rob

Nothing would suprise me with .com net org etc , but .uk would.

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afx

Very possible in some of the cases as Jasman states, as some registrars use cached copies of the whois. These might be out by minutes or hours but not days.

Why don't you name the registrar who you think is doing this in .uk and members here can keep an eye out also.

If it is one of the big boys, 123-reg etc. I dare say nothing will happen and Nominet wont be interested. However if it's Joe Shmo small reistrar I bet they'll act if proven.

feKIX

No Jasman..Im not entirely sure, only the registrar could tell me that I suppose.

I dont want to name the registrar, purely because I haven't all the facts. Obviously, If I genuinely feel (or find out) it is a case of domain front running, as you put it afx, I will shout the name from the rooftops.

This Netsol case, and from what others seem to be saying in this thread, it seems this does actually happen especially in the top extensions, so from now on I will document it for future reference.

I will speak candidly to the registrar and to Nominet about it and go from there.

Would it solve the problem if I were to set up as a registrar and search the names through myself or would this still happen regardless?

Thanks for all the input/info guys.

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accelerator

If you wanted to be absolutely sure you couldn't get caught out on .co.uk then get your own tag. However, I can say that I've never noticed a problem when using HeartInternet.co.uk.

With .com etc, I've never noticed a problem with GoDaddy.com. However, I am sure that some other companies are less trustworthy and could well believe that this kind of thing still happens, even after the Network Solutions case.

Rgds

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nnh

Doing a look up has always been dodgy...years ago you could pass it off as just people rushing for the same names, and maybe that is still true today in new markets. Using any web site or software is a risk, I used one site a few years ago (not a registrar) for a .org.uk check and within 24hrs all names were registered. They were all single word generics from different markets, it was obvious the site owner was saving searches and picking names. Thats a domainer!!!

Network Solutions has always been associated with dodgy practice and I think that is still the case.

I use 123-reg for single look ups, but even there about two years ago I thought I had a problem...

Find one you feel confident with and stick to them.

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afx

If it's a co.uk just use nic.uk for your searches.

If it's for a gtld's there's no way to avoid the possibility of front running by the registrar unless you become a registrar. However, at a guess I would say you wont be interested in becoming a gtld registrar due to the application fees (2.5k USD), annual ICANN fees (4000 USD) etc and then having to run your own whois server with associated cost of hardware and hosting etc.

feKIX

I was told to never assume afx.

Well I must say I do feel better now, Im not so paranoid and I can actuallyfeel I can keep trusting my instinct.

I have had some correspondance from the registrar that seems a little, how shall I put it..sheepish. Although I haven't actually stated the problem to them (only asked a few questions so far) and they responded with "if you want to take this further then write to us". Now as I havent stated the term front running, it seems they already know what Im about to say....

Like I stated before, Im no big boy in this game...but if any of you bigger boys want to come and play with me, just let me know. I could do with the help. I dont need people standing behind me jeering at the registrar, more knowledge and experience to help me argue my case (which is maybe futile?) and let me walk away with some dignity and integrity.

So......where do I go from here? It seems my judgements were right but is it a case of just walking away and learning from this or do I dig my heels in and start shouting the odds?

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afx

If it's gtld's forget it, as said, there is no guaranteed way to avoid it unless you become a registrar.

If you have solid evidence (which I'm not sure how you've achieved) it's happening in .uk, I think this is news. No harm in speaking to Nominet to get their perspective, if they even have one.

I can't say I've read every one of Nom's t's & c's. Perhaps it is within the rules, I dont know, you'd have to ask them.

Whats your end game in this ? If you want it to stop happening for .uk's, just use the whois search box at nic.uk for your look ups and move on.

Skinner

It was understanding that nominet don't like members even caching or logging look ups (I can't remember whether that was official of just a post i read) so I imagine this would be frowned on too.

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crabfoot

There's a thing that happens with a lot of US registrars - you look up a name, they provisionally reg it (as if waiting for a snailmail response). If you try to reg it elsewhere, it comes up as registered - you can only reg it at the place you looked it up, or wait 4 days. After 4 days they have to drop it or pay for it, mostly they drop it.

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