Nominet flip-flops on industry code of conduct

Nominet UK, the outfit that administers the .uk domain, says it's committed to "raising standards in the UK internet industry" four years after insisting a code of conduct was "not feasible".

Ten years after Nominet was created it is now consulting the industry on how to improve standards in the domain name industry.

Clearly not wishing to be rushed, this is based on research it carried out two years ago which found that "a significant number of registrars would support the creation of a code of conduct for .uk".

Yet, when some parts of the industry called on Nominet to create a domain name code of conduct as far back as 2002, Nominet UK managing director Lesley Cowley rejected the claims saying such a move was "not feasible".

Today, it's all change.

"Most registrars provide a high standard of service to their customers," Cowley said in a statement. "However, they feel that the poor standard of service by a few registrars results in poor perceptions of the industry as a whole.

"Our objective is to encourage debate about this and how we might address these issues. Essentially, Nominet wants to build on and enhance the reputation of .uk, ensuring it remains a domain in which people have confidence and trust."

Details of the consultation - which runs until April 30 - can be found here.®