held its first meeting in Athens from October 30, 2006 through November 2, 2006, and has meet periodically since then, and who seems to be the branch of the United Nations that is getting involved with the Internet, and thus domain names:

Greetings to everyone at the first meeting of the Internet Governance Forum, Athens 2006.

To the Officers and Board Members of the IGF:

Could you please post this message on one of the IGF, Athens Posting areas, and would the Board of the IGF please present this information and address it before the Forum is over. We cannot be there in person to present this important information ourselves, so we ask that we be allowed to participate remotely, and have some official or Board Member of the IGF address and present this issue to the Internet community at the Athens 2006 IGF.

We, the Internet Domain Owners Association, wish to participate remotely in the Forum, and we wish to bring to the attention of the participating members and nations, and indeed people everywhere, an alarming situation that currently exists wherin ICANN and the principal .com, .net, .biz, .info and .org Registries are fraudulently colluding to force all current domain owners to accept never-ending and very substantial price increases to renew their domains.

We are forming a California not-for-profit corporation for the express purpose of fighting these price increases, which would increase the cost to the consumer or owner of a domain from a current low cost average of USD $10 a domain-year to more than USD $80 a domain-year in 30 years! [and then to more than $640 per year 30 years after that!]

We have formed to uphold the rights of domain owners everywhere, and the primary right is to be treated lawfully and fairly, and not be extorted as the current ICANN - Registry agreements propose to do. The agreements currently being negotioted by ICANN and the Registries are indeed extortionary as they pay no attention to the rights of the domain owners. The agreements are also completely monopolistic and anti-competitive (in violation of ICANN's charter) in that they grant in effect a perpetually renewable monopoly to the current Registries.

When a person or a business or a group purchases a domain, and pays USD $7.95 - $35.00 for a 1 year registration, that domain owner has the right to pay that same amount every year indefinitely into the future in order to continue owning that domain. Many domain owners put substantial resources, including time, money and energy, into designing, building, marketing and hosting a web site or web based business. If we allow ICANN and the Registries to force price increases, then only the rich will eventually be able to afford to own domains, and ICANN and the Registries will be committing fraud, breach of contract, extortion, and engaging in unfair business practises against all current domain owners.

We call your attention to this MOST IMPORTANT matter which threatens to change the very nature of the Internet, and request that you inform yourself of this pressing and crucial problem at our web site www.IDOA.info. We hope that you will join us or help us fight these unlawful price increases. We believe that it is important to keep the annual price of a domain in the USD $10 and under range, as many people around the world can afford to pay this amount to own a domain; whereas if the cost increases to $100 a year, much of the global population will not even try to own a domain and participate directly in the Internet, as it would have become too expensive for them. We would then have fewer voices, fewer new ideas, fewer opinions, less diversity, less real communication and points of view expressed; indeed, a poorer Internet, if domains become too expensive for the average person to own and maintain.

The only reason why the Registries are trying to obtain price increases approved by ICANN is because they want to make an even greater profit than they already are, and the only reason why ICANN is colluding with the Registries in these monopolistic and anti-competitive agreements is because ICANN, also, wants more money and ICANN is funded largely by the Registries. There is already a great deal of profit in the business model of being a Registry and ICANN has more than enough money for the limited task it has been given, and even if you are one who wishes ICANN to expand, the expansion must not come unlawfully, by breaching agreements made with domain owners.

The individaul internet user, domain owner, and small business will be hurt most if the forced price increases are approved by ICANN. Additonally the Registrars volume of business will drop dramatically if price increases are allowed to take place, and the Registrars are very competitive, surviving on thin profit margins, and many of them will be put out of business, causing further harm to the individual domain owner or small business.

I am funding this association out of my own pocket, and I am not rich. I seek others with similar concerns to be Directors and help direct and manage the association. I would like to have personally presented this to the IGF, Geneva 2006, however I cannot afford to. I believe that this group I have founded needs to be expanded gloablly and therefore I ask all of you at the IGF to consider forming an international group to protect the rights of the domain owners - the little people - against the might of the large corporate interests which are short-sighted and only concerned with short-term profit. The Internet is too important to allow it to be controlled by corporate interests; as the future of the Internet promises virtually free communications, information, education and all kinds of public and private services to all people everywhere. This great common, beneficial future will only come about if we keep the Internet as free and low cost, as widespread and as diverse, as possible. If any of you would like to take this idea and this group to the international level, please contact me. I can use your help.

Please educate yourself about this issue and help us keep the Internet fair for the individual and small group or business.

Thank you for your time.

Best Regards,

IDOA.info
Internet Domain Owners Association
Info@IDOA.info

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