ICM Registry – Liars Dot XXX
Stuart Lawley , the owner of ICM Registry, was quoted as saying: ““ICM Registry has raised the bar on responsible registry operations and we intend to maintain the highest standards.”. Exactly how high (or…should I say “low”) is that bar then, Mr. Lawley?
In ‘edit’ mode of any WordPress blog, the ip of the computer posting comments to the blog is displayed but only to the blog owner (myself, in this case). People commenting have no idea their ip is seen by me, unless they are a blog owner themself and even care enough to bother checking IPs.
ICM Registry (verified Twitter account: @dotXXX) posted two responses to my blog under Dot XXX. I later asked them to veirfy it was them and they did, on Twitter:
Dot XXX later decided to pose as a random guest with the name “D Man” (I know this because the ip # of both “Dot XXX” and “D Man” are exactly the same). They, under this “D Man” alias, went on to cleverly defend ICM at every turn, being certain to add, at least once per posting, a slight comment to distance themself, so as not to seem too supportive of Dot XXX. They added: “not sure I support .XXX…”, then they got back on the same path of defending its policies, their TOS and presenting little-known facts that not everyone would know, such as information about ICM’s Founder’s Program. This was just a day after Dot XXX posted, under the exact same ip.
Read the blog entry and the comments by Dot XXX and Dot XXX when they posed as D Man https://amanda36c.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/no-straight-answers-from-icm-registry-dotxxx/
I’m not sure if posting a screenshot of their ip constitutes “divulging personal third party information”, so, until I can get some sort of clarity on that, I’ll have to refrain from doing so but WordPress does have their ip recorded and displayed to me beside their comments in ‘edit’ mode.
As far as I’m concerned, the fact that they can’t answer a question with a simple “yes” or “no”, coupled with the fact that I caught them in an outright lie, tells me a lot about this company, its integrity and what I can expect in the future from any dealings with them.
ElliotNess29, and 4 others are discussing. 
amanda36c 
Alice Wonder 4:56 pm on December 17, 2011 Permalink |
The fact that they can’t figure out how to use a proxy to hide their IP address when they are trying to be sneaky seems to be a pretty clear indication that they do not know enough about how the web works to actually successfully enforce any of their so-called “best practices” policies.
Straight up money grab. I don’t mind people making money, but it should be earned, not stolen from those who earned it.
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amanda36c 6:33 pm on December 19, 2011 Permalink |
That’s right. My guess is they didn’t know that WordPress displays IPs of those commenting, to the blog owner. 😉
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Tom 1:34 am on December 18, 2011 Permalink |
Stay vigilant, Amanda. These cats won’t ever change. They’ve been lying to the industry for over 10 years, but they’re getting even more dangerous as they become more able to fund their invasion with the use of other people’s money. They’ve gained a foothold in an industry they mean to strip mine, but they still need to herd more people into their ghetto. I know a lot of people think using that term is hyperbole, but the invasion and ghetto metaphors are simply the most apt considering the methods and models these miscreants employ. Glad to see you so adept at revealing their pathetic attempts to treat you like a fool.
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amanda36c 6:43 pm on December 19, 2011 Permalink |
Thanks, Tom. I know exactly what you mean. There’s so many loose ends here and some pretty big answers within the members sitting right there on the IFFOR.
Interesting connections ICM have. I’d love to know how they obtained the green light to go ahead with this in the first place. Apparently, this has been in the works (and denied) for quite some time.
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ElliotNess29 1:39 am on December 18, 2011 Permalink |
I should have guessed that the D-Man was ICM Registry. He/They kept trying to discredit anything that I pointed out which seemed odd and questionable about ICM Registry. You have to wonder what else he said was a lie!
This has to be a very scary time for all the people who have purchased DOTXXX domains knowing that ICM Registry would stoop this low to convince an adult performer, that the TOS on ICM Registry’s website doesn’t apply to the Registry/registrant agreement. It has to leave people now questioning everything that they have stated in past. Did ICM Registry lie in their application to ICANN and the appeal to gain the right to sell the DOTXXX domains? Have they made false statements concerning the number of people who have purchased the DOTXXX? Was there really cyber-squatters who they needed to suspended to protect the mainstream domain names like ICM registry claimed? Are all of ICM Registry’s public news releases lies to provoke people to rush into buying the DOTXXX domains without carefully reading all the documents? When a company who is placed in a powerful position like ICM Registry is found to have a breach of integrity or found to be deceitful then it is only natural that people will lose any trust in them and question everything they say or do!
Dotxxx is not just another TLD. It’s a TLD with rules and regulations. Rules and regulations all DOTXXX domain owners have to abide by. Rules and regulations that are created by IFFOR and ICM which they are in-charge to enforce “at our sole discretion…” and the total power to change the rules as they see fit.
THIS IS NOW A VERY SCARY THOUGHT!
People need to start asking a lot of questions about ICM Registry and all of its associations (Founder’s program). The adult performers have to wonder and question the ICM Registry’s Adult Performers Program which was so important but has not yet been given any time, dates or rules/information? There should be a full investigation into all of their business to see what else could be going on and if they should be allowed to continue selling the DOTXXX domains. Authorities should move immediately to protect all the peoples monies who have already purchased their DOTXXX domains from ICM Registry before it is too late.
Thank you, Amanda for asking questions which other people failed to ask and your persistence to get ICM Registry to answer. You have exposed them and have now shone a very bright light on all their business practises. Lets hope everybody can now see the truth!
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amanda36c 6:51 pm on December 19, 2011 Permalink |
Mr Ness, you are a wealth of information! Thanks for all your help. I’ve checked into a few of your theories and what I was able to find, was indeed accurate. I’ll admit, I was hesitant and thought you were just looking to exact revenge on this company, after reading your Ripoffreport complaints, but with some extensive Googling, there it all was – at my fingertips. If I may, how did you ever find the connection between Webpower, Inc. and ICM?
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ElliotNess29 4:53 pm on December 22, 2011 Permalink
ICM Registry and its IFFOR announced that Stuart Lawley would step down as Chairman and would be replaced on the board by others. In the announcement was the name, Sheri Falco as the ICM’s general counsel and ICM registry’s representative on the IFFOR board.
I had come across Falco’s name when investigating Webpower Inc/Ifriends and immediately recognized her name. I noticed that there was no mention by ICM Registry about her working previously for Webpower Inc/Ifriends, why all the secrecy? I went back to my notes concerning the trademarks filed for Webpower Inc/Ifriends and they had shown Sheri Falco as the Assoc. general counsel on their filings in the USPTO and the same address as Andrew H Kayton’s office as the General Counsel for Webpower Inc/Ifriends.
Why are they all operating out of the same area of Florida? Something “special” about its laws?
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JoyLovewell 11:13 pm on December 22, 2011 Permalink
Wow! This is interesting, the link between WebPower and XXX domains.
A year or more ago my tech savvy boyfriend popped into my office to taunt me with, “Guess who the first XXX domain has gone to?” Surprise, surprised, the webcam site I have little goodwill toward – iFriends! Now, thanks to ElliotNess29 I understand why.
I don’t have the exact info my BF found, but he said he found it on the adult industry marketing site, yNot.com After Googling it I found this:
http://www.ynot.com/content/117117-webpower-launches-dot-xxx-domains-slates-ifriends-webcam-marathon.html
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amanda36c 3:46 pm on December 30, 2011 Permalink
Hi Joy,
Yes, Ness is quite the wealth of information. He kept insisting there was some sort of connection between ICM and iFriends, which, at first I thought was paranoia and nothing more. Until he pointed out the lawyers on the IFFOR. Well, it’s no surprise that ICM promoted iFriends. Things really started to make sense, looking into it deeper, with that in mind. My boyfriend advised me to listen to what Ness had to say. He, too, thinks that there’s more of a connection and wants me to be leery of that TOS. There is something terribly wrong with the way their policies are stated, where they’re placed and how they can attach themselves to other policies and change at any time, without notice to us. Extremelt ambiguous and very much unlike the examples ICM has stated (when they used their alias, D Man) with the Yahoo TOS. I’ve proven my point though and hope that people read (really read) what they’re signing/agreeing to before they ink the deal. I can’t believe that people actually agree to those terms! If those policies are even legal!
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AD 8:34 am on December 18, 2011 Permalink |
ICMRegistry has been using these type of tactics for a very long time.
In 2010, When ICANN asked for comments on the then proposed .xxx tld (http://forum.icann.org/lists/xxx-revised-icm-agreement/ ), approximately 50% of all emails sent to ICANN originated from ICMRegistry’s own servers.
On Twitter, the majority of pro .xxx tweets come from ICMRegistry’s own accounts, from the marketing company they hired and from hundreds of bot accounts and from people that sell retweets on fiverr.
Why anyone would still trust a company like that is beyond me.
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amanda36c 7:42 pm on December 19, 2011 Permalink |
I guess then this is no news to anyone. Still, what does that say about ICM and their integrity?
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Alice Wonder 2:18 pm on December 18, 2011 Permalink |
explicit NSFW screenshot: http://www.eroticaplexus.net/images/desiscreen.jpg
Over a month ago it was pointed out by me to IFFOR that web sites running on .xxx were already in violation of their so-called “best practices” – the web site in above screen shot has explicit hardcore images in the advertising and does not use any kind of labeling system to identify itself as adult content.
That site still does not label itself (as the vast majority of .com adult sites do) – I did not see any hardcore ads last time I checked (lots of viagra adds though, as if there weren’t enough of those in my inbox)
Clearly IFFOR and ICM has no interest in actually enforcing what they say they wish to enforce, because violations of their alleged policy have been pointed out and still are not fixed. If they can’t keep a handle on things now when there are only a small number of live .xxx sites, then clearly they will not be able to keep a handle on things down the road.
Their claims about enforcing so-called “best practices” are clearly empty words intended only to fool those foolish enough to take what they say at face value. They obviously do not care about best practices, they want the registration money and once they have that, they don’t want to spend a dime of it on any kind of policy enforcement. I hate to use crude language, but they really just don’t give a shit what people do with the domains.
All talk no action.
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Alice Wonder 2:49 pm on December 18, 2011 Permalink |
The explicit ads are still in their rotation, it just took a few page reloads to get them.
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amanda36c 7:55 pm on December 19, 2011 Permalink |
I think it’s more than that; from the wording in their TOS and Registry/Registrant Agreement, it sounds like they own our content and can use it “royalty-free”. I’d like to have a lawyer (a neutral one) to come in here and confirm what ICM Registry can and can’t do, according to that contract, and also, explain how on earth that TOS does not apply to us, the performers? If you go to Whois and search for amanda36c.xxx you will see it is owned by ICM Registry under the Rgistrant name of: “ICM Registry Performer Escrow Account”. Nowhere does it say this will change to my name once I purchase (and after agreeing to the TOS and the Registry/Registrant Agreement). I’m supposed to take them at their word and ‘trust’ them. After having signed and paid for my dot XXX site (which, I’m not even sure is *mine*).
Straight answers to simple questions are impossible to get with these guys.
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Alice Wonder 8:01 pm on December 19, 2011 Permalink
They won’t give you a straight answer because they don’t want to go on the public record about a potential legal issue. The way I understand it, you only give up your rights if you post it to a web site they specifically own, but even that is too much. They talk about starting a program for performers but then ask those performers to give up their rights? How the smurf is that really in the best interest of the performers?
They want to use the performers for their own financial gain with no compensation to the performers, and that is rather disgusting. If I was a performer, I wouldn’t want anything to do with them. Of course they should pay royalties on anything they re-use, that’s how things are suppose to work in a fair and honest business arrangement, are they not?
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ElliotNess29 3:54 pm on December 18, 2011 Permalink |
Amanda,
Here is the proof that the ICM Registry’s TOS ABSOLUTELY will apply to the registry/registrant agreement when you purchase your adult performer DOTXXX. Check WHOIS Amanda36C.XXX and Check StormyDaniels.XXX to see the differences. They will have completely control of all of the Adult performers content once you enter their program under that TOS. ICM Registry has supposedly purchased and now owns all the DOTXXX domains reserved by any Adult performer who filled out the form on their site. ICM Registry has set up a ICM Registry Performers Escrow account to which the adult performers will have their sites (reserved) and hosted on ICM Registry servers. Here’s the kicker, ICM Registry have contracts with Stormy Daniels and Nina Mercedes as spoke models for the DOTXXX and the Adult performers program but both Daniels and Mercedes own their DOTXXX domains under their companies which owned their DOTCOMs. These two performers are exempt from the adult performers program, so far they are the only ones that I can find. ICM registry stated over two month ago, that the adult performers are important to the industry and deserve a special program for them. Oh, it’s special alright!
ICM Registry have absolutely no integrity and needs to stopped immediately by Federal authorities. Don’t join their adult performers program or buy your DOTXXX from them. The adult performers and others need to push for a full investigation in to ICM Registry immediately.
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Deep Insider 10:44 pm on December 18, 2011 Permalink |
You haven’t seen anything yet – take a look at this list of domain names ICM has kept for themselves and plan on using in the future to monopolize the adult space.
http://triplexwatch.blogspot.com/
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amanda36c 7:58 pm on December 19, 2011 Permalink |
Interesting, but not surprising. I worked for iFriends/Webpower for 10 years. Their general counsel, Andrew Kayton, sits on the IFFOR. So does Sheri Falco, who once worked for Webpower, too. I left iFriends/Webpower over a financial dispute back in 2009. Still, to this day, unsettled.
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