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Question for the OP. Why the privacy on the domain? If yourintent is to build things and get attention it's not to your benefit to hide your identity. If you'

by larrys 14y ago

Question for the OP. Why the privacy on the domain? If yourintent is to build things and get attention it's not to your benefit to hide your identity. If you're worried about spam use a different email that forwards to your regular email to filter. That said I'd like to know your reasoning for doing this (you aren't the only person that does this obviously so anyone who wants to chime in please do as always).

raimonds 14y ago
Hi, larrys! OP here. Thanks for your question! I just don't know domain registration that well. What information is exposed in case of "public" registration? Is it just my e-mail? Or address, phone number as well? I was scared by possible spam and some recent domain hijacking stories so I chose privacy.
- Bill_Dimm 14y ago
  Address and phone (in addition to email) are exposed. You can do a lookup on www.who.is to see what the info looks like for a domain. I'm not sure how hiding your info would have anything to do with domain hijacking concerns, unless you are easily conned by phishing emails.
  - raimonds 14y ago
    Thanks for the explanation! I'm not comfortable with sharing my address and phone number yet. This information seems like a good starting point for social engineering attacks. OK, I know, I'm paranoid. Give me some time. :)
- larrys 14y ago
  What information is exposed: Any information you put as far as your contact info. Name, address and phone number, email. Spam is not an issue and if you feel that's a problem simply use a gmail account that forwards to your real account. People also scrape web pages so you already have your email on your webpage anyway. Personally I own plenty of domains (for many many years) and I don't even get that much spam. As far as domain hijacking there is nothing about your domain to indicate you have to worry about losing it (who would hijack it and why would they?) If anything if the info isn't public then nobody (but the registrar) even knows that you own it because that ownership is hidden. And in the event it is hijacked you can get it reversed. Bottom line is this: privacy for some people might be good in some cases. In general though I think (based on owning a registrar and many years in this business) think it's a bad business idea. Registrars push it because it's good for them (keeps competitors out) and some charge for it or if they don't they make you think you are getting something of value. I've seen cases of real businesses using privacy with business addresses who have no reason to protect anything (which shows how they are being mislead). Bottom line: You've taken the time to create something make sure people know who you are and how to contact you (should also be on the website) maybe you will get some work or contacts etc.
  - raimonds 14y ago
    Thank you very much for your thorough answer! Great thoughts and advice!
npsimons 14y ago
I'm not the OP, but I can think of an answer to your final question. Pragmatically speaking, there are only so many hours in the day, and attention is a finite resource too, so by automatically filtering things you are likely to find irrelevant, you can save yourself wasted time and attention. Some may argue that this limits your ability to discover new things, cutting you off from a broader discussion, but if you continually come away from certain sites disappointed, why wouldn't you want to stop cluttering your life with their articles?
maggit 14y ago
With regards to privacy I always ask the converse question; Why would you not choose privacy? I don't understand which audience you are catering to through domain registration information.
- larrys 14y ago
  "With regards to privacy I always ask the converse question; Why would you not choose privacy?" Well in general if you want to attract business or benefit from something you have created you don't want privacy. Now for example I don't want to attract business from HN (for domain registration) so I choose to be private and not offer my contact info other than a gmail account. So I've made a conscious choice to not mix this. In other cases and in other places though (like a directory or list of registrars) I do the opposite (want to be listed and have customers come to me). Another case is at our business location we don't have a sign because we don't want people dropping in from the neighborhood (would waste time) and we have customers in maybe 100 countries around the world so that local business isn't important. Also I don't carry a business card I'm not interested in the local business registering with us then it could end up being a time waster. Of course if I was a local attorney I would. All depends on the situation.
- larrys 14y ago
  "which audience you are catering to through domain registration information" Sorry meant to answer this below. I have cases where I have to find domains for people that others own. If you have privacy it makes it harder for me to make you an offer on your domain and contact you.
  - miker64 14y ago
    I think you answered the 'why privacy' question right there.
    - larrys 14y ago
      Why is there something wrong with having someone want to pay you for what you own?

by larrys 14y ago

raimonds 14y ago

Hi, larrys! OP here. Thanks for your question! I just don't know domain registration that well. What information is exposed in case of "public" registration? Is it just my e-mail? Or address, phone number as well? I was scared by possible spam and some recent domain hijacking stories so I chose privacy.

Bill_Dimm 14y ago
Address and phone (in addition to email) are exposed. You can do a lookup on www.who.is to see what the info looks like for a domain. I'm not sure how hiding your info would have anything to do with domain hijacking concerns, unless you are easily conned by phishing emails.
- raimonds 14y ago
  Thanks for the explanation! I'm not comfortable with sharing my address and phone number yet. This information seems like a good starting point for social engineering attacks. OK, I know, I'm paranoid. Give me some time. :)
larrys 14y ago
What information is exposed: Any information you put as far as your contact info. Name, address and phone number, email. Spam is not an issue and if you feel that's a problem simply use a gmail account that forwards to your real account. People also scrape web pages so you already have your email on your webpage anyway. Personally I own plenty of domains (for many many years) and I don't even get that much spam. As far as domain hijacking there is nothing about your domain to indicate you have to worry about losing it (who would hijack it and why would they?) If anything if the info isn't public then nobody (but the registrar) even knows that you own it because that ownership is hidden. And in the event it is hijacked you can get it reversed. Bottom line is this: privacy for some people might be good in some cases. In general though I think (based on owning a registrar and many years in this business) think it's a bad business idea. Registrars push it because it's good for them (keeps competitors out) and some charge for it or if they don't they make you think you are getting something of value. I've seen cases of real businesses using privacy with business addresses who have no reason to protect anything (which shows how they are being mislead). Bottom line: You've taken the time to create something make sure people know who you are and how to contact you (should also be on the website) maybe you will get some work or contacts etc.
- raimonds 14y ago
  Thank you very much for your thorough answer! Great thoughts and advice!

npsimons 14y ago

I'm not the OP, but I can think of an answer to your final question. Pragmatically speaking, there are only so many hours in the day, and attention is a finite resource too, so by automatically filtering things you are likely to find irrelevant, you can save yourself wasted time and attention. Some may argue that this limits your ability to discover new things, cutting you off from a broader discussion, but if you continually come away from certain sites disappointed, why wouldn't you want to stop cluttering your life with their articles?

maggit 14y ago

With regards to privacy I always ask the converse question; Why would you not choose privacy? I don't understand which audience you are catering to through domain registration information.

larrys 14y ago
"With regards to privacy I always ask the converse question; Why would you not choose privacy?" Well in general if you want to attract business or benefit from something you have created you don't want privacy. Now for example I don't want to attract business from HN (for domain registration) so I choose to be private and not offer my contact info other than a gmail account. So I've made a conscious choice to not mix this. In other cases and in other places though (like a directory or list of registrars) I do the opposite (want to be listed and have customers come to me). Another case is at our business location we don't have a sign because we don't want people dropping in from the neighborhood (would waste time) and we have customers in maybe 100 countries around the world so that local business isn't important. Also I don't carry a business card I'm not interested in the local business registering with us then it could end up being a time waster. Of course if I was a local attorney I would. All depends on the situation.
larrys 14y ago
"which audience you are catering to through domain registration information" Sorry meant to answer this below. I have cases where I have to find domains for people that others own. If you have privacy it makes it harder for me to make you an offer on your domain and contact you.
- miker64 14y ago
  I think you answered the 'why privacy' question right there.
  - larrys 14y ago
    Why is there something wrong with having someone want to pay you for what you own?