Domain Names

[Nic Name]

I just thought it might be interesting to chat about domain names.

Oh, btw, did anyone else see this?

Will your .org names be affected by the upcoming registry shift?

No doubt you know that the VeriSign registry agreed to divest itself of the .org domain as part of VeriSign's deal to retain both its registry and registrar business units. That means that a new registry will be running .org by this time next year. But the divestiture's impact on .org registrants remains uncertain.

Rumors have suggested that .org will be reserved exclusively for nonprofits or officially recognized noncommercial organizations, that other .org registrants will lose their names or their ability to transfer or renew them. Others have suggested that these rules will apply only to new registrations, grandfathering those existing before the new registry takes over.

The ICANN names council weighed in earlier this month with recommendations against evictions, transfer restrictions, and registration restrictions by the future .org registry, but neither ICANN nor registry applicants are obligated to accept these recommendations. One that looks likely to win acceptance, though, is the suggestion that the new registry strive above all to differentiate .org from other gTLDs.

This is good news. Regardless of what happens to the 2.5 million currently registered .org names, any effort to establish a stronger identity or brand for .org will enhance the value of .org names. If no registration restrictions accompany the registry transfer, .org will play a far more significant role in the aftermarket.

Regards,

Peter Girard,
Director of Marketing
http://www.afternic.com

As one might expect, cellar.org is protected by prior registration that doesn't expire until April 19, 2011.

Smart guy, that UT.

[SteveDallas]

A couple domain-name naughties:

http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/01/2002011001t.htm

We got a bill for this (I work at a .edu) and I laughed at it.. but I'm sure a lot of places paid it. I'm not convinced it was entirely innocent of Verisign's part.

And when I went to look up that link for your enjoyment I found this as well:

http://chronicle.com/free/2002/02/2002020401t.htm

Hmmm. Want to quote text? I don't have a login for the Chronicle and it's not worth my money to subscribe just for a single article.

[SteveDallas]

My bad... generally all IT news is available for free, as with the second link above. I don't know why this first story was an exception.

.edu domains have always been free of registration fees (though there are suggestions that this may need to change). as of Jan. 1, 2002, all management of the .edu domain has been transferred to Educause, an organization that deals with info tech policies in higher education. So Verisign no longer has ANYTHING to do with it. In December, about 6,000 .edu domain holders (including me) received bills from Verisign to renew their domains. In my case, they claimed I owed for 1996-98. Verisign immediately said it was a mistake and they wouldn't accept any payments that were mistakenly sent in. (That's what they told The Chronicle of Higher Ed--they never answered my email & voicemail on the subject.)

[Undertoad]

<i>As one might expect, cellar.org is protected by prior registration that doesn't expire until April 19, 2011.</i>

Somehow I missed this one when you posted it before... my major motivation for the long timeout was to avoid getting tripped up by Verisign's uniformly horrible process. Now I just have to remember to re-up before that date... wonder if my Palm Pilot will still be my calendar by then?

Originally posted by Undertoad
wonder if my Palm Pilot will still be my calendar by then?

Wouldn't surprise me. The reason Palm tanked is because you don't <b>need</b> to replace 'em. I have a Vx, and I have no reason to upgrade, save the fact that Jenni wants one to do all her stuff on and I'm thinking about giving it to her. They just <b>work</b>!

This is, incidentally, the reason why Microsoft will never put out the best operating system they can - it's not in their best interest.