I know people jumped on Tucows. Register.com seems to warehousing to. ICANN rules prohibit this from what I read. They can just pluck domains out the second it hits the expiration date and not let it go through the standard process. Its like we need a government run entity to be the registrar now to prevent this. Which will never happen.
What it does say is registrars will follow any rule prohibiting such activity. But is there such a rule to begin with, much more explaining what constitutes it? It can be upsetting that some registrars are now keeping certain domains from being released as many people expect, much more demand. But if you yourself are in a position to take advantage, wouldn't you? It depends on what side of the fence one is on. This doesn't bother me so far, though I know it does bother other people.
Ya. I know. I would love for ICANN to explain the rule. Then whatever the legal and enforcable rule is everyone would have to follow. That would be fair. If ICANN needs more funding they should get it. They have a huge mission and they need to be funded accordingly.