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I received the following comment regarding the last article that I wrote about the Snap Names Saga and I thought that it would be worth answering. For a start let me thank the person that wrote this as they fully expressed themselves without becoming derogatory or abusive. In such an emotional issue as this one it takes a certain kind of restraint to main their composure like this.
 From the comment the challenge for the domain industry is clear....we MUST clean up our act at all levels if we are to have investors like this person continue purchasing domains.
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But not a word in support of the wee folk who fell victim to this scam? Not a word from you about the illegalities in question here, and the remaining question of how does one allegedly handle 50,000 auctions at once, or up to 350,000 as others have pondered?
Not a word here about what ought best be done to assure the rest of us who are not speculators parking and flipping domains for profit that when we spend four years building our businesses and turn to the likes of your industry to secure our domain entities only to find out that the industry is rotten from the inside out?
And some how you think nothing has really happened man?
Do you realize all these people have been clipped, pick pocketed, ripped off?
Where is your sense of indignation?
What do you bemoan instead that little people of America should not avail themselves of a remedy not in the hands of your crowd?
Here Sir, The People Rule.
And while the corporate hucksters peddle their slight of hand legger demain and offer up rebates that call for a waiver for ones right to recovery as a trade?
Some of us here in the colonies waive no such rights, just as Mr Brady may be reminded if and when he is Merandized ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miranda_v._Arizona ) some day, as well as any who may be found to have aided and abeted the scheme, till then and beyond, some of us do seek a measure of justice, like wine sweetened with age.
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For a start let me state that what has happened is terrible. The co-ordinated mass deception by user “halverez” has caused a lot of angst in the professional domain industry but more importantly the issue has introduced a loss of confidence into the secondary market. Is what I’m paying for a domain really what I should be paying?
 The people that have lost money are being compensated by the new owner who did not have to reveal what was going on. I’m just glad that they did. If you really think about it Oversee.et are the big losers. They’ve bought a business and almost doubled the price of the acquisition via this event and they’ve also inherited the incredibly bad stigma associated with it.
I think that it is everyone’s right to take legal action on such a matter. In my article I was questioning whether it was really worth it. For example, in a previous business I had to decide whether to chase $1.8m from a multi-national by spending a few years in court where despite our lawyers positive comments you never have a completely certain outcome. I walked away as spending a long time in court wasn’t my business model and quite frankly, didn't excite me that much.
Yes, there is indignation that this has happened but I was trying to be a little more pragmatic about the whole situation and push on past the emotional pain that has been inflicted on many people. I know that it can be hard to face but sometimes you’ve just got to say, “It sucks, but that’s business”, then move on. It’s a tough road but sometimes, so is life.
On the other hand if it comes out that everything has not been fully disclosed then in my opinion Oversee.Net is then directly culpable. The rule here is when you find a skeleton come completely clean and do what you can to make amends. Piece meal is never a good thing as it then becomes a breach of trust. Many people will give Oversee.Net the benefit of the doubt up until the point that this occurs.....I just hope that it doesn't!
For example, if user “halverez” is put on the stand and he claims that he did what he did with the full knowledge of senior management then there is a different issue at stake. To be quite blunt, if this happens then “God help us all” because the value of our domains will collapse overnight. Until that time I’m hoping, praying and believing that Oversee.Net has come completely clean. Given their staff I have reasonable confidence that this is the case.
We all wished that this event didn't happen but it has. We each need to look at what makes sense for our own businesses and then move on from there.....but whatever happens we do need to move on.
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The Snapnames fraud was very unique and of course, widespread. The climate, in America in particular, is one in which corporate malfeasance and Wall Street dishonesty are borderline epidemic. And people in general have become fed up with the selfish & abusive actions of others.
Brady's long term manipulation of the auctions was criminal, unacceptable, and the very type of behavior that demands penalty and retribution. I think many domainers and affiliated parties fear that this violation of public trust will be swept under the rug. And if it is, then the message will be that domain-related crime is trivial, and it will only feed others' fears that the system is indeed "rigged".
With this type of severe violation of public trust comes the necessity for a full accounting ... and justice. Otherwise, the domain industry and its constituents will lose the integrity accumulated by the hard work of many honest, dedicated people. In a sense, one bad apple does spoil the whole bunch in regard to public perception.
So, indignation serves a very important purpose. It keeps the focus appropriately aimed at a needed outcome ... which is to eradicate blatant dishonesty (and criminal behavior) from the core of the domain name industry.