3 ms·

Domain registration has to be renewed, either per year or per <x> years if you buy a bunch of licenses up front. So what's the alternative to this then? A lot o

by bmitc 4y ago

Domain registration has to be renewed, either per year or per <x> years if you buy a bunch of licenses up front. So what's the alternative to this then? A lot of domains can cost around $20 per year.

thepangolino 4y ago
The thing with a domain registration is that you know if you pay for ten years in advance, you WILL have it for ten years. With most SaaS, you have absolutely no guarantee this is going to be the case.
- dexterdog 4y ago
  You will have it for 10 years unless they decide to take it from you. That doesn't happen often, but it certainly can.
nigamanth 4y ago
Creating a subdomain once you have the domain is free, probably for the domain omg.lol they're paying $20 / year.
- mat_epice 4y ago
  omg.lol was probably a premium domain of some kind. Random three-letter .lols seem to go for about $150/yr (according to gandi).
  - nigamanth 4y ago
    Yeah but they probably have more than 6 users? This is cool and shit, but they're profiting and I guess I'm fine with that.
slg 4y ago
It is totally reasonable to charge a recurring fee for providing an ongoing service, but to be clear you are not buying a domain that needs registration. You are buying a subdomain of the domains that this company already owns. Some other sites give those away for free because there is no marginal cost per subdomain.
- bmitc 4y ago
  > but to be clear you are not buying a domain that needs registration Ah, good point.
- stavros 4y ago
  > You are buying a subdomain of the domains that this company already owns. All domains are like that, though, even TLDs.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- zupa-hu 4y ago
  Which in the end is true for domains as well. Someone decides to sell subdomains of X, weather X is com or omg.lol. Com could be free as well. The only real difference is choice. Or to put it differently, you say it doesnt need registration. Well, it does. They require it. So what.
  - andrecarini 4y ago
    I think the main difference is a proper domain from a major registrar grants you ownership rights that you don't get from leased subdomains like OP's (mainly the ability to keep the domain even if the registrar goes out of business; and moving the domain between registrars).
    - dcow 4y ago
      What do you mean “ownership rights”?
      - andrecarini 4y ago
        If you buy a gTLD domain through a registrar, your ownership of the domain is bound by the rules established by ICANN [1][2]. If you purchase an eTLD+1 [3] subdomain from omg.lol (as part of the offered services) you're not covered by [1][2] but instead by [4, Section 1.5 part B, Section 3.2 part A]. What this means is OP can arbitrarily shutdown their offering at their sole discretion and, as a result, you'll lose access to the eTLD+1 you've purchased (domain, email, all gone). However, if you purchase a gTLD domain through an ICANN accredited registrar, the registrar can't unilaterally do the same (even if the registrar implodes, you still own the domain and you can move it elsewhere). [1] ICANN Registrants' Benefits and Responsibilities: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/benefits-2013-09-16-en https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/benefits-2013-09-16-en [2] ICANN Registrar Compliance Program: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/registrar-2012-02-25-en https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/registrar-2012-02-25-e... [3] https://jfhr.me/what-is-an-etld-+-1/ https://jfhr.me/what-is-an-etld-+-1/ [4] Neatnik LLC (the company behind omg.lol): https://home.omg.lol/info/legal https://home.omg.lol/info/legal
mushufasa 4y ago
What if they offered a 'lifetime' rate which is the NPV of $20 over 20 years, so like $1000 or something? You pay once and get it forever. Of course, only as long as they can operate the service forever...
- layer8 4y ago
  That’s the main issue I see, they can stop the service at any time and then you’ll have no chance to get the subdomain back. You’re in a much better position with an actual second-level domain, because you can move the domain between service providers and registrars, and depending on locality you may also have actual legal rights to keep owning the domain.
  - sshine 4y ago
    Even for newer second-level domains like .lol and cool-looking ccTLDs like .io, the possibility that the registrar is going to end it, become unstable, or change policy is real. They’re marketing gimmicks.

by bmitc 4y ago

Domain registration has to be renewed, either per year or per <x> years if you buy a bunch of licenses up front. So what's the alternative to this then? A lot of domains can cost around $20 per year.

thepangolino 4y ago

The thing with a domain registration is that you know if you pay for ten years in advance, you WILL have it for ten years. With most SaaS, you have absolutely no guarantee this is going to be the case.

dexterdog 4y ago
You will have it for 10 years unless they decide to take it from you. That doesn't happen often, but it certainly can.

nigamanth 4y ago

Creating a subdomain once you have the domain is free, probably for the domain omg.lol they're paying $20 / year.

mat_epice 4y ago
omg.lol was probably a premium domain of some kind. Random three-letter .lols seem to go for about $150/yr (according to gandi).
- nigamanth 4y ago
  Yeah but they probably have more than 6 users? This is cool and shit, but they're profiting and I guess I'm fine with that.

slg 4y ago

It is totally reasonable to charge a recurring fee for providing an ongoing service, but to be clear you are not buying a domain that needs registration. You are buying a subdomain of the domains that this company already owns. Some other sites give those away for free because there is no marginal cost per subdomain.

bmitc 4y ago
> but to be clear you are not buying a domain that needs registration Ah, good point.
stavros 4y ago
> You are buying a subdomain of the domains that this company already owns. All domains are like that, though, even TLDs.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
zupa-hu 4y ago
Which in the end is true for domains as well. Someone decides to sell subdomains of X, weather X is com or omg.lol. Com could be free as well. The only real difference is choice. Or to put it differently, you say it doesnt need registration. Well, it does. They require it. So what.
- andrecarini 4y ago
  I think the main difference is a proper domain from a major registrar grants you ownership rights that you don't get from leased subdomains like OP's (mainly the ability to keep the domain even if the registrar goes out of business; and moving the domain between registrars).
  - dcow 4y ago
    What do you mean “ownership rights”?
    - andrecarini 4y ago
      If you buy a gTLD domain through a registrar, your ownership of the domain is bound by the rules established by ICANN [1][2]. If you purchase an eTLD+1 [3] subdomain from omg.lol (as part of the offered services) you're not covered by [1][2] but instead by [4, Section 1.5 part B, Section 3.2 part A]. What this means is OP can arbitrarily shutdown their offering at their sole discretion and, as a result, you'll lose access to the eTLD+1 you've purchased (domain, email, all gone). However, if you purchase a gTLD domain through an ICANN accredited registrar, the registrar can't unilaterally do the same (even if the registrar implodes, you still own the domain and you can move it elsewhere). [1] ICANN Registrants' Benefits and Responsibilities: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/benefits-2013-09-16-en https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/benefits-2013-09-16-en [2] ICANN Registrar Compliance Program: https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/registrar-2012-02-25-en https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/registrar-2012-02-25-e... [3] https://jfhr.me/what-is-an-etld-+-1/ https://jfhr.me/what-is-an-etld-+-1/ [4] Neatnik LLC (the company behind omg.lol): https://home.omg.lol/info/legal https://home.omg.lol/info/legal

mushufasa 4y ago

What if they offered a 'lifetime' rate which is the NPV of $20 over 20 years, so like $1000 or something? You pay once and get it forever. Of course, only as long as they can operate the service forever...

layer8 4y ago
That’s the main issue I see, they can stop the service at any time and then you’ll have no chance to get the subdomain back. You’re in a much better position with an actual second-level domain, because you can move the domain between service providers and registrars, and depending on locality you may also have actual legal rights to keep owning the domain.
- sshine 4y ago
  Even for newer second-level domains like .lol and cool-looking ccTLDs like .io, the possibility that the registrar is going to end it, become unstable, or change policy is real. They’re marketing gimmicks.