Verisign backs down: 22,000 .name domains saved after a long, costly fight
.name Grandfathered
Neil Fraser reports a win: Verisign is retracting its plan to terminate 22,000 third-level .name domains and email redirects. New registrations will close, but existing domains and redirects will remain indefinitely. Fraser credits a broad team effort — from Doytchin, who started the campaign, to Jim, who flew to Bali to argue the case to ICANN in person, to lawyers and dozens of supporters who filed reconsideration requests and letters.
I'd also like to sincerely thank selected individuals within ICANN who had the courage to stand up against the bureaucracy.
- giancarlostoro
> After a long and expensive battle, news just dropped that Verisign is retracting its plan to terminate 22,000 domain names and email redirects. Although they will be closing new registrations for 3rd-level .name domains, all existing domains (including this website) and email redirects will remain indefinitely.
This was what I figured SHOULD happen when they did this. Allow existing customers to keep renewing, but nobody new allowed, if a tld frees up over time, reclaim it completely and sell it off.
What they were proposing should really be illegal...
- nticompass
WHAT‽ I let my "first.last.name" registration expire because of the impending shutdown!
I did notice that my domain kept working past the supposed shutdown date, but I let the domain registration expire.
I'm so mad now! I assume there is no way to get my domain/email forwarding back :(
I suppose I could try to ask the registrar, but I highly doubt they can do anything...
(Edit: I'm not actually mad, but it was annoying to have to move accounts from my [email protected] email to another one)
- soupbowl
It is best to stick to the main top level domains. I bought into multiple 'new' domains and most of them caused me issues. A few of them jacked up their prices like crazy compared to when I first
bought them. They can also be difficult to move between providers.
Unfortunately I am stuck in commitments on a few of these domains and just had to eat the cost increases, the rest I moved to .com/.net.
.consulting was the worst offender.
- derhuerst
previous discussion on the predecessor post, 69 days ago, 547 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49550772
- mlefer
I wonder why couldn't Verisign just grant most people the second level domains here. I imagine there aren't too many people holding onto 3rd level .name domains here and the set of people holding onto 3rd level domains that share a second level domain with someone else is probably very small, a few hundred at most.
For all the ones holding exclusive second level domains, just give them the second level domain. For all the ones holding shared second levels, offer a buyout and/or allow parties to negotiate with each other on a shared ownership structure of the second level.
- kwanbix
Why would they even want to close it? It is probably close to 0 cost tot hem. Or am I wrong?
- greyface-
Can anyone speak to which specific registrars support setting email forwarding settings with these domains?
- slow_typist
Nicely done.
(I moved a few family email accounts from .name to .net years ago because it was a much cheaper option and the .name TLD was still so uncommon in our bubbles it led to questions when they gave their email addresses to someone else.)