Rocky Mountain Internet Users’ Group (RMIUG) is a group that meets once every other month to learn about the Internet through presentations, information sharing, questions & answers and informal conversations. We typically have about 100 people attend our meetings. It should be noted that RMIUG is not a formal organizations and has no legal status, no money/dues, and the meetings/Email lists are run by volunteers.

Our meetings are scheduled to be held at NCAR auditorium in Boulder. Our usual meeting day is the second Tuesday of odd-numbered months, from 7:00 - 9:00 pm (exact meeting details are posted to the RMIUG-announce mailing list about one week before the meeting). There is an optional half-hour period from 6:30 to 7:00pm for new user questions and informal networking. We try to start at 7:00 sharp with general announcements from us and the audience. Our featured presentation will usually start around 7:15-7:30 and last about an hour. Minutes from the meetings will be posted to the the RMIUG-announce mailing list within a week of the meeting.

There is no cost for attending the meetings or joining the group ... but we may pass the hat at a meeting to cover the room cost if we don't have a sponsor.

Our last meeting was on September 9, 2008, on the "Social Networking: Our Friend or the Next Friendster?"

The Tuesday, November 11th meeting of the Rocky Mountain Internet Users Group (RMIUG) will discuss "Securing and Abusing Internet Domains: Can JoeThePlumber.com Catch a Break?"

Domains, the hierarchical names given to web servers, are the core of finding things online. And being found is worth a lot in the online world. But, like anything nice in the world, this wonderful technological tool comes at a price.

Think about it: What if you typed in http://www.ford.com to get information about Ford Motor company's new Flex crossover only to get its arch-rival GM's website? Ford, with the billions it spends on its trademark and brand, would be very upset (to say the least). An organization's domain is the atomic level of finding it online. Messing with that in the digital age is the equivalent of war.

But these days, the "domain exploitation" industry, companies that pay the minimal $6 or $7 to reserve domains in anticipation of charging a premium for future demand, and other ruses, has made securing domains expensive or near impossible, and the abuse of those with legitimate Intellectual Property rights has become well known. Companies such as DarkBlueSea, a publicly traded company, owns over 550,000 domains in its portfolio and makes money on selling them at a significant premium. These companies actively and algorithmically, scour the Internet for trends and buy up domains ahead of the demand. So, when you finally decide on the domain you need, it's no longer available or expensive.

Complicating the situation is when the registrars, the places where you register your domain name, start to get in the squatting act. Recently, Network Solutions, the largest Domain registrar, allegedly would hold, for itself, a domain that it believed someone was interested in, based on observation of search behavior. During that period of time, if the person went back to purchase domain, Network Solutions was accused of upping the price on the domain!

If the Internet is supposed to be the great leveler in the business world, are these trends worrisome? How is the law helping or hindering the problem? Is there a way for JoeThePlumber.com to catch a break?

During the next meeting, we will bring in a guest speaker to discuss this fascinating topic:
David Schachter (dschachter@shermanhoward.com) is an Intellectual Property attorney at Sherman & Howard L.L.C., a 160-person firm based in Denver. David's expertise is in all forms of licensing, sale, protection and commercialization of intellectual property and technology development. David is a member of the Computer Law Association, the Copyright Society, and serves on the Executive Committee of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation. David also writes the "Legal Bytes" column for the Denver Business Journal. He is listed as one of the Best Lawyers in America for Intellectual Property.

Links:
Sherman & Howard: http://www.shermanhoward.com
Denver Business Journal: http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/

The meeting is Tuesday, November 11th from 7:00 - 9:00 pm (with optional 6:30 pm start for refreshments and informal networking). The meeting will be held at The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) at 1850 Table Mesa Drive in Boulder. To get to NCAR from the Boulder Turnpike (US 36) or Broadway (US 93), take Table Mesa Drive west towards the mountains for approximately 2.5 miles into the foothills. NCAR is at the top of the hill. For door-to-door driving directions, go to MapQuest (http://www.mapquest.com/), click on Driving Directions, enter your starting address, NCAR's address, and voila! Park in the NCAR lot, go in the main door, and ask the guard to point you to meeting, which is held in the main auditorium, right off the lobby. The meeting is free and open to the public, but we may pass the hat to help defray expenses.

Our meeting location seats about 120 people. That is usually enough room to accommodate all attendees, but it's impossible for us to predict how many people will show up for any given meeting. Seating is always on a first-come, first serve basis, and in the event of more attendees than seats, we won't be able to admit additional people into the auditorium after all seats are filled.

Thanks to our three sponsors who help make RMIUG meetings happen:
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MicroStaff (www.microstaff.com) which provides Creative and Technical talent for Web, Interactive Media, Marketing Communications and Software Development projects, is the sponsor of food and beverages for RMIUG meetings.
ONEWARE (http://www.ONEWARE.com) -- a Colorado-based software company that provides semi-custom web-based applications, sponsors the RMIUG meeting minutes.
Copy Diva (http://www.copydiva.com) which provides marketing project management, marketing communications consulting, and web content development is the AV sponsor for RMIUG.

Consultants and companies are invited to bring Internet-related Product information, brochures, and business cards which will be displayed on an information table.

There are email mailing lists set up for this group. To subscribe or unsubscribe, see http://www.rmiug.org/maillist.html. You can also reach the RMIUG "Executive" Committee at rmiug-comm@rmiug.org. Our web site is at http://www.rmiug.org/

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Please note that RMIUG is hosted at NCAR and we are their guests. NCAR has security regulations in effect that we must follow in order to use the facility. If any RMIUG attendee is unwilling to follow these simple regulations, I would ask that he or she not attend and instead read the minutes after the meeting.

Here are the NCAR security policies that must be followed:

1. No weapons.
2. Must sign in at front desk and provide name.
3. Cooperate with security folks including providing ID if requested.
4. We are guests of NCAR so cooperation and courtesy are expected when dealing with NCAR staff.

If there are any questions or concerns with this policy, please contact me directly.
Thanks, Josh Zapin (josh@rmiug.org).
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