Newsletter ArchiveSUBJECTs:Using Forms - New Domains The Internet 800 Directory - http://www.inter800.com The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter This issue is for Friday, July 13, 2001 Table of Contents 01. Using Forms 02. New Domains *01 Using Forms One of the most valuable aspects of Internet is the ease of communication this media provides. Only personal contact provides a greater opportunity to form a dialog with a prospective customer. Because online communication is an important part of making your web site profitable, this week I wanted to cover online forms. What is a form? A form is a part of a web page into which a surfer can enter information into their web browser. When the surfer hits the forms "submit" button, the information is automatically sent to the web server. From there, an application running on the server can process the information. The application can then perform all types of tasks, like adding the information to a database, posting it to another web page, or send it out as e-mail. There are many advantages to using forms in your web site. The first is gaining more control over what type of information you receive from inquiries generated by your web site. If you only provide a simple e-mail link, the inquiries only contain information the sender chooses to include. The problem is, most people won't provide the information you need to evaluate and/or respond in simple email correspondence. For instance, very few voluntarily include their physical address and phone number when sending email. By using a form, you can request information such as company name, phone number, address, age, sex, income and more. For information that is critical for your response, you can make it required. This will ensure you are provided the facts you need to evaluate an inquiry and respond accordingly. If your business uses any type of applications, surveys or questionnaires, online forms can replace their paper counterparts. This information can be instantly added to a database saving your company many hours of labor costs. If you have any thoughts on this subject or any ideas that could be helpful to the others in this group send them to me (Chuck Arning) at chuck@inter800.com *02 New Domains It is no secret that domain names, specifically those ending with "dot com", are being consumed at an incredible rate. If you are just now thinking about getting your own domain name, do not be surprised if another company has already taken your first choice. Later this summer, we should expect to see the new .biz and .info domains become available. This might provide you the opportunity to get the name you want, but only if you act quicker than your competition. Getting the name you desire on the .biz or .info domains includes some risk. As it stands right now, .COM is king. Most people are conditioned to see a web site address end with .COM. The risk is, when people see your .biz URL, their conditioning may cause them to remember it as ending with .com. I have already seen this happen several times with clients utilizing .net & .org domains. If you go this route, be sure to accentuate the .biz so as to reduce the possibility of confusion. Let's go back to the first paragraph. What if someone already owns the .com domain name you had targeted for your company? If the party who has acquired the domain name has no rights or legitimate interests in the name, or if the party is using it in "bad faith", you may file a UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy) complaint. "Bad faith" can be described as acquiring a domain name with the purpose of selling, renting, or leasing the name to, or otherwise shafting the rightful owner. According to ICANN's web site, "To invoke the policy, a trademark owner should either (a) file a complaint in a court of proper jurisdiction against the domain-name holder (or where appropriate an in-rem action concerning the domain name) or (b) in cases of abusive registration submit a complaint to an approved dispute-resolution service provider." Here is ICANN's official dispute resolution page: http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp.htm. Included is a list of approved dispute-resolution service providers. I would like to add that the person filing a UDRP complaint pays the fees, usually between $700 and $800 per name, plus possibly a couple of thousand more in legal fees. Conversely, if you are the legitimate owner of a domain name that has been disputed, you can protect your ownership by demonstrating "credible use" of said domain. That is, if you are using the name in conjunction with a bona fide offering of products or services, you should be safe. Also, if you are commonly known by the name, without having a trademark, you are also protected. The maximum punishment the UDRP allows for a violation is the cancellation or transfer of the domain in dispute, but be advised, there may be some type of judicial action and you could wind up in court. Thanks for taking to time to review our newsletter for this week. If you know of anyone that might benefit from receiving this newsletter, send them to (http://www.inter800.com/news800/ ) where they can subscribe. All Contents Copyright ©1995-2001 The Internet 800 Directory Subscribe To The Newsletter: |