> This message is sent to you as the currently registered Administrative 
> Contact for the iinet.com.au Domain Name. 

An open letter to Melbourne IT,

Thank you for sending your reminder out on Christmas Eve,
the last business day before you close until the New Year.
Putting an incorrect return address in was also a
wonderful way of avoiding any increase in support load
due to any misguided attempts to respond. This Christmas
wish is truly thoughtful and will no doubt leave all
prospective clients being very impressed. Personally, 
we send our invoices after Christmas, but that's a business
decision made by a company operating in a competitive
environment.

We are currently planning to hold all payments for existing
domains until after the establishment of a competitor within
COM.AU has been further investigated. We have sought legal
advice about Melbourne IT's right to remove our domain if we
fail to pay, and our advice is that it would be unconscionable
conduct and open MIT to considerable recourse. We are advising
all clients to withhold payment on the three hundred odd COM.AU
domains connected through us.

You will also find that use of an incorrect return address
has just removed any chance of you closing peoples' domains
without considerable risk. The resultant confusion will not
be resolved by simply sending another one.

Of course, we will continue to pay MIT for new registrations
and trust that this response will not damage our relationship
with MIT, especially given the utter incompetance displayed
by connect.com.au in processing net.au (or failing to process)
delegations since December the first.

Enjoy your Christmas. I wish all COM.AU holders a happier
new year.

Regards

Michael Malone


> This message is sent to you as the currently registered Administrative 
> Contact for the iinet.com.au Domain Name. 
> 
> If this information is incorrect, please inform us by reply email and pass
> this message on to the correct person. Admin contacts for a domain name can 
> be changed by using http://www.aunic.net/ed.new.html 
> 
> Note that you need the registry key to update these details. If you do not ha
> ve 
> the registry key, contact the AUNIC registry by email register§aunic.net 
> 
> The Domain Name System for the COM.AU name-space is currently being 
> validated and updated.  If you wish to renew your registration of the 
> iinet.com.au Domain Name for a further two years, you will need to send a
> cheque or fax credit card details for $125 (but note Early Bird Special price
> below) to:
> 
> 	The COM.AU Domain Name Administrator, 
> 	Melbourne Information Technologies Australia Pty Ltd
> 	(trading as Melbourne IT), fax (03) 9347 9473;
> 	Postal Address 
> 		Melbourne IT, Level 3, 207 Bouverie Street, Carlton, Vic 3053
> 
> In response to requests from the industry, the deadline for renewing your
> registration, which was previously advertised as 1 February 1997, has been
> extended to 17 March. 
> 
> After this date, the COM.AU Primary Name server will be updated with only tho
> se
> Domain Names whose registration has been renewed. Unregistered domains may be
> deleted from the primary name server after 31 March 1997.
> 
> The routing of communications to addresses via your domain name is
> supported by all the Secondary Name Servers that copy the Zone Files from
> our Primary Name Server. The licence fee is to pay for the primary name
> server, for continual testing of the COM.AU domain, and for any change
> delegations (for example if you change service providers) during the life
> of the licence.
>  
> The renewal registration form for a single domain can be found at
> http://www.MelbourneIT.com.au/renewal_form.html
> 
> If you have already paid another party to renew this Domain Name, please
> indicate this by return e-mail, indicating the date of payment, the sum and t
> o whom
> the payment was made.
> 
> In return for your renewal fee, Melbourne IT will carry out the following ser
> vices:
> 
>  I.   Management, maintenance and updating of the Primary Name Server for
>       COM.AU Domain Names
> II.   Provision of free re-delegations of name servers as requested by the
>       authorised contact for your Domain Name  -  either the Technical or
>       Administrative Contact.
> III.  Carrying out regular testing of the integrity of the COM.AU networked
>       name space; specifically, for every registered COM.AU Domain Name
> 
>         (a)  test if the delegated name server is reachable and  functioning.
>         (b)  test if its SOA (Start of Authority) field is consistent with
>         	 the Primary Name Server Zone Files.
>         (c)  If (a) or (b) fail, notify the contact e-mail address specified 
> in the SOA.
> 
> EARLY BIRD SPECIAL:
> 
> Your renewal fee will be reduced to $100 for two years registration
> if we receive your payment before 20 January 1997.
>