xocobra and LD got married over the weekend.  It’s about damn time!  I was so tired of them living in sin…

I say this to the new Mr. & Mrs. xocobra:

Congratulations!

I have my own little internet empire, right?  Basically I have several servers, provide for all of my own services, own a myriad of domains, and I host web sites for quite a few people.  You can imagine, with my contact information in WHOIS databases across the globe, that I would receive unsolicited marketing materials on a regular basis.

Even though it’s expressly forbidden, I don’t expect the spam to stop.  Spammers are unscrupulous cretins who don’t abide by any law.  It’s for that reason alone that I don’t generally get worked up about the volume of spam I receive at my public e-mail address (the one associated with all of my domains that is publicly available via WHOIS queries).

But I do take offense at the formal marketing materials I get via postal mail which are obviously generated from my WHOIS information.

For instance, there’s a company called Internet Listing Service Corporation (ilscorp.net).  I’ve been getting unsolicited marketing material from them for years (as long as I’ve owned a domain name).  Their marketing approach borders on illegal and could easily be construed as mail fraud.

You see, they market their service to domain name owners by sending them what appears to be an invoice for $35 (one invoice for every domain name owned).  The “invoice” is quite official looking and would seem to be related to keeping your domain name (even though that is handled through a registrar).

For the casual observer, it is essentially an invoice for your domain name — something that must be paid to keep your domain active.  It’s not until you look on the back of the page near the bottom that you find where it says it’s not a bill but is instead a solicitation.  Quite deceptive, IMO.

Why is this not deceptive trade practice, mail fraud, and, more importantly, a violation of the ICANN policy regarding bulk WHOIS access by third parties?  That policy specifically states that “registrar’s access agreement shall require the third party to agree not to use the data to allow, enable, or otherwise support any marketing activities, regardless of the medium used.  Such media include but are not limited to e-mail, telephone, facsimile, postal mail, SMS, and wireless alerts.”

In response to that requirement, my registrar clearly states in its WHOIS access policy that “you agree not to use this data to allow, enable, or otherwise make possible, dissemination or collection of this data, in part or in its entirety, for any purpose, such as the transmission of unsolicited advertising and solicitations of any kind, including spam.”

Yet I still get these mailings from ILSCorp that are obviously a clear violation of that policy.

Part of the problem is that ICANN makes all sorts of regulatory decisions regarding domain names, yet they have no intention of enforcing those decisions.  ICANN also has no regard for individual privacy as they force you to keep valid information in WHOIS which can easily be used to support identity theft, domain spoofing or hijacking, unsolicited marketing (including spam), and a myriad of other activities which they should be protecting us from — not endorsing through lose-lipped policies and insufficient security requirements.

Companies like ILSCorp run their business via illegal activities, blatantly violating both ICANN and registrar policies by downloading bulk WHOIS data specifically for the purpose of sending unsolicited marketing materials.

Oh, and I’m ultimately left with wondering how my information was included in bulk WHOIS dumps when I specifically requested that it not be included (since I know that information is used for nefarious purposes which I’d rather not be subjected to)…

Someone needs to do something about ILSCorp and the rest of the data thieves who take WHOIS data specifically to violate the policy which governs its use and to invade (or otherwise violate) the privacy of those whose data they get their grubby little paws on.

Here’s wishing my father a very happy Father’s Day today.

Happy Father’s Day!

Rick and I went to see the latest Star Wars flick yesterday.  Pardon me while I laugh at those who have called this George Lucas’ coup de grâce.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is indeed the final installment of the Star Wars trilogy of prequels.  Intended to complete the transition from the three prequels to the original storyline, it did that — but nothing else.

In typical Lucas fashion, this movie is boring, tediously drawn out, poorly written with dialogue that is both uninteresting and tiresome, acting — if that’s what you want to call it — which is rigid and anticlimactic, and an overall feeling of impending doom — and I don’t mean within the context of the storyline.

Both Rick and I agreed that we now had closure on the entire Star Wars franchise.  The movie definitely closes the circle between the original movies and the three prequels of recent years.  But that’s all it does.

This movie is not exciting.  It’s not riveting or engaging.  It’s certainly not enthralling.  To call it spectacular is to show a complete misunderstanding of the definition of that word.

I found enjoyment in the film only insomuch as it provides closure.  It completes the journey from point A to point B, from Republic to Empire, from Skywalker to Vader, from Jedi to no Jedi, from Padmé to orphaned Luke and Leia.  It fills in the blanks between the prequels and the original movies and story which we needed to connect.  Outside of that, it’s meaningless gibberish with no style or grace.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t go see it.  On the contrary, if you’ve watched the first five movies and are looking for closure, you must go see this in the theater.  Just don’t expect much.  It’s no different from the rest of Lucas’ movies, certainly no different from the other five Star Wars movies, and will not be winning an Oscar.  It does close the loop between story arcs and is entertaining in that manner — but only in that manner.

Anyone who calls this a restorative and reinvigorating film — like the idiot who wrote the review at IMDB (see the link above) — is a fool who hasn’t the synaptic ability to make a phone call, much else review a movie.  It’s a pathetic piece of work indeed, but it’s worth seeing if and only if you’ve seen the others and need to close the storyline once and for all.

In a word… vapid.

Thankfully Lucas already said he’s not making the three sequels.  Given the last three movies and their horrific impact on my synapses, I’d be brain dead from such drivel.

As a member of your constituency and a tax-paying citizen of the state of Texas, I am writing to express my disappointment with your exclusionary and discriminatory remarks made against non-heterosexual military veterans on June 5, 2005.

Your comments telling these veterans, specifically those returning from Iraq, that “a state that has more lenient views than Texas” might be “a better place for them to live” do not represent the views of most Americans, nor do they represent the views of most Texans.  Those comments insult the very people who readily put their own lives in jeopardy to protect our way of life.  Dare I say they are also, via proxy, protecting your position as governor of this state?

It is utterly disheartening for a sitting governor, or any elected official, to use such divisive, elitist and intolerant language, especially in reference to members of your own constituency and serving members of our military who are returning from combat.

Non-heterosexual individuals are recognized throughout the country as productive members of their communities.  Texas companies who recognize this fact know it is in their best interest to protect their gay, lesbian and bisexual employees, which is why 30 of the Fortune 500 companies located here have non-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation.  Equally important is that 12 of these Texas companies offer domestic partner health benefits to same-sex partners of employees.

Many American families have members who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, and those families ought to be treated with the same dignity and respect with which other families are treated.  As tax paying citizens of this state, are they not entitled to the same rights and protections as other members of our society?  More importantly, are they not entitled to just and equitable treatment by their own elected officials?

The 2000 Census demonstrated that there were nearly 43,000 same-sex unmarried partner households in Texas just a few short years ago.  That number has grown since then, yet you are alienating each and every one of them and, more disturbingly, telling them to leave the state because they are unwelcome.  Most dispiriting is the inference in your remarks that those who do not wish to be discriminated against should move to another state.

Non-heterosexual Americans make up a valuable segment of Texas families and workers.  I urge you to apologize to these Texans for your supercilious comments.  I also urge you to promote equality rather than subverting it and to shun such blatant discrimination as amending our state constitution in order to limit the rights of a specific group of people.  This is simply not how Texans behave.

I look forward to your response.