On Mon, 24 Mar 2003, Phil Wright wrote:

 > Yes I got one of those today too (on behalf of a client) and was rather
 > surprised of this sudden new practice??????????

Phil, I was pleasantly surprised.

 > Mind you the email arrived 9 hours and 3 minutes after the domain was
 > registered and visible in DNS - by that stage the client was already
 > into the in's and out's of possibility of their domain implementation
 > and loading a test site.  They were well past the stage of concern about
 > Registrars, Resellers or Codes of Practice by the time this email
 > arrived as the funds had already left their account.

Concerns about Registrars, Resellers and Codes of Practice are ongoing,
and I applaud AuDA for contacting registrants to explain these things,
and to provide contact details for further information and education.

 > I concur - some fore-warning would have served greater practicality than
 > just courtesy!

Registrars do not 'own' their customers; the 'industry' exists to serve
domain registrants and it doesn't worry me if they're better informed :) 

 > Yes the text does seem to presume exposure or understanding of who auDA
 > and comprehension of what they purport to do.  Last Thursday I had a new
 > client at an initial meeting ask me "What are auDA; they are the new
 > Melbourne IT domain selling company aren't they?"  Needless to say it
 > was hard not to grin...  Like this 'now educated' client; most of the
 > marketplace haven't a clue about who auDA are or what their official
 > role is.

Isn't such widespread registrant ignorance of how the Domain Name System
works in .au just what this email begins to address?  About time, I say.

 > It seems that timely announcements by auDA and general industry
 > communications are no longer included in this list run by auDA for
 > discussions and announcements to a captive industry audience - shame
 > IMHO

You sound a tad miffed that AuDA contacted 'your' registrants directly? 

Cheers, Ian

 > 
 > Cheers
 > 
 > Phil Wright
 > 
 >  
 > 
 > -----Original Message-----
 > From: Anthony Dever [mailto:anthony§billiousness.com] 
 > Sent: Monday, March 24, 2003 5:26 PM
 > To: auDA Mailing List
 > Subject: [DNS] FW: Introduction to .au Domain Names
 > 
 > 
 > When did this become a policy to send these "welcome" emails to
 > registrants?
 > 
 > I've only just noticed them.
 > 
 > I'm not against against the idea or content in them at all. In fact I
 > think it is agood idea.
 > 
 > I just would have liked some notice from auDA or my registar that these
 > were being sent to our registrants as it is always good to communicate
 > to our customers who they will be receiving information from.
 > 
 > Even though Chris does explain he is from auDA this means nothing to
 > most small business registrants. I really would have liked the chance to
 > explain beforehand to my customers that they would be receiving these
 > emails.
 > 
 > ----------
 > From: returns§auda.org.au
 > Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 20:02:49 +1100
 > Subject: Introduction to .au Domain Names
 > 
 > 
 > Hello
 > 
 > You are receiving this email because you are listed as the registrant
 > contact for a new 
 > .au domain name ???????????.com.au.
 > 
 > My name is Chris Disspain and I am the CEO of auDA, the Australian
 > internet domain name 
 > regulator. I am writing to you to explain some of the things that auDA
 > does to safeguard both 
 > your domain name and your rights as a domain name registrant.
 > 
 > Each domain name in .au is managed by an auDA accredited registrar.
 > Registrars and their resellers are bound by a Code of Practice
 > (http://www.auda.org.au/docs/auda-2002-26.pdf).
 > 
 > In our role as industry regulator, auDA publishes Consumer Alerts and
 > other information that may be relevant to you. If you want to ensure
 > that you are kept up to date, you can subscribe 
 > to our announcements list at http://www.auda.org.au/list/announce/.
 > 
 > One of the responsibilities you have as a domain name registrant is to
 > ensure that the contact information in your domain name record is kept
 > up to date. To check your information go to 
 > http://www.ausregistry.com.au and do a Whois search. If you need to make
 > changes to the 
 > information then you should contact your registrar.
 > 
 > I hope this information is of use to you. More detailed information can
 > be found on our web site, including our online brochure Australian
 > Domain Names - An Overview at
 > http://www.auda.org.au/docs/auda-overview.pdf.
 > 
 > Please do not reply to this email by using the reply button. If you wish
 > to contact auDA, please email info§auda.org.au.
 > 
 > Regards
 > 
 > Chris Disspain
 > CEO - auDA
 > info§auda.org.au
 > www.auda.org.au

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