Over the last six weeks, dotMobi has been working hard to resolve the problems that arose from the 5 December 2007 Sedo auction. As many readers will know, we had re-scheduled an auction replay for 23 January, but this was subsequently postponed due to feedback from the community that this was not the best approach. We are conscious that the community is looking for a speedy resolution to the situation and we share that sentiment. We have a lot of work lined up for 2008; it is going to be an exciting and busy year ahead, and no-one is more eager to move on and get going than dotMobi.
That said, we were faced with a very complex and unique situation that required a lot of our attention and time. At all times, we have acted with the best interests of the community in mind. We have listened to all stakeholders, we have consulted widely and we are now ready to respond.
Many dotMobi followers will be aware of the work of the Roundtable organised by Mobility.mobi, referenced in comments to our prevous auction blog posts. We have been encouarged to see that group of people coming together in the spirit of compromise. On request, dotMobi waited to see, and take into consideration, the work output of that group before presenting its own proposal.
It is clear that Sedo's technical problems were serious and affected different participants and stakeholders in different ways. While a review of the information available has thrown a lot of things to light, there are some things that we will never know. There are many competing claims made by participants on both sides of the debate (crash "winners" and extension "winners"). It is, however, clear from Sedo's records that a very large percentage of participants did in fact go on to participate in the auction extension.
Given the serious irregularities in the December auction, dotMobi voided the auction. That decision still stands and will not be overturned; however, our fundamental goal is to find a constructive way forward that is in the best interests of everyone. We have been able to identify some situations where it may be possible to allocate domain names in a practical way without an auction.
To that end, the auction domains have been grouped into six different categories.
The Six Categories
1. Reserve not met before the crash (no "winner" notification sent at time of crash for that domain)
2. No bids were processed on the domain after the crash
3. The crash "winner" also won in the auction extension for that domain
4. The crash "winner" actively participated in the auction extension for the same domain
5. The crash "winner" actively participated in the auction extension for another domain
6. Bid history does not reflect any activity by the crash "winner" after the crash
dotMobi has developed different approaches to resolving the disputes based on these categories. In all cases, domains offers are being made on the basis that the offerees enter into the dotMobi Auction Agreement (containing content obligations), describe their content plans and release any claims they feel they may have arising out of the auction. There is one solution for each name and no "cherry picking" is allowed.
The Solutions
- Category 1,2 and 3 crash "winners" / high bidders will be offered their domains at their highest bid price. (These are the easy categories.)
- Category 4 crash "winners" -- all of whom continued to bid on their names in the auction extension -- will be allowed to apply for names declined by the category 1, 2 and 3 crash "winners"/high bidders at those bidders' highest bid price, although categories 5 and 6 crash "winners" will have the opportunity to do so first. The auction extension winners for category 4 names will be offered their names at the winning bid price.
- Category 5 crash "winners" -- all of whom continued to bid in the auction extension for other domains -- will be offered the opportunity to pick up names declined by category 1, 2 and 3 crash "winners"/bidders and will be given a substitute name for the one on which they were bidding at their bid price (names to be valued by an agent and a choice of 10 names to be presented to the crash "winners" for their stated preferences.) The auction extension winners for category 5 names will be offered their names at their winning bid price.
- Category 6 crash "winners" -- no activity displayed after the crash -- will get priority pick of names declined by crash "winners"/high bidders in categories 1, 2 and 3 and also a substitute name. The auction extension winners for category 6 names will be offered their names at their winning bid price.
Where there are multiple expressions of interest in a declined name, the names will be selected by lottery.
This is a complex proposal but we present it to the community to show the efforts that have been made on dotMobi's part to reach a constructive solution that best meets the needs of everyone and also to ensure full transparency. Everyone stands to gain from moving past the December auction and continuing to build the value of the .mobi domain. If a substantial part of the community does not accept the above proposal, an auction replay remains the only viable option.
As always, we welcome comments and feedback on this blog and made to premium@mtld.mobi.
