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I highly recommend checking out the DomainNameBuyersGuide to see how various registrars rank among various dimensions (legal, pricing, etc). This is how I found my excellent registrar, DomainDiscover, which has proved to be great.

For the record, I too, am a huge fane of EasyDNS; they provide 4 secondary DNS sites and 2 backup MX for $15 yearly.

I transfered a couple from NSI to Gandi and it was fairly painless. The new registrar you choose should have instructions on how to transfer your domain to them, and as part of the process, NSI should contact you to verify it. I had a bitch of a time getting NSI to do things, but they kept pace on the domain transfer. Check out this site for a review of registrars that includes ratings of their terms of service (privacy and who owns the domain). Gandi is currently ranked first for legal policies. =D

My ISP uses OpenSRS. However I'm interested in comparing other OpenSRS-compatible registrars' policies. Also, I'm interested in learning exactly how domain registry works and how it bridges into DNS, like what denotes an SOA and what prioritizes them if there are multiple SOAs by accident. Any pointers? Thanks!

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http://www.domainnamebuyersguide.com/

While it may not have EVERY registrar out there, it does provide a centralized resource for many of the choices out there - with comparisons of each registrar's pricing & contractual wording.

-ct

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http://www.domainnamebuyersguide.com

I've used Domain Discover and am now trying out Gandi. Phroggy's comments make sense.

Finally, for the BSD folks (not all of them, but a vocal minority) who complain that Linux can freely take from BSD but that BSD can't put GPL'ed code in its kernel: that's the way you wanted it, right? The whole idea of the BSD license is to *permit* other people to use your code with basically no strings attached. Why is it suddenly so bad when Linux plays by those rules, but when Apple does the same thing, it's perfectly fine? If you really want to ensure that everyone using your code plays by the same rules you do, then use the GPL or the like!

A few reasons:

1) In relation to Open Source, you will notice that BSD can share with GPL, but GPL cannot share with BSD. This is at the same time GPL advocates are advocating how free their code is. If they are ALWAYS talking about sharing, why can't I use the code in my BSD project(s) which is open-source.

2) The GPL is seen as a license with an agenda. The NSI agreement also appears to have an agenda. Many people distrust NSI due to this.

3) Closed-source projects rarely (if ever?) take code they acquired from an open-source project and distribute it under another open-source license. It is somewhat a slap in the face.

4) Most GPL advocates are stronger believers in copyright laws than BSD advocates even though RMS started the copyleft license to counter copyright.

I think you shall start seeing more licenses like OpenSSL. It is BSD-like, but states that is must be distributed under its license if distributed as open-source.

Personally, I use gandi.net. Twelve Euro's (~ $12, US) is pretty good for a domain. But if you want to do your own research, check out the Domain Name Buyers Guide. They rate registrars by price, leagal contract, and best overall. It's well worth a look.

About Network Solutions... they're anything but even handed or consistant. Of course, in the past, they HAVE let expired domains go back into the public pool and be re-registered by another person. (Take "police.net"... that was a customer at an ISP I worked for that let their domain name drop.) I know of many others. I also remember years ago they're harassing us and denying us a registration for "bingo.net", even though it was not taken at all! They would not let us register it!

Anyone who has had a great number of dealing with NetSol will have some war stories. This is definately a case where I'm going to vote with my dollars. I encourage others to do the same.

For more info, see the Domain Name Buyers Guide, located here.

If you have a company, and you are faced with paying some percentage of income (don't know the specifics) or other large amount of money to FHG to use MP3, or use a freely available one that provides similar quality/filesize, saving your company (a made up) $10,000 a year, it's a no brainer. All that needs to happen is for the major media players (Winamp, etc.) to include support. Considering it costs them $0 to add it, that doesn't seem far fetched.

Similarly, what advantage does Network Solutions provide that any of the thousands of competetive registrars? That they own your domain name and can revoke it for any reason? (See here). Sure they've got a head start, but that hardly makes them "VHS" to the other registrars' "Beta." Are you telling me that unless I register my domain with NS, it won't work for the majority of users? Not at all. You seem to misunderstand how the name registration system works. It doesn't much matter which one you use, if you pay more for less at Network Solutions, that's your perogative too.

...I know its a cheap shot but I couldn't resist. And I did it to make a point.

Better luck next time, cheap shooter! I hope I get to compete against you in the marketplace. Pay your money to FHG, I'll use mine for advertising. We'll see who wins. Never forget, a competitive marketplace is brutal, and it is sometimes only thousands of dollars that separate success from ruin...

Someone above asked for a List of OpenSRS affiliates (i.e. resellers). I have been trying to do the same, but never could get such a list, despite extensive searches.

Note that the Domain Name Buyers Guide does not cover any OpenSRS affiliate yet.

Last week, I decided to ask OpenSRS themselves, and opened a sales ticket and a support ticket. The support guy gave me the usual run around ("Our reseller list is confidential", "we cannot release such info", "try a web search").

The sales person was more helpful and gave me a list of five resellers:

• http://www.nal.qc.ca
• http://www.msnhosting.com
• http://internationalwebhostingservices.c om
• http://www.islelink.com
• http://www.msquaredweb.net

Independantly, I tried searching for such info myself. Here is what I found:

• JumpDomain 14.99$ a year.
• DiscountDomainRegistry 14.99$ a year.
• DomainMonger 17$ a year.
• Processing Innovations 15$ a year. I am not sure if they are OpenSRS or not. Some (see above) have objected to their agreement, since they can terminate the domain, ...etc.
• Domains JH Cloos
• . Again not sure if he is OpenSRS or not. He offers domains for 12.50$. You cannot pay by credit card and need
• e-gold.

In case you are wondering, if your reseller goes out of business (many of them are small operations or a one-man-shows), then OpenSRS will be the registrar. The sales person told me they would help me find another registrar should this happen.

I am willing to maintain a list of OpenSRS resllers that offer cheap (20$ or less per year) domain registrations. If you find more, please let me know. You can contact me via the web site above or via 2bits.com (fill a contact form) or you can e-mail me at khalidATbaheyeldinDOTcom.

As a related issue, I have been looking for a PHP port of the OpenSRS library (Yeah, I am a Perl-Hater!), so I can implement it myself, shell out the 250$ minimum needed for being an Open SRS reseller, then I can provide domain registry for friends, family and clients. However, there is no such port planned by OpenSRS.org, and one reseller (forget which one) has a library that is working in every aspect except the encryption stuff.

http://www.domainnamebuyersguide.com/

Has anyone here used Gandi? They were recommended by the Domain Name Buyer's Guide as being cheap and non-evil. But before I start registering with them, does anyone have any personal experience with them?

Has anyone here used Gandi? They were recommended by the Domain Name Buyer's Guide as being cheap and non-evil. But before I start registering with them, does anyone have any personal experience with them?

Hey you're allright. Your with one of the good guys

Domain Name: KRISJOHN.NET
Registrar: MELBOURNE IT
Whois Server: whois.InternetNamesWW.com
Referral URL: www.InternetNamesWW.com
Name Server: ORANGE.IDIRECTIONS.COM
Name Server: GREEN.IDIRECTIONS.COM
Updated Date: 31-jan-2000

Good thing too.

BE CAREFUL.

I'm looking at tranferring too.

Just make sure you understand the ramifications Ouch!

Are you joking? Do you really think their terms are better than NetSol? I'd re-read your Registration Agreement. If you would look at the OpenSRS agreement, you would see that it's pretty much exactly like the NetSol's Registration Agreement. From the OpenSRS Registration Agreement (in its Appendix A):

15. REVOCATION. You agree that we may delete your domain name or terminate your right to use other Services if the information that you provided to register or reserver your domain name or register for other Services, or subsequently to modifiy it, contains false or misleading information, or conceals or omits any information we would likely consider material to our decision to register or reserve your domain name. You agree that we may, in our sole discretion, delete or transfer your domain name at any time.

To add further insult, read Section 4:

4. MODIFICATIONS TO AGREEMENT. You agree, during the period of this Agreement,that we may: (1) revise the terms and conditions of this Agreement; and (2) change the services provided under this Agreement. Any such change or revision will be binding and effective immediately on posting of the revised Agremeent or change to the service(s) on our web site . . . . You agree to review our web site, including the Agreement, periodically to be aware of any such revisions.

This is enough to make me wretch. You still think OpenSRS is cool? I feel nothing but disgust.

Similarly, Secura GmBH, which is given a 5-star rating by the DomainNameBuyersGuide for its legal agreement, has the following provision in its Registration Agreement:

An SLD holder's willful provision of inaccurate or unreliable information, its willful failure promptly to update information provided to Registrar, or its failure to respond for over fifteen calendar days to inquiries by Registrar concerning the accuracy of contact details associated with the SLD holder's registration can constitute a material breach of the SLD holder-registrar contract and be a basis for cancellation of the SLD registration.

Are you joking? Do you really think their terms are better than NetSol? I'd re-read your Registration Agreement. If you would look at the OpenSRS agreement, you would see that it's pretty much exactly like the NetSol's Registration Agreement. From the OpenSRS Registration Agreement (in its Appendix A):

15. REVOCATION. You agree that we may delete your domain name or terminate your right to use other Services if the information that you provided to register or reserver your domain name or register for other Services, or subsequently to modifiy it, contains false or misleading information, or conceals or omits any information we would likely consider material to our decision to register or reserve your domain name. You agree that we may, in our sole discretion, delete or transfer your domain name at any time.

To add further insult, read Section 4:

4. MODIFICATIONS TO AGREEMENT. You agree, during the period of this Agreement,that we may: (1) revise the terms and conditions of this Agreement; and (2) change the services provided under this Agreement. Any such change or revision will be binding and effective immediately on posting of the revised Agremeent or change to the service(s) on our web site . . . . You agree to review our web site, including the Agreement, periodically to be aware of any such revisions.

This is enough to make me wretch. You still think OpenSRS is cool? I feel nothing but disgust.

Similarly, Secura GmBH, which is given a 5-star rating by the DomainNameBuyersGuide for its legal agreement, has the following provision in its Registration Agreement:

An SLD holder's willful provision of inaccurate or unreliable information, its willful failure promptly to update information provided to Registrar, or its failure to respond for over fifteen calendar days to inquiries by Registrar concerning the accuracy of contact details associated with the SLD holder's registration can constitute a material breach of the SLD holder-registrar contract and be a basis for cancellation of the SLD registration.

Amazing how quickly everybody jumps on this NOW. As the article says, the ruling passed a month ago, and the contract change occured last NOVEMBER. DomainNameBuyersGuide.com has a huge WARNING in the overall rating of NSI because of this very clause! This is something that's been known for months already.

As noted on /. a few weeks ago this site compares services based on contract or price.
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This page summarizes the legal rights offered by the different registrars. As you can see, the problem with Network Solutions has been known for some time.

Read their FAQ! They are not rating CORE and TUCOWS registrars. At least, not yet.

If you used another domain registrar, use their feedback form and tell them about your experience so they can include your registrar on the list.