Major Data Restructuring

[Jay Daley]

In case you haven't already seen this, we are releasing a major upgrade to our system in June. This will affect both registrars and registrants so here is a quick explanation:

Until now we store the full details of the registrant with every domain name and we do not link these together. It is as if our database did not have the concept of a registrant with multiple domains built into it.

This makes some registrant operations complicated and difficult to automate. For example if you want to transfer multiple domains to another registrant then we need to examine them all (using pattern matching tools) to see if they can be done as one transfer or not.

The major release changes all that. It builds on the account structure we already have for registrars. All registrants get an account thats holds their details and multiple domains can be added to that account.

Initially this might mean registrants having lots of accounts, but these can merged down to just one account for all their domains with a single registrar. It won't be possible to have just one account for all your domains if you use multiple registrars because that would create issues on who can update the account details.

On top of this we have rewritten all the online applications used by registrants to fit with this new data structure. This enables us to stop sending letters to registrants. In future registrants will get an email with login details, and one per account not one per domain, simplifying things considerably.

Full details for registrars on these changes are available here:

http://www.nominet.org.uk/registrars/systems/

 

[Paullas]

its good to see nominet are sorting the systems out.

 

[retired_member27]

Only taken 11 years.

 

[Admin]

Thanks for posting here Jay.

 

[Whois-Search]

Statistics

The statistics of this change will be interesting.

For example:

How many different "accounts" will there be? What will be the average number of domains per account? How many domainers are there?

Will it be possible to use this change to catch "linked" tags? i.e. dropcatchers most wanted.

How much money and time will Nominet save on bulk transfers? Will the transfer price go down?

How much money and time will Nominet save on sending out confirmation letters? Will the registration price go down?

How many people will transfer their names to the same registrar so they can use the same account? What effect will this have on registrars?

Will more people either get their own TAG or register names names direct to Nominet? Especially if the £80 tag fee comes down.

 

[Jay Daley]

How many different "accounts" will there be? What will be the average number of domains per account?

No idea yet.

How many domainers are there?

I am not psychic and this answer cannot be determined from a search of the database. There are some on this board who say the answer is around 200,000, whereas I think the answer is more like a few hundred. I guess we will never know.

Will it be possible to use this change to catch "linked" tags? i.e. dropcatchers most wanted.

No. I hesitate to say 'of course not' but I can't see for the life of me how it would help.

How much money and time will Nominet save on bulk transfers? Will the transfer price go down?

Don't know yet, but automating this process is a goal.

How much money and time will Nominet save on sending out confirmation letters?

No idea yet.

Will the registration price go down?

Eh? You know better than anyone that the registration price can only be changed by a vote of the membership, which takes a very long time to arrange and is not guaranteed. We are consulting on the board having this power to simplify this process.

How many people will transfer their names to the same registrar so they can use the same account? What effect will this have on registrars?

I doubt this will happen at all. I expect the effect on registrars to be overwhelmingly positive.

Will more people either get their own TAG or register names names direct to Nominet? Especially if the £80 tag fee comes down.

Where do you get this idea that the £80 fee is going to come down? There has never been even the faintest hint, nod or even a whisper that this is intended. Don't forget that the whole purpose of direct registrations was because initially there were concerns as to whether there was enough competition amongst registrars. At the time there were only 100 but now with 3,000 the market has changed.

Also, there is no new domain functionality being introduced. Registrants will still be able to do the same things, albeit in a more joined up way. So I'm not sure what you think is the pressure that will have them all signing up to be direct registrants.

 

[Whois-Search]

No idea yet.

Surely that would be a feature - i'd have one as Director of I.T.

I am not psychic and this answer cannot be determined from a search of the database. There are some on this board who say the answer is around 200,000, whereas I think the answer is more like a few hundred. I guess we will never know.

If you have X number of accounts and can count the number of domains in each account.

Then you will be able to know how many accounts have over 100 domains?

No. I hesitate to say 'of course not' but I can't see for the life of me how it would help.

You could see how much retagging went on or movements of domains between accounts.

Don't know yet, but automating this process is a goal.

Surely this must have been in the planning? Just as new automated servers cost more.

No idea yet.

It will be interesting to see the next 2 years accounts.

Eh? You know better than anyone that the registration price can only be changed by a vote of the membership, which takes a very long time to arrange and is not guaranteed. We are consulting on the board having this power to simplify this process.

If a Nominet board gets control of registration fees http://www.nic.uk/governance/consultation/fees/

Then they will have the power to offer special offers, differential pricing and discounts.

I doubt this will happen at all. I expect the effect on registrars to be overwhelmingly positive.

We shall see. I know myself i'm getting fed up with the customer support from certain registrars and looking at developing my own.

Where do you get this idea that the £80 fee is going to come down? There has never been even the faintest hint, nod or even a whisper that this is intended. Don't forget that the whole purpose of direct registrations was because initially there were concerns as to whether there was enough competition amongst registrars. At the time there were only 100 but now with 3,000 the market has changed.

Also, there is no new domain functionality being introduced. Registrants will still be able to do the same things, albeit in a more joined up way. So I'm not sure what you think is the pressure that will have them all signing up to be direct registrants.

How can Nominet carry on making a huge surplus in a not-for-profit organisation? They will have to cut registration fees sooner or later.

Also Nominet at the moment anyway seems to prefer large members rather than small pesky little ones.

Also i'm not the only one thinking this I know registrars thinking the same thing.

 

[Jay Daley]

If you have X number of accounts and can count the number of domains in each account. Then you will be able to know how many accounts have over 100 domains?

You are assuming, quite incorrectly, that the number of domains a registrant has is an indicator of whether or not they are a domainer. To measure the number of domainers you need to work out intentions, and no amount of stats is going to do that.

You could see how much retagging went on or movements of domains between accounts.

How exactly is that going to help? Or for that matter, how is this any different from what we can tell now? I'm not being awkward but I think you are missing one or two steps in your logic here.

Surely this must have been in the planning? Just as new automated servers cost more.

Automated registrant transfers is due to go live later this year and the full details of that implementation have not yet been decided. Still planning.

If a Nominet board gets control of registration fees. Then they will have the power to offer special offers, differential pricing and discounts.

That still doesn't answer the question of why you think the first thing that will happen is the price of direct registrations will drop.

We shall see. I know myself i'm getting fed up with the customer support from certain registrars and looking at developing my own.

As you are a member and registrar already that would seem quite natural.

Also Nominet at the moment anyway seems to prefer large members rather than small pesky little ones.

No we don't. As I've said before, ad nauseam, Nominet is a very broad church. We deal with lots of different members in lots of different ways.

Your viewpoint appears to be based on your concerns that we have ulterior motives to the changes being discussed. Why would we want to do that?

 

[Whois-Search]

Ok I accept your points.

Also having spoken to people like yourself (thanks), Stuart and Eleanor at great length over the past 2 days.....

I am now satisfied that the current board does NOT want extra direct registrations i.e. the improved online services are to be used as a last resort not instead of registrars.

Also I was even more pleased with the Governance consultation event this afternoon.

I think we had some movement on membership fees being seperated from registration fees i.e. a vote would still be required to change membership fees.

And on registration fees there would NOT be differential pricing or discounts for the largest registrars i.e. everyone would get £4 or £5.

 

[Jay Daley]

Andrew, thanks for that, very kind of you.