Hello all,

I'd like to register my name .com .
Surname .com is already taken, and I'm thinking of contacting the owner to see if he or she will sell it...

I could register my surname .net or .org or even my initials + surname .com , which one do you all think is best?
Is .com really the only way to go?

Also, I'd like a registrar that provides WHOIS protection, catchall + email forwarding and the ability to host just one page. GoDaddy seems tempting, but there seems to be a LOT of bad stuff about them...

Thanks for any advice,

CTO

It is up to you and the use of the domain?

Professional = probably a last name, perhaps initial last

Personal / Blog= first name would be best, or first / last

Yes it's up to me, as it would be my site.

It would be a personal site (mainly used as an email server) but could potentially become professional.

Let's say that my name is Web (firstname) Hosting (middlename) Talk (surname).

Talk.com is taken, but I have contacted owner

I could register talk.net or talk.org

I could also register WHTalk.com

What do you all think?

CTechO

Obviously a dot com is the most prefered so do a defensive registration of yourname.net, yourname.org and wait for the .com offer

You can also register alternative .com/s just in case you cannot get the above .com & you prefer not to use the .net/.org versions.

By spending less than $50 you will be saving a lot of headaches at a later stage.

Thanks,

That's what I was thinking...

Even if I never use the domains, it may be useful to just own them...

So, if I follow your advice, I should register surname .net + .org for the sake of it and use the initial+initial+surname.com as my main one, if I don't get surname.com straight away...

Can anyone advise me on a registrar that does all I want in post #1?

Thanks,

CTechO

Can anyone advise me on a registrar that does all I want in post #1?

Thanks,

CTechO

Accepted wisdom is that domain name registration and hosting should always be kept separate - i.e., don't have your registrar host your domain, don't register your domain through a hosting company. In other words - register with a registrar (or reseller) but don't use any of their add-on services such as email or web hosting. Find a separate hosting company to deal with those things.

Accepted wisdom is that domain name registration and hosting should always be kept separate - i.e., don't have your registrar host your domain, don't register your domain through a hosting company. In other words - register with a registrar (or reseller) but don't use any of their add-on services such as email or web hosting. Find a separate hosting company to deal with those things.


Any ideas who?

CTO

Any ideas who?

As Lubeca said: registrar and hosting companies should be separate. I wouldn't give you any recommendations. Please browse advertising forums here and most probably you'll find what you're looking for.

Good luck!

Since you want primarily email, I think FastMail (www.fastmail.fm) might be worth a look. I think they have a service where you can also host a webpage. They have an excellent reputation for email services.

professional - WHTalk.com
personal - Web.com or WebTalk.com

Maybe - Talk.net & Talk.org

And because it's mostly personal email - Talk.cc (but not so good for professional)

Hi all,

The owner of may surname .com hasn't replied to my email.

What should I do now?

The other email address found on the WHOIS doesn't work...

Snapnames? Backorder?

What are my options?

As I said, I am prepared to wait!

CTechO

Monitor whois at around expiry date and see if it doesn't get renewed. If it expires, then bid on it at the domain's registrar's preferred auction partner.

Hello:

You may want to check out
Gate.com

I am not affiliated with them in any way.
I just found them today and find their domain
offering to be very attractive.

Sounds like what you are looking for.

Regards.