Squadhelp Reported Domain Registration Policy now includes the following:
When a domain is reported, a popup notification will appear on the Contest Holder’s Squadhelp Contest Page.
If a Contest Holder (CH) does not respond to a report, the CH will not be able to close their contest or select a contest winner.
If a report has been submitted, the CH does not respond to the report, and a contest is abandoned; then the creative who submitted the report will be entered into our random winner selection process.
That makes sense. As I have some entries that passed the domain checker allowing me to enter. I hope this action curtails any future misleadings. Thanks!
@SquadhelpGrant … I suppose that MIGHT help, but still having issues with domains registered after the contest closes, I currently have 4 reports in (reported within the 30 days) with no response from SH team.
I get the auto message that it’s been received then I hear nothing. I usually wait a week or so and then I ask for an update via the blue button messaging and am told we will check on it and then I hear nothing.
Still waiting on those 4 reports…Silence from the team means???
@Annie, thank you for your thoughts on this. We will continue working to improve this process. Please review the above links to better understand the process, and feel free to contact us via the blue button anytime.
Like Annie, most of my problems are with domains registered after a contest closes (or right when it closes), not before. Is there a similar policy to #2 in cases like these-- for instance, that if a CH doesn’t respond to a report on a domain registered after they closed their contest, they cannot start another contest (tagline, logo, etc.)?
And I agree it would be nice to get more follow-up on reported domains.
@SquadhelpGrant - Thank you everyone on the SH team for taking this action. Everything you can do to protect our intellectual property means so much to us. You have done a lot and it is very much appreciated.
This is a little off the subject of this post but I am wondering if the “My entries” page could be updated with the green flags for domains we have already reported so we can see that at a glance. I forget sometimes which ones I have reported already and it takes a lot of time to go back to the contests to find them. The reason I’m asking is because, like others have said, our domains are often registered after the contest closes and after the 30 days and there are times when I still do report them after I have checked them out to see if it appears to be the CH that registered them. I’d also like to have some kind of little button that tells ME that I chose not to report that name for some reason because I often do not report them when it is clear to me it was not the CH who registered it. But then later I forget… and start all over again to waste my time on them.
And part two: I told this to Janice the other day but I am posting it here. I think that CHs should not be allowed to do private domain registrations and that they should be required to report to SH that they have registered a domain in an active contest. I feel that some of the responsibility should be on the CH to report that they registered a domain before a contestant should have to report it. We spend time on these things after giving them a name and it seems fair that the CH should be the ones to tell SH that they have registered a domain as a requirement.
from what I understand Its actually illegal to hide who has bought a domain , so if you ask the registrar they have to give you the information, although some do charges for it I believe.
So that would mean squadhelp could find out with a little more effort if they wanted to
100% in agreement - The clients should NOT be able to register a domain name that we’ve given them, unless they’ve paid for it - Is there any way SH could LOCK them, and then release them after payment has been made?
As stated in our policy, there is truly no way to know if a domain is registered by a CH. We cannot enforce any policy that pertains to domain registration. Don’t forget about your My Owned feature within your account.
@SquadhelpGrant
I get that anything submitted out there is not truly mine unless I register it or Tm it, I get that names are registered all the time and I appreciate your efforts to at least attempt to get some compensation from a CH using more than one name from a contest but MY issue is this:
Why have a system in place for reporting it, if you are not going to follow back up with the reportee?
Some response back from SH, saying yea or nay on the CH registering it or they didn’t answer our email wouldn’t go amiss. Or is it basically, report it and if you’re lucky you’ll get a bonus and if you don’t hear from us then the report becomes mute and then case closed? If you’re going to add a little flag on the entry page for us to keep track, how about a text box for you to provide an update or outcome?
I hate to keep asking (via Blue Button) and I know you must be busy and get a lot of other questions about these situations BUT it’s the lack of response from the SH team on this that can be frustrating…if the answer is no response from CH and we are closing this case, just tell me that, I’m an adult, I can handle the rejection
Grant, I understand what you are saying and I know the policies and the limitations. However… intellectual property is property nonetheless. I spent money on registering domains which was a dumb idea on my part. I cannot afford to do that on every name I think is a winner. In fact, I have thousands of names now that I thought were winners but I have only won 32 contests. To be a domain speculator, you really need to have some kind of inside skinny on which ones will sell. Then you have to factor in which of those are likely to come to SH for a name. Then there are other companies selling Brands in a Box. So I haven’t even registered My Owned Domains on SH because I haven’t even seen a contest in months that matched my dumb buys. I wasted money. Also, it does not help SH as a business if contestants are so disenchanted with the actions of CHs. So I ask SH to think about this. I definitely know that other contest sites do NOTHING to protect intellectual property. I know SH is WAY ahead of the curve on this. But I also know that is what keeps us here and that SH’s work on these things is what makes you #1 in these kinds of sites.
And one more thing: SH is TRULY the ONLY REAL crowdsourcing site. You actually work with the creatives and take our ideas into consideration for improving SH. Nobody else is doing that. You took crowdsourcing up a level. I want to give big KUDOs for that and make sure you understand that it is appreciated. We are creative and smart people. Your success is our success, too. The domain issue is a big issue.
@Annie Currently our process involves making multiple follow ups with a CH, and we only provide an update to the creative when we have heard back from the CH. Until we hear from the CH, there is really nothing to report back to the creative, but you are welcome to check in at any time.
We will continue to keep an eye on this issue, as we strive for continual improvement. Thanks for sharing your feedback.
I hope you will continue considering this policy. If a creative’s entry is used within a year or two by the original contestholder, I think SH should help. Acceptable proof should include an active website belonging to the CH or a related party even it was unclear who owns the registration. If SH has to pay anything to confirm it was the CH who registered or used a domain name, the standard agreement should require the CH to reimburse SH if it proves someone related registered or used it. (The lawyer in me may have stronger feelings about this than others do.)
@SquadhelpGrant
Question: If we see there is a reported domain on an active contest, but the contest is still open for submissions, does that mean that the registered domain was already worked out with the CH?
@Commulinks
A reported domain will trigger emails from SH and a popup in the CHs account. It will also restrict the CH from finalizing the contest. It will not, however, stop contest entries. (I hope that answers your question.)
