This might not come as a big surprise, but my readers had only negative things to say about VeriSign’s Site Finder scheme. Responding to my column (written before the company at least temporarily withdrew the site under pressure from ICANN) about VeriSign's "Contract by Typo", readers were very suspicious of the company’s motives.
"Personally, I think VeriSign plans to use this in the same way that other domain squatters have in the past," wrote one reader. "If a lot of people input a certain name into a "see if that domain is available" form or a typo, it must be worth money to someone, so grab it and hope to sell it in the future. Such behavior would certainly lie within the scope of VeriSign's demonstrated ‘ethics.’"
Many readers said they would retaliate by transferring domains away from Network Solutions, VeriSign’s domain registration arm (which VeriSign has now announced will be spun off). "After reading your comments and a few others online, I decided it was finally time to transfer my last few remaining domains from VeriSign," wrote another reader. "My experience? Before I could confirm that I truly wanted to transfer them, I had to read -- and agree with -- VeriSign’s service agreement. I wasn't given any option to simply bypass that little checkbox. So I printed the service agreement out: all 46 pages. That's legalistic overkill. Read it? Yeah, sure, right! I could be online for several hours if I did that first. And if I chose to disagree with any terms? I wouldn't be able to transfer my domain. I've completely severed my customer relationship with VeriSign now."
A number of readers were also concerned about the fact that Site Finder EULA was governed by UCITA. "What seems to be lost on most people is that the 'agreement' or UCITA language is only meant to protect VeriSign," wrote one reader. "VeriSign has no intention nor any legal right to chase or pursue people into court for any reason. However, if they use your information in a way that you don't like, they have a defense all ready when you try to take them to court. That is what it is all about. It is a simple equation: [your meager legal dollars] weighed against [VeriSign’s powerhouse lawyers] + [an 'agreement' that the UCITA has blessed] = their right to trample on your privacy."
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