[SOLVED] How important is it to buy out the .com domain?

Ye' old general discussion board. Basically, for everything that isn't covered elsewhere. Come here to shoot the breeze, shoot your mouth off, or whatever suits your fancy.
This forum is not for asking programming related questions.

Moderator: General Moderators

User avatar
Ambush Commander
DevNet Master
Posts: 3698
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 9:29 pm
Location: New Jersey, US

[SOLVED] How important is it to buy out the .com domain?

Post by Ambush Commander »

I recently purchased a .org domain, htmlpurifier dot org (nothing there right now, it'll take a little bit of time to migrate the website over). Now, I'm wondering whether or not I should purchase the dot com equivalent too... to cite an example, http://jpsband.org/ is a fairly low profile domain, and already http://jpsband.com/ has been bought out by a domain squatter.

This makes me somewhat angry.

Should I pre-emptively purchase the dot com domain? Or does it not really matter? (For instance, phpbb got the dot com but not the dot org. I occasionally slip up and type phpbb.org) Thoughts?
Last edited by Ambush Commander on Tue Apr 10, 2007 9:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
matthijs
DevNet Master
Posts: 3360
Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 3:57 pm

Post by matthijs »

If it's free, just buy it. For $15/yr I wouldn't risk it.

And indeed, for people who type in the wrong extension it's nice when you have them both.
User avatar
RobertGonzalez
Site Administrator
Posts: 14293
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 6:04 pm
Location: Fremont, CA, USA

Post by RobertGonzalez »

Domains are like $8 nowadays. Protect yourself and buy it. If you are a corporation reading this, buy as many variants of your domain as you can, including those that bash your domain.
User avatar
Maugrim_The_Reaper
DevNet Master
Posts: 2704
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 5:43 am
Location: Ireland

Post by Maugrim_The_Reaper »

I buy the big three where possible - com, org and net. Usually only to block the squatters who rely on user errors to make mistakes (and rob you of some traffic).
User avatar
Ambush Commander
DevNet Master
Posts: 3698
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 9:29 pm
Location: New Jersey, US

Post by Ambush Commander »

Alright, it looks like it's a clear buy. Unfortunately, my financial backers (i.e. parents) have decided to get a little stingy after purchasing new hosting, so it will take a little bit to convince them that it's necessary. Should I appeal to the "If we don't hurry, someone will buy it out!" mentality?
User avatar
feyd
Neighborhood Spidermoddy
Posts: 31559
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 3:24 pm
Location: Bothell, Washington, USA

Post by feyd »

I'd go the "fraud" route.
User avatar
Ambush Commander
DevNet Master
Posts: 3698
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 9:29 pm
Location: New Jersey, US

Post by Ambush Commander »

Erm... elaborate? If we don't purchase the domain, someone could defraud me?
User avatar
Luke
The Ninja Space Mod
Posts: 6424
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 1:53 pm
Location: Paradise, CA

Post by Luke »

Ambush, you amaze me. Your level of understanding on issues like security, character encoding, and many other things is far beyond mine, yet you are still young enough to require the assistance of your parents for financial backing. Keep it up, man. You are going places.
User avatar
feyd
Neighborhood Spidermoddy
Posts: 31559
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 3:24 pm
Location: Bothell, Washington, USA

Post by feyd »

Ambush Commander wrote:Erm... elaborate? If we don't purchase the domain, someone could defraud me?
Not defraud you, but defraud your users in some fashion.
User avatar
RobertGonzalez
Site Administrator
Posts: 14293
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 6:04 pm
Location: Fremont, CA, USA

Post by RobertGonzalez »

Imagine if someone less than honest bought htmlpurifier.com and used it for pr0n or something.

Typically you want to be the owner of as many domains as possible that could in some way impact your business (like googlesucks.com, googleblows.com, msnrocks.com, etc).
User avatar
Maugrim_The_Reaper
DevNet Master
Posts: 2704
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 5:43 am
Location: Ireland

Post by Maugrim_The_Reaper »

Consider all relevant domains assets - inform your parents they are a valuable investment which prevent bad people damaging the reputation of the original website, while driving a little more traffic your way. More traffic and less bad publicity can only be good.
User avatar
Ambush Commander
DevNet Master
Posts: 3698
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 9:29 pm
Location: New Jersey, US

Post by Ambush Commander »

Another question: Ideally speaking, I would like to have Dreamhost as the registrar, because that's also the host of the website the domain would be redirecting to. However, I can probably get a slightly better deal on another domain registrar, such as Godaddy. Is this path recommended? (I've heard pretty bad stories about Godaddy, so not necessarily that one).
User avatar
RobertGonzalez
Site Administrator
Posts: 14293
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 6:04 pm
Location: Fremont, CA, USA

Post by RobertGonzalez »

GoDaddy blows for hosting. Anything domain related, they are top notch. I have over 30 domains registered with them. I am even a reseller for them so I can get even better pricing. For domains, they are hands down better than anyone I have ever tried.

But for hosting, not so much.
User avatar
Luke
The Ninja Space Mod
Posts: 6424
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2005 1:53 pm
Location: Paradise, CA

Post by Luke »

My gripe with godaddy is that they keep sending me emails about how my domain is about to expire and other things even though I've asked them to stop about 100 times. I think they finally may have stopped just recently because I haven't got any in a while. Hopefully.

Another thing I don't like about them is that when you buy a domain name they try to upsell you at least 10 times before the whole process is finished. They make their upselling more prominent than the "continue" buttons and so the checkout process is a PITA. Their marketing technique is very annoying all around.
User avatar
RobertGonzalez
Site Administrator
Posts: 14293
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 6:04 pm
Location: Fremont, CA, USA

Post by RobertGonzalez »

True, but when it comes to getting a domain name for $8 and two extra clicks or paying $30 bucks and having one extra click... well, I am a cheap bastard, so the answer for me is obvious.
Post Reply