All Your Engrish are Belong to Us.

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Coaching, speech recognition, goal tracking and great content come together to help teach language in virtually real situations.

Is there a letter of the law vs spirit of the law distinction in Ireland?

I'm getting Siegel.ie registered with the IEDR and doing a few posts along the way. I expected to learn some tech tidbits through the process, but didn't expect to see so much fabric of culture exposed. Let me explain.

In my last post I mentioned this "Unincorporated Association." It's a nifty catch-all for anyone not doing anything as a Corporation. It is not understood by the IEDR--or most Irish I've spoken to. The IEDR does not use a legal definition of an Unincorporated Association. The right way to move them towards a legal definiton is a legal challenge--but that's a future post.

Why are rules and policies created?

For public entities we expect rules and policies to be stated and adhered to. We want fairness. We want expectations set for predictable results. We want to know what expectations are set for our own performance.

There's an issue here though. We like rules to be concise and clear. Concise and clear--what's the issue?

The issue is that more clarity often requires more rules--while more conciseness requires less rules.

For instance--let's look at the IEDR and their Unincorporated Associations. From one perspective, the IEDR is clear: if you are an Unincorporated Association, send us your blog link and get your domain. From another perspective, the IEDR is not clear at all--rejecting legally valid associations with no accountability.

The IEDR suffers from being too concise--a stated policy that is too terse. There is a hidden agenda in the IEDR policy that is hard to coax out. In this case more clarity--or a verbose policy--would possibly uncover that agenda.

The Agenda

It's clear with our example that there are two types of decisions being made for domain approval: a stated, explicit one, and an implied, implicit one. This is not a surprise since we expect a tradeoff between overspecifying and underspecifying rules in any circumstance.

What is a surprise--is that usually there is a theme--often a best-interest-in-a-discernable-direction that can be infered from looking at the effects of the implicit rules. You might call this "the agenda." And for the IEDR that theme is not clear nor discernable.

Thanks to the bible we have a phrase for what we usually expect from rules--a well stated set of requirements called the "letter of the law" and implied requirements called the "spirit of the law." You know what this means already--covet another man's wife in action--well that's the letter of the law being broken. Do it in your heart and mind only? That's the spirit of the law being broken. And no--it's not my example.

It's really darn easy to see the difference between obeying the stated law vs the implied one. It's also easy to see that a rule like this would have been horrendous to have to spell out.

Rule #17123: Do not put lips of man against lips of other woman.

This is great, except if you are giving CPR! Then you break Rule #17123, fire and brimstone and all that. So you take that rule out--and ecstasy-laden CPR parties become the heavenly rage.

We've got a nice clear theme and see the tradeoffs of letter vs spirit.

Now back to the IEDR. They are aggressive in denying domain names based on non-stated rules. Let's try and divine their deeper purpose.

The IEDR could be following unstated rules to make sure that there is perceived quality in the IE domainspace. Quality on the internet means--not a lot of squatting--high signal vs noise. In a previous post we've shown this not to be the case.

The IEDR could be following unstated rules to keep the IE domainspace "Irishy." Now this is something I thought was happening since Doyle and David and Nolan got their surnames as domain names but Siegel didn't. But this is such an easy rule to make stated--like: No names that aren't in the Irish book of names before 1850.

The IEDR could be following unstated rules to keep any surnames from ever becoming domain names. Now this would contradict the fact that Doyle and David and Muphy are registered.

OK--so a few trys didn't prove fruitful--have a suggestion? Leave it in the comments.

Irony

Without divining a deeper purpose in the IEDR's domain management mayhem, we can still appreciate their irony.

Take Siegel.ie. A domain application has been submitted for Category 6 Publication Name for an Unincorporated Association. The legal constraints and stated policy are fully satisfied; however, the application has been denied.

At the same time--Ireland's a small Country--I keep meeting friends of friends of those darned registrars. They have infered a deeper purpose that I never would have guessed: Don't take away our control.

The registrars have been beaten up before my adventures. They have suffered years of mistakes and the community in Ireland has laid into them. So they have retaliated--by reigning in the only power they have--approving applications--and exercising their power in an arbitrary manner. And an application like mine--that meets the stated policy--has little hope of succeeding on its own merits.

What is an Unincorporated Association and how can I get one?

¿Unincorporealated Ashmorginacion?

Amazing isn't it how quickly normal-sounding words can be put together to form quasi-legal mumbo-jumbo eyes-glazing stomach-turning content-lacking syllablisms?

Unless you are a history buff or recently read Life Inc (I recommend it) you may not know where corporations came from, what purpose they serve or why the inverse of one is a thorn in the side of Ireland's domain registrar (IEDR). To understand Unincorporated Associations we first need to understand Incorporated ones and then we can start to make sense out of the IEDR.

Corporations are a gift from Society to one or more Individuals. These Individuals receive the gift of organizing as a whole, rather than individually. This is only possible because Society allows it and we allow it primarily because "that's the way it's always been." Or at least in our lifetimes.

Corporations gain privileges from Society. The extent of privilege depends on each Society--on each Country. Privileges range from tax advantages to lobbying powers to billions of subsidization revenue. Corporations can also be--in the eyes of the law--a person. Like really a person.

Forming a Corporation generally requires the drafting of Articles of Association and submitting them to a governing body. In the US, this is done at the State level--so you can have a Corporation that is a California Corporation if you present your Articles of Association to the California Secretary of State. Alternatively, you can create a Delaware Corporation if you submit your Articles of Association to the Delaware Secretary of State.

Before you go off to create the next Google, here's a few questions to ponder:

• Is there only one kind of Corporation?
• Why would you choose one State of Incorporation over another?
• Do you have to be physically located in the State of Incorporation?
• Must you only have employees in your State of Incorporation?
• Must you only conduct business in your State of Incorporation?
• Is a Company ALWAYS a Corporation?
• What privileges do a Corporation receive and how do these vary by type, State and even Country?

OK--stopped you in your tracks didn't I? No worries--that's why I love my attorney.

When I have a question about Corporations, I ask my attorney. They tend to give me a 10,000 ft view. They hide lots of details to keep me from overthinking. They know I lack experience and I don't have deep insight into the structures. They also see what is "commonly done" which can save time and keep me on track.

So--we know what a Corporation is, roughly how you form one and I've admitted that I usually punt to my attorney. That brings us to the "Unincorporated Association" and the IEDR.

I'm in the process of registering Siegel.ie. To do this I need to fall into one of 11 published categories of domain name applications. I read through the listing and one that caught my eye was Category 6--for Publication Names. I've always wanted this blog at Siegel.something, so what better way to get a domain than at Siegel.ie.

A Category 6 requires that you be a "Sole Trader, Company, Unincorporated Association, State Agency or Educational Institution." Since I write the Siegel blog, I had to see whether I fit under one of these categories. A quick call to my attorney told me that Ireland's Unincorporated Association would be just the fit for me.

It turns out that all an Unincorporated Association is--is anyone doing anything without specifically declaring it to be under an Incorporated Association. Hah! That's certainly me. In fact, you, right now, reading this blog, are an Unincorporated Association--even if you are on your own! I shall name you--the Unincorporated Association of the Siegel Blog Readers at {Your IP Address Here}. Feels pretty cool to be your own association, eh?

As I've written in earlier posts, the IEDR is going through a tough time. They have a registration policy that is published, but not followed. Moreover, they lack a legal resource to support claims on words such as "Unincorporated Association." For instance, they say in passing that an individual cannot be an Unincorporated Association:

What do you do when confronted with a public-funded body giving you contradictory legal advice? You ask them to clarify:

Please note that my Solicitors have countered your argument that there is a limit of membership such that an individual can not form an unincorporated association. I have cc'd them here and you are welcome to hold me accountable and validate this with them. You have made such a statement below. How can I hold you accountable to your statement? Please provide a legal reference that supports your statement. Additionally, how may I take action such that your policies, shown to be incorrect, are mended?

Their response?

The IEDR has sent three additional notices in response to my application, but has ignored this request for clarification. You can imagine the customer rep there trying to start to answer the question and giving up and eventually ignoring it. In a world where people responded honestly I'd probably get this back:

Dear Foreigner Mr. Siegel,

I don't like your name. Moreover I have to deal with whiney twits like you all day long.

If I give you a domain name, I get yelled at. I don't like it and I hope you can appreciate this negative incentive carries a heavy weight in the evaluation of domain name approvals.

Oh yeah--your application.

I know you marked category 6 for Publication Name. Of course I saw that! But if I write back to you and say you can't have a personal surname as a domain name, I do what's called "disabling your intention." See--by responding with selective information I can deny you for a category 1 application, even when--I admit--you were quite clear that you didn't want a category 1 application.

You have to agree that there is genius in that Mr. Siegel, don't you?

Now after you started cc'ing ComReg and god-knows-who-else, I admitted that I had re-intepreted your application as to maximize its denial. And you thought you were going to get your domain?

See--when you started sending me the documents I requested, you didn't realize that they go right into my "counter-file." We start compiling a counter-file the minute you contact us. This is where we put all of our reasons NOT to give you your domain. Do you want see your counter-file?

Counter-File for Siegel

1. You called me a Duder.
2. Your last name isn't Irishy like doyle.ie, david.ie, dave.ie, curtin.ie, or paul.ie.
3. You were willing to respond to my purposefully oblique requests.
4. There's this weird life imitating art imitating life thing going on between your "publication" and your "application."
5. You wrote your letterhead by hand. Hahahahaha! He wrote it by hand! I bet he's not even a duly authorized letterheaderer!
6. Farce nor Sarcasm are acceptable for domains published as Category 6 Publication Names.
7. In the book by which we lookup what does and does not constitute a surname--well it's not a book--well--we just added Siegel to this Post-It on my monitor--since what a crazy name that is for a surname--never saw one of those surnames before--anyway--it's in the "book" of surnames now.
8. Keep on with this Unincorporated Association thing. He thinks he's found a legal definition, but remember--we don't have to admit there's a legal definition. So keep ignoring his requests to be definite, but don't discourage him from wasting time and money on researching whether there is really a definition.
9. I definitely suggest that anyone on this case subscribe to his blog. He's really got some good information and I'm worried that others may use his "techniques" to get past our application process. We cannot let this happen!
10. Eventually we may have to admit that we have adulterated his application. Be sure to NOT save correspondence. Do not keep a coherent thread in our email replies and if at all possible stop putting your name in the correpondences for this application.

Now. Trust me, this is only page one of your full counter-file. You can clearly see that your efforts do nothing to support your case and everything to deny it.

Please--for god's sake--just give up already! We don't want you. We don't like you. We definitely don't want you on our domain space!

Sincerely,

Team IEDR

Still Waiting

I would be saddened by a reply like that above. It would also give me closure and I promise if you send me this letter, I will move on. I will.

After all, Siegel.cn sounds so much cooler!

Transparency creates governance conflict at the IEDR

The IE Domain Registry (IEDR) runs at a loss. Its morality has been questioned. They are accused of false advertising, being a domain-wide spammer, incompetent leadership and cronieism.

Michele Neylon summarises the IEDR's operational practices:

Since the "awarding" of a domain name relies almost entirely on the registry's staff subjective interpretation of the policies the end result is that prospective registrants and registrars are constantly locked in an unending game of "Russian roulette", though in many respects it's even worse, as you don't know how many chambers have been loaded.

Does this echo my experience?

As I wrote my last post I took a moment to resubmit a domain registration for Siegel.ie as a Category #6 Publication Name. Here's how my conversation went:

OK--so why the focus on transparency?

Right--transparency is what we expect from well run organizations. It leads to efficient interactions and holds all parties accountable. It is also a cornerstone of the internet.

Did you know that you, by yourself, can change the "Internet"? I don't mean some airy-fairy notion. I mean change the Internet like--make some new way of publishing information--like RSS. In fact, someone very much like you did change the Internet. They created something called RFC 5005 which is modern RSS.

RFC means "Request For Comment." Today there are 5098 RFCs. They cover all facets of Internet operation, from that http:// we use in our website URLs (RFC 1945) to the order of electronic signals we send through our network cables (RFC 2).

These RFC's started in 1969 as notes. They weren't even on a computer--who had a computer in 1969! RFC 7 was handwritten and is only partially recorded. The RFC was to be an idea or vision for what the Internet might be (at that time it was just the Arpa Network). Once created, an RFC followed the process of scientific debate and public vetting.

The RFC authors would share their RFCs at meetings and eventually on the internet itself. They were made for real feedback from other contributors--regardless of rank, degrees or any other posturing.

Fast forward 40 years. The ICANN gives the government of Ireland access to its root host servers--the section of the Internet phonebook that ends in ".ie". Ireland gives a no-compete contract to manage those phonebook entries to IEDR. They state their intention to:

"Promote the registration and continued use of .ie domains" and "the Best Practice Principles of IANA, ICANN and CENTR."

The ICANN being a body founded with the ethos of transparency states:

"ICANN and its constituent bodies shall operate to the maximum extent feasible in an open and transparent manner and consistent with procedures designed to ensure fairness."

By, for example:

"Making decisions by applying documented policies neutrally and objectively, with integrity and fairness."

Right--so IEDR has a stated mission to be like the Internet elite. But the Internet elite don't act like "the elite." They are transparent and open and reasonable and welcoming of criticism. They represent the optimism, rationality and fairness we enjoy in our lives.

And then the IEDR takes a step backwards while trying to move forward. They move towards subjective, unarticulated and unaccountable methods which do not belong to the Internet elite. Instead, they move outside the circle of influencers and those that are praised.

And this creates a governance conflict.

Even the governing members stand in conflict.

If you can drown in 30 mm of water, the reputation of the IEDR--and unfortunately Ireland's perceived technical competance on the Internet--is under a few meters. Oh--it's raining too.

Is the IEDR making an effort to thwart Jewish names as domains?

Seriously. Now that I'm in Ireland I want Siegel.ie. I don't mean to scare you with my name--I'm not religious!

I applied for Siegel.ie at LetsHost.ie--I don't recommend them--they've tried harder to stand in my way than to respond or assist--or even follow the rules. Ireland isn't like the US and .com domains. To get a .ie domain, you need to fall into one of 11 categories specified in the application process for the domain. But in reality it means having the secret handshake--or possibly being related to Lothar or whomever watches the IEDR inbound requests.

Why?

I've been denied the ability to apply for the domain four times. Three times by LetsHost and once by the IEDR (we'll get to them on the next post). Surely this must mean that they are strict! And all about ensuring quality, right?

Check out phone.ie:

It's Category 4, Registered Business Name. No offense to Phone.ie, but isn't that a domain park page that we eschew in the web sphere?

Well then, maybe they are strict to the letter of the rule, but not worried about quality. Then surely they'll keep everyone to the Categories 1-10 rather than the ambiguous Category 11. The "Discretionary Name" category, right?

Let's see:

The domain register mentioned above, LetsTalk.ie--their company is Digital Media Internet Services Ltd--so how'd they get the LetsTalk.ie name?

WOAH! It's a Discretionary Name.

What about DomainRegistry.ie--the alter ego of the IEDR?

HEY NOW! It's a Discretionary Name!

Come on--you got blocked by your own Category 1-10? And had to use sneaky #11? Why didn't you tell me! I'll do #11 too. In fact... one... more... ah, great! I just submitted to you a #11. Well, I submitted to you a #6 "Publication Name" with the required docs. We've already corresponded and you claimed that I did not have a long standing blog. Do you want to change your mind on that? This blog has been around for 5 years--as many years as you have published annual reports on your site.

I'm assuming you don't want to change your mind (I like to be stubborn too), so why don't you sneak me into #11 the same way you snuck yourself in?

Here's a few more discretionary:

- Talk.ie

- Budd.ie

- Drive.ie

- Hosts.ie

Hmm... it's hard to find domains that aren't discretionary.

So Lothar--if you are reading this--please, please treat me like you would yourself. Gimme my Siegel.ie. I ticked the boxes. And if you want to kick out my Category #6--I don't mind. Just pass me under Category #11.

And thank you for the prod to blog!