New web-name rules for Realtors

So the NAR has enacted Standard of Practice 10-12, as reported here.

Article 10-12 states that Realtors cannot "use URLs or domain names that present less than a true picture, or register URLs or domain names which, if used, would present less than a true picture."

Primarily it's going to hit those companies and individuals that use MLS in their URLs.
MLS refers to a Multiple Listing Service, which is a service on which Realtors share listings, giving broad exposure to listings for sellers, and bringing together listings in one location for potential buyers to browse. They're legal, and they're where most people find a new home.

The problem comes in when a Realtor or brokerage uses the letters MLS in their URL - the article cites northwoodsandlakesmls.com - a brokerage which lists its own and other brokerages' listings. It is not, however, a Multiple Listing Service. Imagine if a company like Hotwire or Priceline was owned by Delta; and instead of pulling the best flights from all airlines, it pulled flights from Delta, and added a small sampling of flights from other carriers. That's about what the deal is with the use of MLS in URLs.

I admit I got pretty angry at the response from some of the Realtors and brokers in the article, especially Marc Rasmussen of Sarasota, FL, who says that the code is being enforced too late, and Kimberly McKinley of Colorado, who says: "I've not had anybody say, 'Oh my gosh, I thought I was on the MLS,' " she said. "I think (NAR) might be getting to be a little overprotective of the public and they're hurting us -- they're hurting the Realtors and brokers. NAR is supposed to be there to promote us."

My objection to the first comment is that just because something is hard to enforce does not mean that we shouldn't bother. My objection to the second is threefold:
1) Most people don't know what the heck an MLS is. They just find a house and click the picture of the realtor next to it and make an appointment to go look at it.
2) I like that the NAR is being overprotective. If the NAR had been a little more protective of the public in the last two years, maybe by making it harder for Realtors to promise the earth to underqualified home-buyers, we might not have the crazy levels of foreclosures and the market deflation we're experiencing now.
3) The NAR is not there to promote us Realtors. Primarily I expect that the NAR should regulate the behavior of agents and brokers - because plainly there are a lot of Realtors and brokers who can't - or won't - regulate themselves.

I wonder sometimes if some Realtors are aware of how the general public perceive their industry. While some Realtors work hard, the last fifteen years in Atlanta have been like shooting fish in a barrel for most Atlanta Realtors. I know that the perception is that we basically get people to consent to giving away 7% of their home's value and all we do is put it online and hope someone decides they like it. Which is not inaccurate for a some of my fellow Realtors.

What they need to realize, in a hurry, is that people will buy and sell homes even if there were no Realtors. We exist to facilitate those transactions on behalf of those clients, not the other way around.

Sometimes it is hard to do the right thing. But isn't the right thing the only thing we should be trying to do?