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Startups should not use GoDaddy. Ever

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Re: Startups should not use GoDaddy. Ever

#161

Has anyone here used Nearly Free Speech (www.nearlyfreespeech.net)? I have finally started to make my migration away from GoDaddy (I have been planning this for years), and NFS seems pretty good. I can't seem to find any horror stories about them... but I rarely see them brought up in discussions about registrars. Am I missing something?

Let me preface this by saying that I am a very big fan of NFSN and host almost all my stuff there.

If you are considering them for domain hosting, consider this tough:

* They are not a domain registrar, they are reselling from PublicDomainRegistry. They actually mention in their FAQ that webhosting is their core business and that they only offer domains as convenience at a cost-recovery price.

* Their DNS service is made for webhosting as well. They support the most common records like A, AAAA, TXT, MX, but you can not freely edit your zone.

* NFSN's DNS servers are all in the same place (they offer a second location for an additional fee I think). I don't remember any downtime, but if you need 100% bullet-proof DNS uptime, consider using another provider for DNS.

* Every additional item costs a little bit (although it is still pretty inexpensive): DNS costs $0.01/day, Email forwarding costs $0.03/day, Whois privacy costs $0.01/day.

Re: Startups should not use GoDaddy. Ever

#163
post #148
post #108

One of the reasons godaddy is successful is that they are the registrar of referral for people (web designers, programmers, ISP's) that have customers that need domain registration or renewal. When an end user has a domain they need or one up for renewal godaddy is the registrar that is suggested to them by their "tech guy". This is similar to how Microsoft gained power in a way. They were supported by a huge network…

The example of the "privacy protection" reminds me when I was a n00b (I still kinda am), but like 3 years ago I wanted a domain that was taken so I paid ~$15 for them for domain backordering.... LOL. I didn't really know what it was at the time (stupid me) but now I feel so incredibly stupid for basically giving away $15 and getting duped for my money.

I wouldn't say it was stupid actually. Stupid is something that you do that most people don't do. Many of the godaddy services seem legit on first glance. That's why they sell so well. The marketing language they use is good. There are cases where someone might actually stand a chance of back ordering a domain. But when godaddy collects $15 for a domain that there is no way they are going to get for someone (like a 3 letter name as only one example) that's taking advantage of what someone doesn't know.

If you want to backorder a domain use pool.com. Last I checked they don't charge anything for a backorder.

Re: Startups should not use GoDaddy. Ever

#164
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use gandi.net, for both personal and business domains. They're awesome. Specifically: they have policies that strongly support the domain owner, they make a point of saying the domain owner owns the domain (not the registrar), they give back to many different Open Source projects, their management software works quite well, and they provide free email service for your domain so you don't have to run a mail server i…

gandi.net also provides a free ssl cert for registered domains. They're just awesome.

Only for a year, then you have to pay to renew it. Still decent, though. But if you want a free cert, try startcom instead.

Re: Startups should not use GoDaddy. Ever

#165
post #6

No one should ever use GoDaddy for any reason. I thought that was geek 101 by now. Also, incidentally, you never host a startup on shared hosting. If a day or two of downtime is a big deal than you gotta go VPS at a minimum.

I'm so glad to see so many people were having trouble with GoDaddy too. Glad we transfered over a few months ago.

Re: Startups should not use GoDaddy. Ever

#166
post #17

Paul Graham says "I use EasyDNS. They're expensive, but reliable and never do anything evil." Source: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=150565 Note that that comment was posted over three years ago. Does anybody have any more recent experience with them?

i've been using them for years, and am quite happy. i use them for almost all of my domains.

Re: Startups should not use GoDaddy. Ever

#167

I moved away from GoDaddy a couple of years ago. Now I have a few expiring domains left on there. Last week I got a notice they were going to charge me for a renewal, which I did not want. So I called the support guy. Twenty or so minutes later, he sent me to a link to fill out a form where all would be taken care of. Except it wasn't. Just like my previous few encounters with GoDaddy, when I went to the link I learn…

Yours is a widespread feeling. The following is a blackspot to GoDaddy, from December last year, that tells a similar impression: http://www.spottiness.com/spots/PDJ5K3WR

"The following is a blackspot to GoDaddy, from December last year, that tells a similar impression: http://www.spottiness.com/spots/PDJ5K3WR "

BTW, what's with E-mailing me about this? I consider it spam, especially since it ends with "Please do not reply to this email."

If people want to write to me person-to-person, fine. I don't really want impersonal ads (the E-mail made no mention of my name, another spam tip-off) about people's products.

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