1) Nominet only handles 2 year periods, without flexibility to add years during a transfer, for example
This is coming but it's a fair point.. I'm not quite sure about the "during a transfer" but though? why would that matter? surely adding years at any time would be the issue?
2) any change of registrant details can be costly (whereas under ICANN, changes are easy, and free - I have stopped registering .co.uk for clients - leave it to them so I am not to blame for any mistakes)
Are you a domain dealer? Yes there's a process in the same way there's a process to change company names at Companies House.. you have to make sure the right person can do it too.. Historically there was a very manual checking process although that's now all quite automated. Why would you be changing domain ownerships regularly unless that's your business (trading in domain names)? I've not done one for a long time now but I believe it's all on-line(although a bit more complicated than just clicking "change" and putting in a new name and stopping there.
I've not had many dealings with them recently, last time was concerning IPSTAG changes when a firm I had used went bust. That was some time before they had arrangements in place to make it a bit easier in those circumstances, and before they had published registrant address details, so with everything pointing to the 'defunct' firm, including registrant address, I was left somewhat 'out in the cold' when trying to get the domains moved.
Have you had to deal with a .com registrar going bust? I know people who have and they've had troubles getting the registrar of a reseller gone bust to move domains.. The registrant address should always be the registrant, not the ISP.. unless you specifically want it to be your ISP.. Granted when this wasn't published I could see this could have caused you an issue but that's been available (bar opt-out option for individuals) for some time. I guess what I am saying is your registrar was not doing their job by putting their address on instead of yours.
IPSTAG is (in my view) clumsy, and seems only to be a way for Nominet to manage their billing system, while potentially locking a customer in with a firm (some have had fees to alter the IPSTAG, so one has to pay to be 'released' from a firm one no longer wants to use... something of a 'sting in the tail' that they get to take cash from you to allow you to go!)
Ok.. I think you're confusing things here..
Firstly, IPSTAG is a very easy way (nothing to do with billing really) to make sure one company has the keys to the domain. You can change that. Again the reason why Nominet charges to change it is because people used to come directly to Nominet to have things changed and that process costs money.. Again this has changed a bit now it's all online but the system to manage that still costs money
If your ISP has a contract term with you that says "we will charge you to change the IPSTAG" then you're agreeing to that term.. Usually this means you get a cheap rate originally which is subsidised.. The ultimate example was FreeNetName which provided free domains, but charged a transfer fee which was very high if you ever wanted to leave.. to recoup their cost (albeit quite a large markup). Nominet doing transfers is a bit different obviously.
There is a policy question of "is it fair to charge people to terminate a contract early" or even "just leave your service" which is a more complex one.. but that's a wider issue.. ISPs can't charge for MAC codes when customers want to migrate so some might argue no, but in this case the compulsion would be on the registrar to provide it..
Do remember you can't deal at all with the registry at ICANN level.. you only deal with a registrar.. Nominet is a registry and you buy the domain via a registrar.. Nominet's "we'll change your tag" service is an extra security measure so you can't be held to ransom (for a lot more than £10) but your registrar for your domains.. Admittedly it's a bit different in case of registrant changes, but also you could consider what happens if a company you buy domains from changes the registrant names to itself and then goes bust and the administrator sells the name to someone else.. With Nominet, they can't do that. If you have a valid legal agreement with a registrar to pay them £100 if you leave (say before a contract term) then that remains your liability even if technically Nominet helps you move the domain.. i.e. the registrar could sue you.. This said, there's a question of whether it's a penalty charge (and thus illegal) if they aren't providing any services (like "executing a transfer"), but I'm sure a minimum term clause could apply in some cases.
If you pick a registrar who'se model is to charge you extra fees for leaving, then you're making a choice.. plenty don't. I find it far easier (as a registrar for .uk) to deal with tags than authcodes for .com etc.. Once you change a tag it's done.. no more e-mail confirmations etc.. (there's a small exception to this for some tags but that doesn't apply often).
I'm sure there are things that can be improved, but you do have to remember that what you want might be what someone else doesn't.. Easy transfers with fewer checks can mean more unauthorised transfers, etc.. Also "Tell your current registrar to transfer your domain to ABC" is easier than "Get your current registrar to provide an EPP Authcode, then give that to us.. make sure registrant contact is your e-mail address (or is that admin?) then we'll submit the request, you'll then get an e-mail, you click authorise.. then it takes a few days, or but you can't transfer it if it's just been renewed or registered")...
seb
(declaration of interest.. one of my companies is a .uk registrar and I've been involved in Nominet things in various capacities for some time. These are strictly my personal views though and not those of Nominet.)
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john71
