.UK Announced

[Lovekraft]

Same. But would bet its the new gtlds coming out and money lust taste from the short domain auctions.

Yes, I'l say again, the short domains that won't seem so short anymore...

If Nominet have any respect for those that bought the 2 letter domains at their auctions recently they won't release 2 letters in the new space, otherwise they have just blatantly ripped a whole lot of people off!

Also Nominet would hate to admit it, but it's "domainers" that have significantly helped feed their salaries and trust funds, even the crap domainers with their "no hoper domains". It's a massive kick in the teeth, but also to businesses who thought they already had their domains sorted, now they have to register another to keep in line, and for every one of these having to keep up registrations it's another healthy profit for Nominet, with all the marketing bullshit that's attached to them.

This shows, it is indeed all about the money.

 

[bb99]

It would be interesting to find out what discussions have been taking place within Nominet about why they are introducing this.

I wonder if part of it is about growing Nominet (financially)? Whilst the .uk register is growing, it's not growing at the rate it used to. In order to sustain continued long term growth there needs to be more domains registered and this is one way of achieving that.

The new gTLD stuff that Nominet's involved in will bring in some revenue but I don't think it'll be significant in comparison to existing turnover (happy to be proved wrong on that). And of course ENUM turned out to be something of a damp squib (does *anybody* use it, at all?).

So after the short domain release, this is perhaps the next logical step to increase revenues.

 

[anthony]

From Nominet's perspective, this is certainly a way of ensuring that there is a viable business model that can carry them forward with both regular work and an improved revenue stream. Basically, it simply a next step.

 

[the_poet]

Nominet May Offer .UK Domains That Cost 800% More Than .CO.UK - Says It's Not About the Money

I very much agree with this passage: "Naturally, such a development would immediately devalue the millions of .co.uk domains held by British businesses and individuals who would need to try to acquire the .uk version to protect their online identities."

To be honest, I wouldn't be happy at all if I were a long-time .co.uk investor.

 

[Sound]

Its all about change and nobody likes change do they?

Nominet will bring in .uk domains this change is now inevitable and will hang like a dark cloud over the present .co.uk setup until it happens.

Nominet will double there income with the rush to take up the new gTLD so it make great business for them.
I also believe that Nominet hates large portfolio owners and domainers in general by bringing in this change it will free up the domain space in the uk to all the companies that have TM or deep pockets.

Are large portfolio owners really going to pay £20,000 for each thousand names they have sitting unsold in there accounts and that's before the names are challenged and go to auction.

Some forum members have been so arrogant in the past in the way they have treated other members and the bullshit they have been able to spread this will come as a massive wake up call they seem to have been the last people to have seen it coming.

I am sure some members who think outside the box like Scott did at the LL sunrise will benefit from what is surely about to happen.

 

[miked]

There might be another way .co.uks etc. would be devalued by the release of .uk domains. If due to the checks that Nominet proposes they're perceived as inherently safer, wouldn't it make sense for search engines to - ceteris paribus - give them preference over those suddenly unsafe .co.uk domains? If there's a better guarantee that the domain is more trustworthy, it'd be logical to rank them higher.

Suspect many businesses that have invested in sites based on .co.uks will want to take steps against the introduction of the new SLD to protect their present investment.

 

[stevebrowne]

I think natural wastage of so-so UKs, re-enforce good generics, existing money generators with .uk if possible (if not, sell/dump) and look to .com for future investment.

It's a change to things, sure, but as others say,.com looks like the safe haven in the new scheme of things.

 

[arkvard]

There might be another way .co.uks etc. would be devalued by the release of .uk domains. If due to the checks that Nominet proposes they're perceived as inherently safer, wouldn't it make sense for search engines to - ceteris paribus - give them preference over those suddenly unsafe .co.uk domains? If there's a better guarantee that the domain is more trustworthy, it'd be logical to rank them higher.

Suspect many businesses that have invested in sites based on .co.uks will want to take steps against the introduction of the new SLD to protect their present investment.

I bet 99% of business owners who hold the .co.uk version won't even though the .uk is coming until its been released, so it will be too late to steps other than buy the .uk

 

[Lovekraft]

I agree, only problem is, most businesses won't be aware until is rolled out in front of them by which point it will be too late to oppose.

As well as making Nominet more money, this does seem to be aimed at people sitting on large amounts of domains for resale purposes but then Nominet allowed that to happen and were happy to monetise from it themselves. Now they have made what they can from them, they want to do it all over again.

 

[arkvard]

Yep they need a new income stream. It's a bit like all the registers allowing anyone to register a trademark domain, they could easily put in filters that stop most being registered in the 1st place so why do they allow them...easy money to be made!

 

[willbon]

IF Nominet do decide to push this through....

......even with the amount of opposition it has (as detailed in the article on DNJ - 'I just hope their consultation doesn't follow the model we have seen so often in ICANN public commentary exercises where the public comes out overwhelmingly opposed to something, only to have ICANN go ahead and implement it anyhow.')

Although the outcome is unknown......Are there any 'opportunities' that this presents?


.. Are current sales bound to be deflated and therefore better value for purchaser?

... Will the new higher price and 'complications' put off current .co.uk owners from 'upgrading' ('I have a perfectly good domain for my website - why change it?')

... Will the new .uk domains be slow to catch on, therefore leaving many 'good' names available FTR?

...Will there be a backlash against the .uk domains therefore securing the longevity and value of the .co.uk? (perhaps with the media interest and a possible binning of these plans, it could be very good for the domaining industry?)

... will Nominet lose it's good name over this and someone else be asked to manage the .uk namespace? (You would hope that at least a few heads will roll!)


The future is yet to be written and although it seems there is no reason for the .uk's, perhaps we should be looking at how to adapt to the change if they decide to go against logic and public opinion?

 

[GreyWing]

Guys I know Chris mentioned a link to my site calling for an EGM in an earlier thread and I wanted to keep you all updated.

We now have 42 signatures calling for an EGM. Some from people I have never heard of, so it is not just a domainers issue.

We need to get 5% to call an EGM...

As far as I understand it, at an EGM we can propose certain motions that will be voted on by the membership. The idea of using the form on my site is to see how many people we can get together to see if it is worth the expense of going down this road.

Just to add that this is not an anti board or anti Lesley campaign. This has to be focused on the issues in the direct.uk proposal if it is to stand any chance.

Feel free if there is anything in that text of mine that needs clarifying, altering or changing.

From my point of view I have mothballed a big project and won't be starting any more development. In addition I won't be renewing anything but my premium domains over the next 6 months as it stands.

 

[arkvard]

The survey that Nominet is doing is just going through the formalities it seems as its something they have to be seen doing before its rolled out. The majority of people filling it out saying it's a terrible idea is going to be domain traders and Nominet know that and they will see that from the contact details.

Are they really going to care when they see someone sitting on a portfolio of domains worth £xxxxxx, I doubt it very much. The domain registers won't care as its extra income for them, so basically the main losers out of all of this will definately be domain traders and especially those with bigger portfolios.

 

[websaway]

This is yet another nail in the coffin for the ordinary joe bloggs who runs a small business in the real world, who has had to come into the conveniently called 21st century by getting on line and is spending almost as much as he is earning trying to keep pace with the changes forced upon him. Not knowing who to believe or what to believe.
A small business simply cannot continually familiarise themselves with the massive changes that occur in the internet world, it's not practicable, it defies economic logic. He bought a computer and a co.uk domain and bought a website to get online, he pays to upgrade his website and put more content on, he then finds that he has to pay for advice in buying the org.uk and me.uk of his name to protect his brand, the confusion must be mindblowing.He is then advised to buy a better more singing and dancing website and is told if he buys an exact match domain he will be first page on google only to find this has probably been short lived, who does he turn to ? he spends more money getting advice from someone else to keep pace with the changes. Is anyone in government seriously looking at his predicament, he is the engine of the economy he is the one who can't speculate on change who has to do his job through thick and thin.

How is he going to feel in a couple of years when there are hundreds of sub domains on the market such as shop.uk or builder.uk does he have to pay someone else to explain to him that these sub domains are simply being sold by the owners of shop.uk or builder.uk and who can he trust to tell him the truth.

 

[foz]

The survey that Nominet is doing is just going through the formalities it seems as its something they have to be seen doing before its rolled out. The majority of people filling it out saying it's a terrible idea is going to be domain traders and they will see that from the contact details.

You will find that .nz with the same proposal has been met with utmost rejection by businesses not the so called domainers.

http://dnc.org.nz/second_level_proposal_c1

NZ Post is a trusted brand for New Zealanders. NZ Post is opposed to the proposal to extend .nz domain names to the second level, as the proposal creates uncertainty around the brand and has the potential to create confusion for consumers at a time when maintaining the integrity and credibility of NZ Post's website presence is vitally important to our business. We believe the introduction of second level domain names undermines the significant investment in the development of an online presence already made by NZ Post and will force the business to secure multiple second level domain names to protect its brand at an additional cost and for little additional benefit. The proposal opens up the potential for cyber-squatting, phishing and other opportunistic initiatives which are costly and have little public benefit.

We believe the current domain name format is effective and serves us well and we do not see the need for any further additional second level domain names being made available.

 

[websaway]

Its all about change and nobody likes change do they?

Nominet will bring in .uk domains this change is now inevitable and will hang like a dark cloud over the present .co.uk setup until it happens.

Nominet will double there income with the rush to take up the new gTLD so it make great business for them.
I also believe that Nominet hates large portfolio owners and domainers in general by bringing in this change it will free up the domain space in the uk to all the companies that have TM or deep pockets.

Are large portfolio owners really going to pay £20,000 for each thousand names they have sitting unsold in there accounts and that's before the names are challenged and go to auction.

Some forum members have been so arrogant in the past in the way they have treated other members and the bullshit they have been able to spread this will come as a massive wake up call they seem to have been the last people to have seen it coming.

I am sure some members who think outside the box like Scott did at the LL sunrise will benefit from what is surely about to happen.

It's too early for you to gloat,these proposals will actually increase the value of some quality portfolios.

 

[willbon]

Can a non-tag holder sign on your site Greywing?

If so, what's the link?

Guys I know Chris mentioned a link to my site calling for an EGM in an earlier thread and I wanted to keep you all updated.

We now have 42 signatures calling for an EGM. Some from people I have never heard of, so it is not just a domainers issue.

We need to get 5% to call an EGM...

As far as I understand it, at an EGM we can propose certain motions that will be voted on by the membership. The idea of using the form on my site is to see how many people we can get together to see if it is worth the expense of going down this road.

Just to add that this is not an anti board or anti Lesley campaign. This has to be focused on the issues in the direct.uk proposal if it is to stand any chance.

Feel free if there is anything in that text of mine that needs clarifying, altering or changing.

From my point of view I have mothballed a big project and won't be starting any more development. In addition I won't be renewing anything but my premium domains over the next 6 months as it stands.

 

[GWing]

sorry found very old account before upgraded to greywing....

 

[Edwin]

46 of the top 100 online retailers in the UK are on .co.uk domains (the list is skewed towards .com because global retailers use a single site, multi-subdomain strategy e.g. apple.com, hp.com, and because some of the stores selling intangible products are location-independent. Also they've miscategorised Amazon which should have been listed as amazon.co.uk making it 47)
http://www.hitwise.com/uk/press-centre/press-releases/imrg-experian-hitwise-hot-shops-list-may-2012/

 

[GreyWing]

Can a non-tag holder sign on your site Greywing?

If so, what's the link?

Unfortunately not mate, only members can call for an EGM and just trying to get a view on numbers at the moment.

We are aware though that non members are just as concerned by this as members are.