800 members

[admin]

We are delighted to see our forum has just reached 800 members!

We had 116 new members in November and December looks like beating that.

Welcome everyone.

[Edwin]

That's pretty cool!

I have to say - and this is strictly without singling out any particular person - that the average quality of names being posted for sale/appraisal continues to drop, and I can't help thinking there's a correlation.

[Brassneck]

Well done - this is a really professionally run board. Keep up the good work.

Stephen.

[retired member 1]

Originally Posted by Edwin

That's pretty cool!

I have to say - and this is strictly without singling out any particular person - that the average quality of names being posted for sale/appraisal continues to drop, and I can't help thinking there's a correlation.

Not everyone can hold quality generic term domains, we all start from somewhere...some people go about things differently, people who want to get into domains and start 2005 without deep pockets will always struggle and have to work much harder to get far.

How would you start out again tommorow with let's say £500 in your back pocket and without the contacts and knowledge you've gained over years?

There is far too much elitism in domaining, I don't think belittleing people because their domains aren't upto scratch with your own standards is the way to go.

Not a dig at you personally, just at the industry as a whole be it this or any forum/chat room...after all, one mans rubbish is another mans treasure

Congratulations on 800 members!, long may it continue.

[Edwin]

Originally Posted by J2theIZZO

How would you start out again tommorow with let's say £500 in your back pocket and without the contacts and knowledge you've gained over years?

I don't think I would, frankly. If all I had was £500 and I knew nothing about the domain name industry except a vague idea that "some people make a lot of money in it" then it would seem far too risky/outlandish a proposition. Either that, or I would spend weeks or months reading everything I could first until I felt I understood at least basically what I was doing.

Many names posted recently would never have been registered if their owners had bothered to learn those "basics". Harsh, but real life doesn't give points for "trying", only for success!

If all you have to play with is £500, you'd better be 99% sure you're going to learn the trade within the boundaries of that resource, or else all you've done is throw away your very limited capital. If you make £500-worth of mistakes it's game over.

[ratboy]

I think the point is, that if someone posts up for the community to appraise "1website-d0main.wp" then i'll always say it how it is. I feel like replying to people who post these... and saying what are you thinking? And... After all really this is a UK forum not Western Outermongolia.

BUT, those selling domains, well fair dos. If you don't sell them, please don't keep posting them up, its a bit annyoing to those who read each post here.

Good luck to those starting out, read and learn - it'll save you your £500 in the first place!!

[Edwin]

Originally Posted by J2theIZZO

Not everyone can hold quality generic term domains, we all start from somewhere...some people go about things differently, people who want to get into domains and start 2005 without deep pockets will always struggle and have to work much harder to get far.

But why are some people even starting in domains? It seems some have a clear plan, have done their homework and burst onto the scene with a reasonably good start - and good luck to them! Others just want the cyber-equivalent of a winning lottery ticket and make elementary mistakes that people (including me) have been warning against for nearly a decade.

Again, this is real life, not Hollywood. And in real life, people fail - usually many people for every one person that succeeds. There's no magic silver bullet to success in the domain name world (though having spare cash can help, of course, and luck plays a part) and many people on here have paid their dues in terms of thousands of hours spent "learning the trade" so it's pure fantasy to think one can break into the industry without any effort or willingness to do research. You wouldn't expect to become a successful brain surgeon on 30 minutes work - so why should domaining be seen as an "easy ride"?

Probably 90% of the people now "in domains" (if defined as "owning domains registered with the specific intent to make money") have no business being there, since pragmatically they lack the patience/resolve/resources to take their interest to the next level and learn what it takes to begin to see some success. The other 10% have my full respect and I wish them well.

My worry is that, while the above is blunt, it may be that not enough people are blunt enough and that a lot of folks will go on setting their money on fire on their virtual front lawn...

There is far too much elitism in domaining, I don't think belittleing people because their domains aren't upto scratch with your own standards is the way to go.

Not a dig at you personally, just at the industry as a whole be it this or any forum/chat room...after all, one mans rubbish is another mans treasure

Well, somebody has to point out that in most cases the Emperor really has no clothes. Usually, one man's rubbish is in fact also another man's rubbish, that's the way things work. Those that "get it", on the other hand, aren't registering "rubbish".

I see things very differently - the sheer patience and willingness to help evidenced on here and on other domain forums astonishes me at times, when people are confronted by the thousandth newbie making exactly the same mistakes again and again.

There is a real sense of despair - even desperation - in many of the posts on domain forums, with the posters seemingly needing to sell their domains to pay bills, to buy more domains, to pay off XYZ loan and so on. Involvement to that extent is scary!

[Edwin]

Websites, on the other hand, are MUCH more forgiving than domains! One domain (redirected to a free hosting site at first, if needed) is all you need to start building a "real" website, and you can experiment and take your time learning the craft at little or no additional cost and perhaps even make a bit of money early on with the help of Adsense and similar, which help monetize even small amounts of traffic.

Spend years learning the domain trade, and you're talking about hundreds or thousands of pounds potentially down the drain (unless you do all the learning up front). But spend years learning to build and promote websites, and there's no "cost meter" ticking over, except of course for the opportunity cost of the time put in.

If I was literally starting with a blank slate in 2005, I'd choose websites over domains every single time.

[meinthecorner]

I joined this site, not as a 'Domainer' but I just find this area of business interesting. I do have a couple of domains (12 in total and are worthless), purely for personal projects and email address's, nowhere near the number some of the members here have.

Hopefully the posts I do make are of interest and relevent to this forum. I sometimes look at the appraisal threads and hesitate to post, but stop, questioning my right to comment on something I really dont believe I have the knowledge to comment.

However for somebody like me, that has allways had a interest in technology and progress, this is a good and well run forum and I enjoy popping in here during the day.

[Edwin]

Originally Posted by meinthecorner

I joined this site, not as a 'Domainer' but I just find this area of business interesting. I do have a couple of domains (12 in total and are worthless), purely for personal projects and email address's, nowhere near the number some of the members here have.

And that's very healthy! Interest is great... and can stimulate the best discussions.