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T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Jam

Perceived "Conflict of Interest" Garners Heated Reaction From Major Domain Conference Organizers

According to this post on popular domain industry forum DomainState.com, Rick Schwartz and Howard Neu, domain entrepreneurs and organizers of the popular T.R.A.F.F.I.C. domain industry tradeshow reportedly sent a heated email today to show sponsors and attendees.

The email references a private party planned by Domain Sponsor, a domain monetization service and former T.R.A.F.F.I.C. sponsor, claiming that the company is undercutting the tradeshow by drawing attendees away to a private Domain Sponsor party, the details of which can be found at DomainJamNYC.com.

However, the email took what some have described as a dictatorial tone that soon had the domain industry buzzing about the mudslinging tactics and seemingly knee-jerk response on the part of T.R.A.F.F.I.C. organizers.

The Email

According to the DomainState.com post, the following is the content of the email sent by the organizers of T.R.A.F.F.I.C.:

"TRAFFIC vs OVERSEE Conflict
Subject: URGENT! Not in the best interest of the industry!!

DOMAIN SPONSOR'S true colors are now on display for all to see. Ron Sheridan, Lawrence Ng and the rest of the DS gang are showing what parasites they are. They canceled the contract with T.R.A.F.F.I.C. so that they can feed off of our hard work in putting the show together by bussing 150 gullible domainers to their private party.

They blatantly advertise that they will be bussing invitees from the Hyatt Grand Central during and after our opening cocktail party. Man, do they have BALLS!!! Whose money do you think that they're spending to steal (yes, I said STEAL) our attendees from T.R.A.F.F.I.C.? YOURS - if you have an account with them.

They are also advertising additional sponsors to help them pay for your participation (if you QUALIFY). WATCH MY DOMAIN, PHILLIBURTON, EURODNS, NAMECHEAP and REGISTRAR ENGINE will never exhibit at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. AND - it appears that they plan on doing the same at all future T.R.A.F.F.I.C. shows. This kind of guerilla tactics first manifested itself when they undercut SKENZO by requiring people who wanted to go to their party at the Ghost Bar in Las Vegas to wear THEIR lanyards instead of the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. lanyards provided by SKENZO.

One of the things that we have tried to do (and i believe successfully) is to raise the ethical bar for domainers so that our industry will be looked upon favorably by others. These tactics by OVERSEE.NET and DOMAINSPONSOR fly directly in the face of ethics and are truly despicable. They should be denounced in the strongest terms.

So, those of you who think that this party is a good idea, and I'm sure that there will be many who do, have fun at the party, even though your participation is what the Pied Piper of Sheridan is planning on destroying T.R.A.F.F.I.C. and all that it has come to stand for in the "industry". This party is being put on for the SOLE PURPOSE of disrupting T.R.A.F.F.I.C. and the domain industry for soley SELFISH reasons. We will no longer remain silent.

Howard Neu

Howard Neu howard@neulaw.com

Rick Schwartz mr800king@aol.com"

Domainers Weigh In

The outcry came quickly from the domain industry, with posts on popular forums like IDNF.com, DNLocal.com, NamePros.com and the aforementioned DomainState.com calling the email "unprofessional" and "childish."

Domainers also pointed out the following post on the World Association of Domain Developers Web site:

"Due to disruption of proceedings at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. caused by certain persons, groups or companies arranging private parties or gatherings while events are occurring, the Board voted unanimously that any function, party or gathering by written or verbal invitation by any person, group or company before 9:30P.M. on the first, second or third full day of T.R.A.F.F.I.C. shall be strictly prohibited and any violators shall be excluded from any future T.R.A.F.F.I.C. CONFERENCE AND TRADE SHOW. Sponsors pay to have full attendance at Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner and it is not fair to them to have competing functions small or large before 9:30 P.M."

The WADND is an organization run by T.R.A.F.F.I.C. organizers Rick Schwartz and Howard Neu, among others.

The public backlash on behalf of T.R.A.F.F.I.C. against Domain Sponsor soon devolved even further, with posts like the following, from RicksBlog.com, Rick Schwartz's official blog:

"Dirtiest domain sponsor in the industry
Coming soon ... The dirtiest domain sponsor in the industry revealed. Powerful and unethical, what does it mean to your futures? How can domainers fight back? How can they be protected?"

In addition, unethical.com, a domain owned by Rick Schwartz, was modified earlier today to publicly mock Domain Sponsor. While the domain has since been modified, here is a picture of the website from earlier today, after the photo of Ron Sheridan was removed:

How will this affect the upcoming T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference, its sponsors, and most importantly, its attendees? Some speculate that the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. organizers have gone too far, possibly alienating the very domainers and sponsors who foot the bill for the popular industry tradeshow, while others feel that the situation may have already reached its escalation point.

IDNcyclopedia will be monitoring this story, so check back often for further updates.

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The Email

Domainers Weigh In