Is it best to register a domain by proxy?

June 21, 2004 5:40 PM

I want to register a domain, which I've never done before. Is it best to register a domain by proxy? Also, is Godaddy.com good for this kind of thing?
posted by Prospero to computers & internet (20 comments total)

I have registered domains with GoDaddy, domainmonger, and the evil, evil bastards at Network Solutions. GoDaddy has been, by far, the best and cheapest option for me. YMMV.
posted by bedhead at 6:03 PM on June 21, 2004

i moved all my domains from network solutions to joker. i think they're great.
posted by heather at 6:10 PM on June 21, 2004

Domain by proxy can be nice because then your personal information isn't available to spammers via the whois database (even though they're not supposed to use it). I'm too cheap to pay the extra money though.
posted by thebabelfish at 6:18 PM on June 21, 2004

Prospero,

The cost of registering a domain varies widely, so I recommend you know what you're paying for when you purchase one.

Domains By Proxy is a service, with an affiliate network. Because of this business model, it's a lot more expensive than what many registers cost to do the same thing. RegisterFly, for example, charges a single US dollar for the same service Domains By Proxy affiliates are charging $9.00 US to $12.00 US.

Discount domain sellers are very different from "full service" domain sellers. When I used Joker, I didn't know that it was a German site. When I had issues, I had a very difficult time communicating with them, which caused me to transfer to a new registrar. They didn't offer a phone number and took days to respond to emails. This was also some time ago.

Register.com was by far the most expensive registrar I have used since Network Solutions, but their customer service at the time was higly available, responsive and easy to work with. If you're new and need a hand or two held, don't overlook the value of their customer service.

RegisterFly.com, on the other hand, has no customer service to speak of. Their emails are responded to slowly. Their "live" support is highly scripted. Several times when I was having a problem, the live support tech would take over 30 minutes to reply something I typed. RegisterFly is also immensly complex to use if you have one domain. It's very good to use when you have three hundred, on the other hand. There's a lot of tools and their web site is crammed with in site advertising for their services. They are also constantly having sales, so they are typically one of the cheapest around.

Another low budget registar I used made RegisterFly look great. No phone support, no anything to speak of. They just sit you in a mail queue. After canceling my account properly and on time, they continued to bill me and threaten me with legal action. (For a total of about $40, how stupid.) After about 15 emails, several phone calls to their "corporate headquarters" and a complaint to the BBB, my issue was resolved.

I'd suggest trying to find a registrar that fits your needs. Domains By Proxy is done differently by a lot of registrars and can be had for pennies, if cost is an issue. It's a lot harder to grab info from the whois database these days. For example, I received zero spam from my public registar address last year. (It's a separate address from my personal address, so I can track it.)

If you think you'll need help, make sure you know what kind help is available. Live chat support is awful, slow and you'll get answers that are nearly word for word from their FAQ.

Lastly, I'd also recommend finding a hosting solution outside of your registrar. Many of them offer it really cheap, but it somewhat complicates transfering domains if you ever wish to do so.
posted by sequential at 6:32 PM on June 21, 2004

I'd also recommend finding a hosting solution outside of your registrar. Many of them offer it really cheap, but it somewhat complicates transfering domains if you ever wish to do so.

Word.
posted by yerfatma at 6:35 PM on June 21, 2004

I also agree. Remember that you can register the domain first and worry about hosting solutions later. You can also worry about spam solutions later. I have a few domains and one of them gets spammed all to hell and one does not, even though they're both registered/hosted the same way. I use Gandi.net for all my domains and I like them a lot, but it helps to sort of understand the process before you dive in. They are also in France so phone support is non-existent, but I've been moving and registering domains with them for years and I've never needed any support at all.
posted by jessamyn at 7:01 PM on June 21, 2004

I use GoDaddy, and have had no problems.
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 7:05 PM on June 21, 2004

I've had nothing but good times with GoDaddy.
posted by precocious at 7:06 PM on June 21, 2004

I'll my domains are with GoDaddy, never a problem.

i moved all my domains from network solutions to joker.

Joker is especially good if you plan on cybersquatting. They don't like abiding by ICANN rules or UDRPs. I hold them in very low regard.
posted by anathema at 7:17 PM on June 21, 2004

godaddy all the way, works great. i also use domains by proxy, because i'm paranoid.
posted by bob sarabia at 7:17 PM on June 21, 2004

"The law requires that the personal information you provide with every domain you register "

Is this federal law now? What law?
posted by skallas at 7:59 PM on June 21, 2004

Joker is especially good if you plan on cybersquatting. They don't like abiding by ICANN rules or UDRPs. I hold them in very low regard.

Maybe I'm just nostalgic for the wild-west feel that the DNS system used to have, but I think I actually gained respect for joker.com having read through that list of UDRP decisions they ignored.

There have been so many clearly abusive uses of the UDRP system, I think a registrar who's more of a advocate for their clients is a pretty good thing.

That said, it's hard to suggest that they're taking any sort of moral high road since they clearly agreed to respect UDRP decisions when they became a registrar.
posted by mragreeable at 9:09 PM on June 21, 2004

Do some research into Zuccarini, then get back to me. UDRPs are not perfect, but if you track them like I do it's pretty easy to see that so-called "abuses" are the exception.

Anyway, like I said, I've had good luck with GoDaddy. No experience with domains by proxy.
posted by anathema at 9:26 PM on June 21, 2004

Is this federal law now? What law?

It appears it is not yet a law. You can find two different versions of the bill, one introduced in House and one reported in House at Thomas, a service of the Library of Congress. The latter bill was reported on June 9th, 2004, with amendments. You can follow its status here.

The Register has has an opinion.

Congressman Lamar Smith of Texas - chairman of the Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee - yesterday produced from nowhere extensions to the 1946 Trademark Act that would make giving false contact information for a domain name a civil and criminal offence.

The ACLU, the EFF, the ALA, the CDT and Public Knowledge sent this letter (html) (pdf) to Chairman Sensenbrenner and Ranking Member Conyers expressing their concerns.

The undersigned libraries and public interests groups urge you to delay the markup of H.R. 3754, “The Fraudulent Online Identity Sanctions Act,” scheduled for this Wednesday, May 5. While we recognize the need to improve the accuracy of the WHOIS domain name database, we write to express our concern that this bill will penalize and potentially jail Americans who seek only to protect their privacy and right to anonymous free speech online.

The International Trademark Association has a June 2004 Washington Update on it's site, but they do not make it clear why they are supporting this bill. Instead, Circle ID breaks it down quite clearly.

FOISA, perhaps, among other things, is aimed at eliminating a bugaboo identified by some intellectual property holders as a serious threat to trademark holders; namely, the inability to reliably use a consumer database of domain name registrations for investigations and identity checks when intellectual property holders prepare for various forms of dispute resolution, including litigation. Why legislative approval for using the WHOIS database for a purpose it was never intended seems imminent confirms the status and lobbying power of certain intellectual property holders. (1)

The good news is that the court, in CyBerCorp Holdings, Inc. v. Jay Allman finds:

that registrant's use of proxy service to keep contact information private, in and of itself is not evidence of bad faith, given that there are good faith reasons for wanting to keep one's 'Whois' data private (2)

posted by sequential at 9:28 PM on June 21, 2004

I've used register.com, netsol, domainmonger, and godaddy. Godaddy's the best of that bunch for sure.
posted by dobbs at 9:40 PM on June 21, 2004

I've been happy with Dotster.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:45 PM on June 21, 2004

I have domains registered both with GoDaddy and with Joker. The GoDaddy process is a little longer and more cluttered as they try to sell you every conceivable add-on service they offer. Joker is pretty straightforward, no ads and minimal (if any) add-on services for offer; it is, however, marginally more expensive ($3-4).

I'd easily recommend either.
posted by filmgoerjuan at 10:29 PM on June 21, 2004

Thanks for all the advice.

I'm primarily interested in registering the domain right now, not hosting it (though I'll want to do that eventually). It's good that several of you pointed out the importance of getting a hosting solution outside your registrar, though--I can see where having all one's eggs in one basket might lead to trouble.

And it doesn't seem like privacy issues with respect to WHOIS are quite as much of a concern as they're sometimes made out to be: I couldn't tell, looking at Domains By Proxy's site (which is linked to from GoDaddy) whether proxy registering was an absolutely necessary service, or whether they were relying on FUD to sell me something I didn't really need. (Also, reading through DBP's license agreement convinced me that they would have a little more control over my information than I'd like--I'd just be trading one brand of low-level paranoia for another.)
posted by Prospero at 6:06 AM on June 22, 2004

Joker is especially good if you plan on cybersquatting. They don't like abiding by ICANN rules or UDRPs. I hold them in very low regard.

eeeeeeeeeeeeek! seems like i jumped from the frying pan into the fire. yet another thing do to post wedding.
posted by heather at 6:48 AM on June 22, 2004

heather, I am not commenting on how they treat their customers (I have no idea), only how they treat their status as registrars and thereby their obligations to ICANN rules.
posted by anathema at 7:07 AM on June 22, 2004