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Get Ready To Pay Up Just To Let People Know How To Contact Your Company
from the a-total-waste dept
We've been plenty critical of plans to set up new top level domains for URLs. Each time there's an extension (such as adding .biz, .info, etc.), all it's really meant is that companies felt forced to cough up more money to secure domains they didn't need and wouldn't use. The whole thing is a scam. However, none is as ridiculous as the decision three years ago to add a ".tel" domain, where companies could put their contact info. Yes, apparently, some company convinced ICANN to extend the TLD space for .tel domains -- knowing that tons of companies would have to pay up, just to make sure there their contact info was at company.tel, rather than something like company.com/contact/.
While we hadn't heard much about .tel over the past few years, it looks like it's now set to get moving, as early registrations have opened up, and the one company (the registrar who is going to make all the cash for this) is encouraging companies to pay up. Companies will do so, of course, because they'll feel they need to protect their brand from others -- but they won't do so because it's useful. It's not as if anyone is having any trouble finding the "contact" forms on websites that have them. And, for companies that don't have easy to find contact forms, that's usually by choice -- so it's unlikely they'll suddenly rush to put up a .tel site. This whole process makes no sense, and ICANN, who orchestrated the whole thing, should be ashamed. Basically all it's done is create a totally unnecessary situation, where for no good reasons, a ton of companies have to hand over a bunch of money to Telnic.
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From a purely logical standpoint -- not a technical one -- I don't think we even need Top Level Domains. What started out as a way to organize groups of web sites has become all but meaningless. If non-commercial organizations have to buy the .com domain because that's what most people know when they really should only need a .org domain, what's the point of even having a TLD? I'm sure there are a host of technical reasons that this would be difficult or all but impossible, but I think it would be nice to not even require a TLD. If you want to call your web site www.techdirt.com, www.techdirt, www.techdirt.com.org.xxx.tel.venezuelanbeavercheese, then fine. Knock yourself out.
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Sounds like a waste of money but like you wrote companies will buy it just because they feel obligated to. Once these new TLDs launch and then gain some popularity most companies may be afraid that it will be a hassle for users to actually go to the index page and click on the "contact info" link like they are currently doing now. I bet the .tel becomes the standard fairly quickly, but I guarantee you won't find one in my root directory. I'm more than happy with my "contact info" link. I do wish I could have a piece of these upcoming profits though, Telnic just hit the jackpot. You know 90% of businesses will end up purchasing a .tel domain.
Resist conformity!!!
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In soviet Russia...
.tel contacts you!
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I just scored ho.tel! Cool on so many levels!
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BRB, got to go buy in.tel and squat on it until these catch on.
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Agh
Movie Time!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvu2F6t26hs
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Ooh, I want to register no.tel, mo.tel and william.tel
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Re:
do.tel...
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Hmmm.
How about MO.TEL, CAR.TEL, IN.TEL and MAN.TEL?
Where can one go to acquire such useful domain names?
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Re: In soviet Russia...
You, sir, win the intranets.
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This, of course - assumes consumers on the web will even bothering using it.
I'll likely just keep going to the .COM and looking for contact info.
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Re: Hmmm.
DomainMonster.com is registering them.
http://www.domainmonster.com/domain-names/
Do note, your "useful" domain name is a heavy $399.99 per domain during the "sunrise" period. I must say, this seems like overkill when any novice internet user will just enter in your company name into Google and it will provide a better, cleaner, more predictable result.
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$399 are you kidding?
Please, that has to be a joke. "You NEED a .tel domain Mr Company Sir! It's only FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS!"
Screw that, for $400 people can find my damn Contacts link. Screw ICAN.
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What the hell is the difference between .tel, .tel(Landrush) and .tel(sunrise) aside a few hundred dollars?
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Wonder what this one could be used for?
iwont.tel
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Or:
kissand.tel
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The REAL use for new TLDs
It seems that the major use these new TLDs are put towards is making clever domain names when you remove the dots. ^_^
(I am, of course, in favor of this. The cute domain names, that is. Not the obvious money grab.)
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