At 19:16 18/02/98 +1100, you wrote:
>Adam Todd wrote:
>> 
>> >I think you are very much out of line in suggesting that
>> >""
>> >> A loophole in the MelbourneIT rules is enticing ISP's to advise their
>> >> customers to break the law to obtain the domain name of their choice.
>> >""
>> >maybe if you had a law degree you would not say such things, regardless of
>> >how you or anyone else feels about this process or MelbourneIT.
>> 
>> I agree with your comments above Ramin, it's not a "loophole" at all.  And
>> any ISP who advises their clients to get a business name purley to register
>> a Domain name is ingorant of the law and what a Business Name is about.
>
>No Adam, any such ISP would simply be supporting their client get what they
>need.  AND the point i was making that you did NOT see was the assertion that
>MelbourneIT was advising clients to BREAK THE LAW, please re-read the quote.
*****^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^*****               
Ramin

I take the strongest exception to your implication here. Please do not
rephrase my words - they stand as they are. Let me requote myself:

   "A loophole in the MelbourneIT rules is enticing ISP's to advise their
   customers to break the law to obtain the domain name of their choice."

by this I am clearly saying that ISP's - acting independantly - are rediced
to advising their clients to register RBN's to get a domain name -
something that is (I believe) technically illegal - but postings to this
list indicate is nonetheless common practice.

Please point out where I say that MelbourneIT is advising anyone of anything.

The situation arises not from any intention of ANYONE to break the law, but
from a set of rules unilaterally imposed by Melbourne IT. Now these rules
may be noble and fair in intention, but they are nonetheless censorial
rules, and the potentially serious consequence highlighted above is only
ONE problem that arises from the enforcement of these rules.

What about the time(=money) wasted by ISP's explaining (ie: arguing) these
rules to their clients. What about the wasted time on rejected names
(because the rules cannot be objectively applied).

What about the horrendous wait for names to be approved (instead of the
1-20 minutes TOPS an automated service would ensure and all the efficiency
such an electronic system allows. Why move forward at the speed of
dinosours when we are working with an instant medium. If we can't
cooperatively sell each other domain names electronically, how the hell do
we expect the great unwashed to spend money through us buying Seersucker
suits? And make no mistake - thats what this is all about, because that's
where the money for all of us is going to come from.

While noble and enacted with the best of intentions, the rules of
registration within .com.au are restricting the development of the Internet
in Australia, are holding back unfinanced entrepeneurs with nothing more
than their time, skills and ideas to trade with, are wasting time,
subjectively enforced and are completely out of sync with the global common
practice of domain registration.

A change is overdue.

---
Larry Bloch                              email:  larry§netregistry.com.au
Chief Executive Officer                  Office: +61-(0)2-9555 6299
                                         Fax:    +61-(0)2-9555 5808
NetRegistry Pty Limited
http://www.netregistry.com.au
Domain House, 3 Hosking Street, Balmain, Sydney NSW 2041