Introduction
In the past we have experienced persistently large volumes of REQUEST or QUERY operations for domains that are already registered and on another tag.  This behaviour is causing the following problems:

• delays for other automaton users
• significant mail congestion in the automaton mail queues as the automaton replies are sent at a higher rate than can be accepted by the tag holder’s mail gateway.
• large volumes of effectively unnecessary log file entries per day
• the cost of building an infrastructure larger than required
• unnecessary work for the automaton leading potentially to a greater exposure of the automaton to faults

Operations on already registered names on a different tag
The acceptable limits are set per member, per rolling 24 hours and apply to operations attempted on names that already exist but are on a different tag from that attempting the operation.  The limit is:

• the combined number of REQUEST and QUERY operations attempted on a name that already exists, but on a different tag, must not exceed 1,000 in any 24 hour period.

If exceeded, the tags will be blocked from making any new registrations for 24 hours, but modifications and queries (for domains on their tag) would be permitted.  The tag holder will be notified of the block by an automatic email but if the requests do not cease as a result, the tag's PGP key will be disabled, preventing any further use of the automaton and they will be asked to contact the support team. The block will be automatically lifted upon expiry of the 24-hour period. 

Linked tags
This policy is covered by our standard anti-avoidance clause.  For that reason we link tags together for the same member or for related persons when calculating the above limits.

Any other operation on already registered names
There are no specific limits sets for MODIFY, RELEASE, RENEW or DELETE operations, however any such operation if attempted on a domain name on a different tag may well be treated as abuse and so result in the tag being immediately blocked.

Failure to provide a valid e-mail address for automaton replies
Tag holders who fail to provide a valid e-mail address for automaton replies will be blocked automatically and asked via an email to the administration contact shown in the tag database to contact the support team.

Failure to accept delivery attempts of automaton replies
Tag holders who fail to accept delivery attempts of automaton replies will be blocked automatically and asked via an email to the administration contact shown in the tag database to contact the support team.

Further escalation
Tags that necessitate persistent blocking will be contacted and dealt with under the Tag Holder Agreement.