Israel Anderson: Ron Paul has NOT gone to the UN to strong-arm RonPaul.com

[Peace Piper]

Nothing about domains is free market from what I can tell.

What about domains is *not* free market?

It's first come first served, unless we're talking about trademarks.

If these aren't examples of a "free market" please explain your understanding of the term and why domains are excluded.

Sedo - The world's leading domain marketplace
Afternic boasts over 3 million domain names available for purchase on their aftermarket platform.
Bido is a 1 a day, domain name auction service
DomainMonkey is a domain auction and parking website
NameJet allows its customers to backorder a domain name and set a price up to which they are willing to go

[jmdrake]

and why is that?

Is milking Ron Paul supporters for a multi level marketing scam where milk shake powder and vitamin packs sell for 3x the price of a health food store "trustworthy"?

Why did Ron Paul's internet geniuses let the domain lapse in the first place? They need to pay a price for that.

Free Market is only Free and Trustworthy when Doug Wead or Israel Anderson try it, but when the RonPaul.com people do it it's not free and trustworthy. Got it.

There's a reason Wead laughs so much.

Okay. I missed the milk shake powder vitamin pack thingy. But I do plan to get into some kind of network marketing myself. The biggest deficiency of this movement is that it's all been about "Send moneybomb donations to the campaign even if you're barely getting by financially". As a group we need to look at ways to help each other become financially independent. Seriously, I've seen somebody post a request for emergency food aid! I ain't mad at the person, but if all we're about is gathering money for some campaign staff to waste spend, what good is that?

Alright, enough soapboxing. As to your point about the free market, I agree. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. I don't know the full story behind RonPaul.com per se, but people surrounding Ron Paul making 6 figure salaries have been woefully negligent in securing domain names.

[qh4dotcom]

Israel is wrong that Ron Paul is doing the only thing he can legally do.

Ron could agree to purchase the domain from Tim. Ron could then send Tim a check or even gold.

Settling the matter privately is certainly an option. Ron is not required to ask for ICANN to intervene.

He can also use another domain...I offered to give him RonPaul.name

[RickyJ]

He can also use another domain...I offered to give him RonPaul.name

You might as well use it yourself or give it to someone that can do something with it because I highly doubt Ron cares about it. He seems to think like many that are Internet noobs that ".com" is the Internet.

[jmdrake]

Okay. Watched 1/2 the video. Mr. Anderson's argument seems to be this.

1) By purchasing a domain name through ICANN, the RonPaul.com owner voluntarily submitted himself to the ICANN dispute resolution process.
2) The ICANN dispute resolution process may be part of the U.N. but that's besides the point.
3) Ron Paul is just following that process.

Okay. So any time a international government agency takes on monopoly powers and a businessman "voluntarily submits" to those powers, it's still within libertarian principles to go to that international government agency to "exercise my rights" under those powers and I'll pretend I'm not actually doing that because the person "volunteered" to the process? WTF?

[RickyJ]

Israel is wrong that Ron Paul is doing the only thing he can legally do.

Ron could agree to purchase the domain from Tim. Ron could then send Tim a check or even gold.

Settling the matter privately is certainly an option. Ron is not required to ask for ICANN to intervene.

Right, Ron could buy it for $250,000 or he could take the better deal of the free ronpaul.org offer and put his site on it and all this could be avoided. Ron most certainly is not doing the only thing he could do, he is doing something that in my opinion seems totally out of character for him.

[sailingaway]

What about domains is *not* free market?

It's first come first served, unless we're talking about trademarks.

If these aren't examples of a "free market" please explain your understanding of the term and why domains are excluded.

Sedo - The world's leading domain marketplace
Afternic boasts over 3 million domain names available for purchase on their aftermarket platform.
Bido is a 1 a day, domain name auction service
DomainMonkey is a domain auction and parking website
NameJet allows its customers to backorder a domain name and set a price up to which they are willing to go

My understanding is this one body has a monopoly and you take a domain subject to its precise rules of how you can use it, which rules Ron is claiming under. However, he tried to buy it first at what he thought was market value. Now it is for sale on whosis and if someone else buys it do you really think the value they pay above what Ron would would be based on the site as used to date? Or would it be based on Ron's fame and potential, the precise type of thing not allowed by the domain rules the site owner took it subject to?

However, while domains seem to be nauseatingly UN free market, that doesn't prevent the two sides from voluntarily negotiating a result to settle it and I really hope they do.

[sailingaway]

Right, Ron could buy it for $250,000 or he could take the better deal of the free ronpaul.org offer and put his site on it and all this could be avoided. Ron most certainly is not doing the only thing he could do, he is doing something that in my opinion seems totally out of character for him.

It does seem out of character but I don't know all of what happened in negotiations either. But I hope they sides can work out a settlement.

[Uncle Emanuel Watkins]

If the sake of America's future depends upon ownership of a domain name, it is time to start looking outside of the United States regarding the whereabouts of the next advancement of the social contract.

[RickyJ]

If the sake of America's future depends upon ownership of a domain name, it is time to start looking outside of the United States regarding the whereabouts of the next advancement of the social contract.

You know that is not true. This is an important topic here because we are all Ron Paul supporters, at least most of us are, this is ronpaulforums.com after all. No one is saying the future of the USA depends on the resolution of this matter.