SPENCER F. KATT: RUMOR CENTRAL
Domain registrar hijinks don’t fly
ICANN, REGISTERFLY NAMED IN SUIT; VOTING MACHINE DEAL SOURS
Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away,” crooned old has taken the state of Massachusetts to court for choosing to
Blue Eyes, Sinatra-like, when he heard that a class- purchase voting machines from Diebold competitor Automark
action lawsuit has been filed against domain registrar Technical Systems. Diebold’s sour-grapes suit basically seeks
and hosting service RegisterFly.com. to halt the state’s use of any Automark machines until a judge
ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and can review how wonderful the Diebold sales presentation was
Numbers) has also been named in the suit for its alleged and order the Bay State to come to its senses and buy the
“breach of duty” for allowing RegisterFly to remain an Diebold equipment. “Hell hath no fury like a voting machine
accredited domain registrar,
despite numerous complaints
about the company’s services.
John Naruszewicz has reportedly led to an internal struggle
for control of the company and
legal finger-pointing. Court
documents allege that Medina
misappropriated customers’
registration fee funds to pay for escort services, liposuction, company spurned, eh?” laughed the Lynx.
a Miami penthouse and a costly pet Chihuahua. After ordering another round, the duo chuckled over
Spence called a Web-spert
pal who told him that RegisterFly
has had myriad complaints over
the last two years ranging from
system troubles, withholding
domain names, losing registrations, ignoring transfers and
renewals, and allegedly misusing
company funds.
A feud between RegisterFly
founders Kevin Medina and
Medina has countered that Naruszewicz used company the fact that Wikipedia seems to continue having trouble
cash toward a home and pricey furnishings. Sadly, thou- getting its facts straight, even when it concerns its own
sands of customers have been denied access to or lost their history. Larry Sanger, who bills himself as a Wikipedia codomain names completely because of RegisterFly’s hijinks, founder, has just launched a new online encyclopedia called
said the pal. The pal joked that even the company’s New Citizendium. Unfortunately, Wikipedia point man Jimmy
Jersey headquarters are listed as being on the fourth floor Wales claims that Sanger was but a cog in the wiki-wheels,
of what is actually a three-story building. and not truly a Wikipedia founder.
Bidding his pal adieu, Spence skatted off to toss back a few “There was never this much intrigue ordering all 32
with an old Beantown tech vet. The Katt slurped a giant martini volumes of the
while the pal told him that Google is rumored to be looking Encyclopedia to set up a major presence in Boston or possibly Cambridge, Britannica from Mass. “Hey, potential employees wouldn’t even need Google some squirrelly LITTER
LYNX
Maps to navigate the stroll from their MIT graduation to a guy at the super-
Google Cantabrigian campus,” mused the Mouser. market,” cackled
The crony also noted that voting machine maker Diebold the Kitty. ´
ge bee the@ekologie.com
And don’t forget me at go.eweek.com/kattoon
Spill your guts at spencer_katt@ziffdavis.com, or give the Katt a howl at 781-938-2627.
