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

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 2:57 pm
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?

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 3:06 pm
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.

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 3:13 pm
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.

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 3:33 pm
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).

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 3:35 pm
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?

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 3:37 pm
by feyd
I'd go the "fraud" route.

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 3:38 pm
by Ambush Commander
Erm... elaborate? If we don't purchase the domain, someone could defraud me?

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 3:45 pm
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.

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 3:58 pm
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.

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 4:22 pm
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).

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 4:26 pm
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.

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 4:50 pm
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).

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 4:51 pm
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.

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 5:24 pm
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.

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 5:28 pm
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.