Over the past couple of mornings, I detected a relatively large number of domain names transferring to NameFind, the domain portfolio holding business operated by GoDaddy. I was able to detect the changes using the Registrant Monitor tool from DomainTools. Because of GDPR, I needed to use DomainTools’ Whois History tool on some of the names that changed ownership, and I was able to see that they came from the YummyNames portfolio operated by Tucows.
The Abaco Islands in the Bahamas are a beautiful destination. As you may know, the Abacos are currently being battered by the category 5 Hurricane Dorian. The damage being done is reportedly catastrophic.
I was curious to see how Abacos.com was being used. At the present time, the registrant does not have an active website on Abacos.com. Instead, there is the standard GoDaddy landing page. As is typical with the GoDaddy landers, there is some advertising, including a “SPECIAL OFFER” banner at the top of the landing page:
When I went to log-in to my GoDaddy account this morning, it seemed like the site was loading slowly. When I was finally able to log in to my account to look at some auctions, the site seemed fine. It took a bit of time for the bid screen to load, but it was working. I then visited My Domains page, and I encountered this error:
In June of this year, Voice.com sold for $30 million. It is the largest publicly reported domain name sale of all time. When the deal was announced in a press release now found on the SEC website, MicroStrategy mentioned that the deal was brokered by GoDaddy. This was confirmed by GoDaddy Aftermarket VP Paul Nicks. I am now able to report who actually brokered the domain name at GoDaddy.
Vice published a story about a guy who tricked his friends into thinking he was arrested. To pull off the prank, he registered a domain name that was similar to the local news website, and he made his site look nearly identical to the news website. The prank went viral, and he was threatened with litigation related to the domain name registration and usage.
Have a look at this story and see how ICANN’s 60 day transfer lock on this new GoDaddy domain name registration caused quite a bit of fear for this prankster:
In the end, it looks like the news station decided to file a UDRP to take control of the domain name, and it prevailed in this 2016 proceeding.
According to an email sent to NameCheap customers with domain names listed for sale via Afternic, NameCheap is now a part of the Afternic DLS Fast Transfer network. NameCheap has been an Afternic partner for approximately ten years, but customers were not eligible to have their domain names sold via Fast Transfer. This enhanced partnership should take away some of the friction that occurs when selling a NameCheap-registered domain name via Afternic.
Here is the email that was sent to NameCheap customers with Afternic listings explaining the change:
A limited amount of advertising space may be available, although all banner spots are currently sold out. Email us to be placed on the waiting list. Learn More
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