[thelist] The domain name registration confusion

[Daniel J. Cody]

Hi Peter -

Good question..

A brief history to help us understand.. Years ago, the US government
gave the role of assigning top level domains (TLDs) to Network
Solutions. It was getting to be more than the government wanted to
handle, so they gave the contract to NetSol back then without knowing
just how popular the internet, and domain names, would become.

For many years, Network Solutions(Internic) was the only place you could
register a .com, .net, .org, or .edu TLD on the Internet. People soon
began to realize that registering those domain names was more than the
government ever meant to give NetSol when it awarded them the contract
to administer domain names. It was also becoming a muli-million dollar
industry.

About 2 years ago, enough people complained that the governemnt was
forced to step in and stop NetSol's monopoly on registering domain
names. They appointed an industry board known as ICANN to oversee the
distribution of TLDs and to provide fair competetion in the registrar
business that NetSol has monopolized for years.

About a year - year and a half ago, ICANN appointed other 'registrars'
to assign and administrate TLDs. Some of them are Joker.com, tucows.com,
and register.com. They provide the same service as NetSol once had an
iron fisted grip on, registering TLDs. This led the way to competition,
which lead to increased service(which NetSol is notorious for having a
lack of) and cheaper prices.

Thats the real quick and dirty I've had a 6 pack of Bass version :)

They 35 dollars per year fee is what NetSol(www.networksolutions.com)
charges you to register a domain name. Now, NetSol has realized their
loss with increased competition and have included shady(to say the leas)
terms when you register a TLD with them. One of those is that you don't
own the domain name, you're meerly renting it from them..

But the scope of NetSol's business practices is well beyond this
email...

You're correct in saying that there are other places you can get domain
names(TLDs) for less money. The cheapest I know of is joker.com which is
about 15 dollars a year(correct me if i'm wrong someone)

Personally, I would *highly* recommend registering your domain name with
someone other than network solutions. Again, without going in to it,
they are just bad, bad, bad.

If that answers you're question, coolio. If you want more info on
exactly how the domain name system works, let me know and I'll provide
more detailed information :)

.djc.


Peter Small wrote:
> 
> Can somebody please explain how this domain name system works. The more I
> learn about it, the more confused I get.
> 
> The "official" cost of buying/renting seems to be 35 dollars per annum.
> But, if you pay a large sum of money to one of several organisations, you
> can register domain names at a fraction of this cost. There are other
> places where you can obtain domain names very cheaply. Some of them you can
> get domain name registration for free.
> 
> Some of these cheap or free places to register a domain name charge a large
> fee for transference. Some don't. I hear that some places where you
> register a domain name you own it. At other places you are only renting it.
> 
> Can somebody please help me understand all this so I don't get ripped off?
> I don't want free, but, I do want to have security that I won't lose the
> name at some future date. Also, if I have registered with one compant that
> is giving me a bad deal, how can I change to another registration company
> without losing the domain name I've registered?
> 
> Is there any definitive article anywhere on the Web that explains all this?
> 
> I'll be grateful for any guidance through this foggy mine field.