The dark Machiavellian underbelly of domain name administration was exposed the other week, or it was if you believe Bob Parsons, CEO of hilariously-titled registrar GoDaddy.com. Mr Parsons is not, as I first thought, a retired Radio 2 DJ, but he is claiming that failings in the registrar application process established by .eu registry Eurid has enabled over 20 separate groups to create hundreds of “phantom” registrars to do their bidding. This conjures up images of shadowy figures in Armani suits puffing on fat Montecristos and slapping each other on the back to hearty guffaws, but this image may, sadly, be false. Eurid has vigorously denied the allegations.
While Parsons’ view makes a great story, it’s hard not to suspect that the whole thing is just a case of sour grapes. According to German ISP Strato, which is one of the largest .eu registrars, GoDaddy’s success rate in obtaining its customers their requested names is around the 30 percent mark, while Strato’s own hit rate has peaked at around 70 percent. More to the point, though, as Strato chief executive Damian Schmidt pointed out to me, registrars are in the business to make money, and there will always be some who choose to make as much as possible by auctioning off the most sought-after names in their possession to the highest bidder. And if you don’t like them onions, better find a new career. (My addition.)