Lyle Shelton scores a hat trick against himself

Lyle Shelton had three of his domain names deregistered in under two months due to breach of auDA policy.

“To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.” — Oscar Wilde

In the wake of the deregistration of Lyle Shelton’s domain names lyleshelton.com.au and lyleshelton.net.au, and his subsequent claim this was an attempt to silence him, it’s interesting to note that he made no such fuss when his domain lyleshelton.org.au was also recently deregistered.

The Internet Archive shows us the existence of the domain lyleshelton.org.au:

Lyle Shelton had been publishing articles under lyleshelton.org.au, in parallel to publishing them on lyleshelton.com.au, evidenced by records of posts received via RSS subscription between April 12-20 2018:

April 12 2018
http://www.lyleshelton.org.au/why_truth_should_always_trump_prejudice

April 16 2018
http://www.lyleshelton.org.au/consequences_what_consequences

April 18 2018
http://www.lyleshelton.org.au/this_pathway_to_totalitarianism_must_be_reversed http://www.lyleshelton.org.au/qld_education_minister_drops_truth_bomb_about_safe_schools

April 20 2018
http://www.lyleshelton.org.au/here_s_what_the_chronicle_is_saying_about_my_call_for_conservatives_to_be_conservatives

On April 23 2018 the domain lyleshelton.org.au was no longer able to be reached:

lyleshelton.org.au domain can't be reached April 23 2018

The WHOIS record for lyleshelton.org.au indicated on April 23 2018 that it was in a pendingDelete (Client requested policy delete) status, effective April 20 2018:

Whois response for lyleshelton.org.au:

Domain Namelyleshelton.org.au
Last Modified20-Apr-2018 14:10:06 UTC
StatuspendingDelete (Client requested policy delete)
Registrar NameGoDaddy.com, LLC
RegistrantWhitestone Strategic Pty Ltd
Registrant IDACN 618607051
Eligibility TypeOther
Registrant Contact IDCR315360472
Registrant Contact NameDavid Hutt
Registrant Contact Emaildavid.hutt@whitestonestrategic.com
Tech Contact IDCR315360477
Tech Contact NameDavid Hutt
Tech Contact Emaildavid.hutt@whitestonestrategic.com
Name Serverns10.nationbuilder.com
Name Serverns11.nationbuilder.com
Name Serverns12.nationbuilder.com
Name Serverns13.nationbuilder.com
Name Serverns14.nationbuilder.com
Name Serverns15.nationbuilder.com
DNSSECunsigned

auDA says of the pendingDelete (Client requested policy delete) status:

Domain names that are deleted due to a breach of an auDA Published Policy will transition from a “Registered” to a “Pending Policy Delete” state at the time the deletion command is submitted by the registrar. At this time, the domain name will be published on the Official Domain Drop List for 14 calendar days after which it will be purged at the next drop cycle.

auDA policy states of a .org.au domain name:

SCHEDULE F

ELIGIBILITY AND ALLOCATION RULES FOR ORG.AU

The org.au 2LD is for non-commercial organisations.

The following rules are to be read in conjunction with the Eligibility and Allocation Rules for All Open 2LDs, contained in Schedule A of this document.

1.  To be eligible in the org.au 2LD, registrants must be non-commercial organisations as follows:
a) an association incorporated in any Australian State or Territory; or

b) a political party registered with the Australian Electoral Commission; or

c) a trade union or other organisation registered under the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009; or

d) a sporting or special interest club operating in Australia; or

e) a charity operating in Australia, as defined in the registrant’s constitution or other documents of incorporation; or

f) a non-profit organisation operating in Australia, as defined in the registrant’s constitution or other documents of incorporation.

2.  Domain names in the org.au 2LD must be:

a) an exact match, abbreviation or acronym of the registrant’s name; or

b) otherwise closely and substantially connected to the registrant, in accordance with the categories of “close and substantial connection” set out in the Guidelines on the Interpretation of Policy Rules for the Open 2LDs.

The domain name lyleshelton.org.au appears to have breached all the auDA requirements of a .org.au domain name.

Lyle Shelton lost his lyleshelton.org.au domain name due to breach of auDA policy.  The registrant for the domain name, David Hutt, would have been notified of this in advance of the domain being taken offline.  Clearly David and Lyle weren’t able to sort out the discrepancies with their two other domain names before they were also found to be in breach of auDA policy.

Lyle Shelton omits to mention why his domain name (not his blog) was taken down

Lyle Shelton omits to mention the real reason why his domain name, not his blog, was taken down.

Yesterday Lyle Shelton tweeted “my blog lyleshelton.com.au has been challenged & taken down”:

It’s worth pointing out that it was his domain name “lyleshelton.com.au” that was taken down, not his blog.

As of June 8 the auDA Drop List shows both “lyleshelton.com.au” and “lyleshelton.net.au” were flagged as Deleted Domain Names:

2018-06-21 15:01:47 lyleshelton.com.au
2018-06-21 15:02:31 lyleshelton.net.au

The Domain Name Drop List shows the date and time that Domain Names are eligible to be purged. When a Domain Name is purged, it becomes available for registration according to the policy of the Regulator. Unless restored the Domain Name will be purged at the next Purge Cycle, also as defined in Regulator Policy. The Purge Cycle is an automated process within the Domain Name Registry System.

auDA has some very strict rules for registering .au domain names, and it would appear that Lyle Shelton has not complied with the particular rules for a .com.au domain name.

The current WHOIS entry for lyleshelton.com.au (see below) shows that the registrant was Whitestone Strategic and the contact person is David Hutt.

The .auDA policy (see below) states that “Domain names in the com.au 2LD” must be “an exact match, abbreviation or acronym of the registrant’s name or trademark” or “otherwise closely and substantially connected to the registrant”.

It would appear that, as it currently stands, “lyleshelton.com.au” meets neither of these requirements.

It is incumbent on Lyle Shelton to ensure he abides by the .auDA rules for domain names if he want to use a .au domain name.


Whois response for lyleshelton.com.au:

Domain Name lyleshelton.com.au
Last Modified 07-Jun-2018 15:01:17 UTC
Status pendingDelete (Client requested policy delete)
Registrar Name GoDaddy.com, LLC
Registrant Whitestone Strategic Pty Ltd
Registrant ID ACN 618607051
Eligibility Type Company
Registrant Contact ID CR315360471
Registrant Contact Name David Hutt
Registrant Contact Email david.hutt@whitestonestrategic.com
Tech Contact ID CR315360476
Tech Contact Name David Hutt
Tech Contact Email david.hutt@whitestonestrategic.com
Name Server ns10.nationbuilder.com
Name Server ns11.nationbuilder.com
Name Server ns12.nationbuilder.com
Name Server ns13.nationbuilder.com
Name Server ns14.nationbuilder.com
Name Server ns15.nationbuilder.com
DNSSEC unsigned

2012-04 – Domain Name Eligibility and Allocation Policy Rules for the Open 2LDs

SCHEDULE C

ELIGIBILITY AND ALLOCATION RULES FOR COM.AU

The com.au 2LD is for commercial purposes.

The following rules are to be read in conjunction with the Eligibility and Allocation Rules for All Open 2LDs, contained in Schedule A of this document.

1.  To be eligible for a domain name in the com.au 2LD, registrants must be:

a) an Australian registered company; or

b) trading under a registered business name in any Australian State or Territory; or

c) an Australian partnership or sole trader; or

d) a foreign company licensed to trade in Australia; or

e) an owner of an Australian Registered Trade Mark; or

f) an applicant for an Australian Registered Trade Mark; or

g) an association incorporated in any Australian State or Territory; or

h) an Australian commercial statutory body.

  1. Domain names in the com.au 2LD must be:

a) an exact match, abbreviation or acronym of the registrant’s name or trademark; or

b) otherwise closely and substantially connected to the registrant, in accordance with the categories of “close and substantial connection” set out in the Guidelines on the Interpretation of Policy Rules for the Open 2LDs.

  1. A domain name may also be registered in the com.au 2LD under paragraph 2(b) for the purpose of domain monetisation, in accordance with the explanation of “domain monetisation” set out in the Guidelines on the Interpretation of Policy Rules for the Open 2LDs, provided that the following conditions are met:

a) the content on the website to which the domain name resolves must be related specifically and predominantly to subject matter denoted by the domain name; and

b) the domain name must not be, or incorporate, an entity name, personal name or brand name in existence at the time the domain name was registered*.

  • Definitions:
  • “entity name” means the name of an Australian registered company or incorporated association as listed with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), or the name of an Australian government body. It does not include a registered business name;
  • “personal name” means the given name(s) and/or last name of a person; and
  • “brand name” means the name of an identifiable and distinctive product or service, whether commercial or non-commercial.

POST SCRIPT – 14-Jun-2018

This morning the WHOIS record for lyleshelton.com.au reverted to ‘Ok’ status and the web site was available again.

Domain Name lyleshelton.com.au
Last Modified 07Jun2018 15:01:17 UTC
Status ok
Registrar Name GoDaddy.com, LLC
Registrant Whitestone Strategic Pty Ltd
Registrant ID ACN 618607051
Eligibility Type Company
Registrant Contact ID CR315360471
Registrant Contact Name David Hutt
Registrant Contact Email david.hutt@whitestonestrategic.com
Tech Contact ID CR315360476
Tech Contact Name David Hutt
Tech Contact Email david.hutt@whitestonestrategic.com
Name Server ns10.nationbuilder.com
Name Server ns11.nationbuilder.com
Name Server ns12.nationbuilder.com
Name Server ns13.nationbuilder.com
Name Server ns14.nationbuilder.com
Name Server ns15.nationbuilder.com
DNSSEC unsigned