[At-Large] Domain name front-running by Network Solutions

[John L]

> Why NSI's Front-Running Hurts Consumers
> http://blog.lextext.com/blog/_archives/2008/1/10/3458012.html

For people who haven't been following the details, whenever you check the 
availability of a domain on NSI's web site, they speculatively register it 
for four days, then use the AGP to give it back after four days if 
nobody's bought it by then.  They claim this is to keep bad guys from 
snatching it away from you.

I entirely agree that NSI's four-day hold is anticompetitive, particularly 
in view of their above-market prices.  But what if they held it for four 
minutes?  I still think that the world would be better with no AGP at all, 
but it seems one could make a plausible argument for holding a domain for 
the length of time it takes to run a shopping cart through a checkout.

R's,
John