VeriSign rethinks waiting list plan

Domain name registrar VeriSign said Wednesday that it is revising a controversial proposal to award expiring Web addresses to registrants who pay to be on a waiting list. VeriSign, which operates the registry for the .com, .net and .org domains, said that with the revision it will charge registrars $35 a year to put a Web address on the Domain Name Wait Listing Service, with rebates offered for bulk subscriptions. Registrars would then resell each wait-listed entry to consumers. The price reduction is an attempt to win applause from a number of registrars who criticized the original proposal, saying they would not profit from the service. Previously, VeriSign had proposed charging registrars $40 per address. VeriSign's wait-list proposal avoids lottery questions and instead would reserve a Web address for the first person to request it. If a Web address expires and is not renewed, it would automatically be transferred to the person that paid the wait-list fee. VeriSign has proposed a 12-month trial to ensure the service's effectiveness. The company has said it hopes to have a trial service up and running in late March. --Gwendolyn Mariano, Special to ZDNet News