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The .blog Bait and Switch

chrisschidle.com

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Re: The .blog Bait and Switch

#21

Post by Magicstatic »

Here is a message I received from Gandi.net regarding the .blog domain:

-----------------

Hello,

You are getting this email because you have performed a pre-order with your handle {redacted} for the domain name {redacted}.

Unfortunately, this order is currently in error, because the domain name in question has been defined as Premium by the registry. This decision is of course beyond our control and frequently corresponds to a list of common and/or connotative words that allow registered to apply special rates to them.

This means that in your case, we have placed the order in error, because the price that you initially paid is no longer the price that the registry is charging for it.

If you would like to know the price, in order to eventually purchase it, then reply to this email, so that our support team can obtain that for you from the registry.

As long as you are considering this, do not cancel your order, since this will cause you to lose your place in the waiting list.

If, however, you no longer wish to register the domain, you can cancel it from the link provided below, and your prepaid account will be refunded for the order:

Re: The .blog Bait and Switch

#24

Post by problems »

stephenr wrote: post #20
echelon wrote: post #11

This seems to have become the de facto pattern with the new gTLD system. A company swoops in and buys a namespace for $200k (or more if there is a competitive bid), and they effectively turn into the cartel equivalent of the domain squatter. You can register your new gTLD for anywhere between $1 and $100, depending on what I suppose they expect their target demographic to be willing to pay. Dot horse is more expensiv…

I wonder how much to buy "my.horse". Then I can setup a sole mailbox "look", and have it auto respond to any messages with "my horse is amazing". I wonder how may will get the joke.

This is worth it at any price.

Re: The .blog Bait and Switch

#25

Post by AndrewStephens »

stephenr wrote: post #20
echelon wrote: post #11

This seems to have become the de facto pattern with the new gTLD system. A company swoops in and buys a namespace for $200k (or more if there is a competitive bid), and they effectively turn into the cartel equivalent of the domain squatter. You can register your new gTLD for anywhere between $1 and $100, depending on what I suppose they expect their target demographic to be willing to pay. Dot horse is more expensiv…

I wonder how much to buy "my.horse". Then I can setup a sole mailbox "look", and have it auto respond to any messages with "my horse is amazing". I wonder how may will get the joke.

I have a .horse domain - I tried every permutation horse puns and in-jokes (my.lovely.horse, etc) but they were all taken by squatters or reserved for stupid prices.

Eventually I settled for sheep.horse, which is easy to remember but not much else.

Re: The .blog Bait and Switch

#26

Post by Terr_ »

I've long felt the only sane approach is to define country-level TLDs (via the UN or something) transition everything under them, and then let each legal jurisdiction handle (or mishandle) their own shit.

While it's far less-convenient for global companies and "ignoring borders", it decentralizes the system. Compartmentalizing failure and allowing some kinds of competition.

Re: The .blog Bait and Switch

#28

Post by TheGrumpyBrit »

AndrewStephens wrote: post #18

As a fellow very-common-name sufferer, I long ago gave up any hope of getting a vanity domain name (how I wish I had paid the $25 back in 1996). Most of the new TLD seem pretty scammy to me, the costs in obtaining and running most obscure TLDs far outweigh what could be got by paying customers actually waiting to run sites off them. I suspect that a lot of them are just hoping that enough large companies buy up kfc.b…

That's exactly it. Brand protection companies like MarkMonitor will buy these up as a matter of course to protect their clients, and they'll do so at the inflated Early Access rates to boot. By the time the domains are released to the public, these companies have already made their profit.

Re: The .blog Bait and Switch

#29

Post by iampims »

AndrewStephens wrote: post #18

As a fellow very-common-name sufferer, I long ago gave up any hope of getting a vanity domain name (how I wish I had paid the $25 back in 1996). Most of the new TLD seem pretty scammy to me, the costs in obtaining and running most obscure TLDs far outweigh what could be got by paying customers actually waiting to run sites off them. I suspect that a lot of them are just hoping that enough large companies buy up kfc.b…

At a USD200,000 price for a new TLD, it takes 2,000 domains at $100/year to break even. Of course there are other costs associated to running a TLD, but they probably don't scale linearly.

So on a 5 year term, it might even be a small profitable business.

Re: The .blog Bait and Switch

#30

Post by allendoerfer »

Senji wrote: post #10
lmm wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone can run their own DNS root, but good luck getting people to use it. And ICANN has a history of deliberately colliding with TLDs used by competing services.

Browser vendors and OS makers should do an end run around ISPs and ICANN. Just agree between themselves ( what are they like 10? tops) and fork the current registries. Then issue domains themselves. What are the plebs gonna do? Go the the non existent alternative?

Google already controls chunks of every platform involved, some of them are very large, (network, domain registry, OS, browser, search engine, web hosting/content delivery) and eats away the importance of domains bite by bite. Non-tech people do not type in domains anymore, they search for them. URLs are getting hidden away further and further.
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