Domain Questions.

[Ozy]

So far I have only 1 domain name registered so I don't know much about this subject.
I need to sort some things out about Registars.

1)What if the Registar i register my domain with closes down. What happens to my domain?

2)I am only using free webhosts. If the registar doesn't offer free name servers is there any equally good (free, easy and reliable) alternative?

3)If the registar doesn't offer servises like free URL forwording, email catch all etc, is there any way i can get this for free (and still be easy reliable etc)

4)If i registered my domain for 2 years, 14 months ago and I transfer it now to another registar that offeres lets say domain transfer for $10 including 1 year of registration. Do i get one additional year (3 total), or one year from the day i transfered it?

[gyrbo]

Originally posted by Ozy
So far I have only 1 domain name registered so I don't know much about this subject.
I need to sort some things out about Registars.

1)What if the Registar i register my domain with closes down. What happens to my domain?

The data is in the db from NetSol

2)I am only using free webhosts. If the registar doesn't offer free name servers is there any equally good (free, easy and reliable) alternative?

www.Mydomain.com and www.zoneedit.com are most popular

3)If the registar doesn't offer servises like free URL forwording, email catch all etc, is there any way i can get this for free (and still be easy reliable etc)

Same as above.

4)If i registered my domain for 2 years, 14 months ago and I transfer it now to another registar that offeres lets say domain transfer for $10 including 1 year of registration. Do i get one additional year (3 total), or one year from the day i transfered it?

Depends on it, most of them do I think.

[Ozy]

Would you sugest not to pay any attention to fetures such as nameservers, free forwording, email etc since I can get them from those 2 services? Or there is still an advantage if the services I need are offered directly from the registar?
If its like this then all I should care would be the price. Or not?

[patrickw]

About the registrar shutting down:

If the registrar you used is a reseller for someone else (Enom, OpenSRS, etc) then you have nothing to worry about.

However, if the registrar is running their own operation, then you could run into some problems. For instance, if you are using their domain name servers and they shut them down, then your domain will no longer resolve since there would be no authoritative DNS. Also, you wouldn't be able to make changes to your WHOIS record, DNS server records, etc. if there was no website for you to login into to do this.

If you weren't using them for your DNS, then you would still have a slight problem when your domain expiration date came around. You would probably have a tough time transferring your domain over to another registrar, since there would be noone to approve the transfer. The registrar you were transferring to could *force* the transfer to take place, but that is a whole other can of worms.

Verisign maintains the core .net, .com, and .org registry for all other registrars, so you wouldn't have to worry about your domain name and records just disappearing into the ether.

To answer your DNS question - GraniteCanyon.com is another good public DNS system.

Also, in regards to the transfer question: When you transfer a domain (at least with OpenSRS whom I use) you get an extra one year added on to the existing expiration date. You never lose a single day of your registration. We don't charge a fee to transfer your domain - you only pay for the extra year.


I hope this post was helpful...

[stu]

Have there ever been any cases where a registrar had to close up shop?

And for a registrar to run their own operation, don't they require ICANN accreditation to do so? Any ideas what kind of requirements are needed for accreditation? I would imagine that these requirements be very steep.

[patrickw]

I've heard of registrars being purchased by other ones, but I haven't heard of one just shutting the doors and turning off the lights (or the webserver, i guess!).

Yes, ICANN accreditation is expensive and quite a hassle. I'm sure there is a clause in the contract with ICANN as to what to do in the event the registrar shuts down.

Information on the process is at
http://www.icann.org/registrars/accreditation-process.htm

You have to pay a $1000 application fee, be bonded in the amount of $100,000, pay a $5000 annual fee, pay a $10,000 network access fee, etc. OpenSRS is ICANN accredited, which saved me all of the amounts listed above. Whew.

Thanks,

[WorldWarGeneral]

Originally posted by patrickw
You have to pay a $1000 application fee, be bonded in the amount of $100,000, pay a $5000 annual fee, pay a $10,000 network access fee, etc.

Gees, domain selling sure is an expensive investment. I suppose anyone that can afford that has a good buisness plan and won't fail in a few months though...

[gyrbo]

Originally posted by Ozy
Would you sugest not to pay any attention to fetures such as nameservers, free forwording, email etc since I can get them from those 2 services? Or there is still an advantage if the services I need are offered directly from the registar?
If its like this then all I should care would be the price. Or not?
Not really. Also, granitecanyon shuts down for months without warning. (I heard)