Why do we keep pretending?

[Edwin]

Finally I don't buy into the fact about issues of confusion. It's just seems pathetic excuse to me to say that people will get confused and the two extensions can't exist side by side.

On this point, in the .nz consultation (which closed a few months ago and was about opening up second level .nz domain registrations) the New Zealand Domain Name Commission (who were organising the consultation i.e. Nominet equivalent) explicitly stated in their covering document:

"2 - DNCL is aware that any change to the registration model could raise potential issues over .nz domain names and cause confusion, particularly around people currently being aware of the three levels of .nz domain names."

They also had question 2 of their consultation as follows: "Question 2: Would likely short term confusion over a transition period be an acceptable consequence for offering a long term option of allowing .nz registrations at the second level?"

 

[websaway]

I agree with Julian's points. Completely forgetting release mechanisms/nominet/costs etc - .uk is just better.

Typing .co.uk is long winded. Especially on (ever increasing) mobile. I'll sometimes google a site, in the Chrome address bar, without the extension, then click the first result, because I can't be bothered typing the full url with .co.uk.

I also think keyword+.uk makes for a much better brand name, than keyword+.co.uk. The latter has always felt clumsy compared to .com, in cases where the domain+extension IS the brand.

I don't think you are agreeing entirely with Julian, but I think we all agree with you that leaving all the issues that make .uk unacceptable aside .uk would be a good Idea, and if it had been released at outset there would have been no problem. However, 10,000,000 domain registrations later it's lunacy.

 

[scottb]

I agree with Julian's points. Completely forgetting release mechanisms/nominet/costs etc - .uk is just better.

Typing .co.uk is long winded. Especially on (ever increasing) mobile. I'll sometimes google a site, in the Chrome address bar, without the extension, then click the first result, because I can't be bothered typing the full url with .co.uk.

I also think keyword+.uk makes for a much better brand name, than keyword+.co.uk. The latter has always felt clumsy compared to .com, in cases where the domain+extension IS the brand.

I agree entirely.
It's more of a mouthful than it needs to be, and typing in .co.uk on a phone is a complete PITA.
Even on a desktop I always just google something like 'amazon uk'

It would have been better to get a complete pairing with existing co.uk names, but nominet puts the need for a windfall profit over doing the right thing.
Its still better than doing nothing in the long run - eventually the .co.uk names will just die out.

I have a feeling if it doesn't get passed, nominet will bring out .gb instead, and then there really will be confusion.

 

[Murray]

I have a feeling if it doesn't get passed, nominet will bring out .gb instead, and then there really will be confusion.

How so?.

 

[scottb]

How so?.

"We believe that a new second level domains policy is necessary to keep the namespace competitive alongside the introduction of over 1,000 new top level domains from 2014."

Nominet say it themselves. This issue just isn't going to go away.

 

[Blossom]

"We believe that a new second level domains policy is necessary to keep the namespace competitive alongside the introduction of over 1,000 new top level domains from 2014."

Nominet say it themselves. This issue just isn't going to go away.

I can't see Google giving 1,000 new top level domains the same weight as country-specific extensions and the core .com/.net/.org. It would be very interesting if it did happen, because it would turn SEO upside down.

SEO aside, there's a reason why the average person prefers something ending in .uk or .com. Nominet doesn't need to worry about new TLDs.

 

[Murray]

"We believe that a new second level domains policy is necessary to keep the namespace competitive alongside the introduction of over 1,000 new top level domains from 2014."

Nominet say it themselves. This issue just isn't going to go away.

Sorry, what I was asking was why would .gb cause confusion.

I can't see Google giving 1,000 new top level domains the same weight as country-specific extensions and the core .com/.net/.org. It would be very interesting if it did happen, because it would turn SEO upside down.

I'm surprised you said this, makes no sense.

Google ranks websites, it makes no difference what the domain ends in (apart from them assuming if you have a ccTLD you specifically want to target that region).

Why would a site on a .com be anymore useful than a site on a .shop or .whatever? they both can be registered by anyone.

Thinking a .com would rank better purely because its .com is silly to put it mildly.

 

[Retired_Member38]

Google are further turning the emd benefit boost down... Saying it would turn Seo upside down is extremely naive/completely wrong

 

[Blossom]

Why would a site on a .com be anymore useful than a site on a .shop or .whatever? they both can be registered by anyone.

Thinking a .com would rank better purely because its .com is silly to put it mildly.

We have to disagree Murray, the world would end if we didn't

Test it and tell me what you get. Obviously you can't with a .shop, but with something else like a .pw or .sx or whatever. Even a .co.

Google are further turning the emd benefit boost down... Saying it would turn Seo upside down is extremely naive/completely wrong

EMDs are different to extension benefits...

 

[Retired_Member38]

EMDs are different to extension benefits...

True - one is actually real, one is something you have just invented,

 

[Murray]

We have to disagree Murray, the world would end if we didn't

Test it and tell me what you get. Obviously you can't with a .shop, but with something else like a .pw or .sx or whatever. Even a .co.

.pw is the cctld for Palau

.sx is the cctld for sint Maarten

I thought we were talking about the new gTLD's , not cctld's.

 

[Blossom]

.pw is the cctld for Palau

.sx is the cctld for sint Maarten

I thought we were talking about the new gTLD's , not cctld's.

Either target one of those to a specific country in GWT or use .co, .info, .biz or whatever. Better yet, both, separately - interesting for comparison.

I'd like to be proven wrong on this. Any and all experiments are welcome - the more the merrier

 

[julian]

I have a feeling if it doesn't get passed, nominet will bring out .gb instead, and then there really will be confusion.

Yes I've been pondering this too.

It's all just such a shame really. I'm not scared to say I'm still sitting on the fence at the moment, but I'm glad we're thrashing it all out as its raising interesting points.

Anyway let's say .UK is off the cards, are we seriously all that naïve to think that Nom wouldn't push for some other extension/s in the future and the world just carries on with our trusty little 3 musketeers .co.uk, .org.uk and .me.uk for the next 5 decades - how can anyone here really know that Nom won't come up with a .GBR

All I can say is some of us better make hay the next time the sun shines, because the next time it goes in, ain't going to be coming out for a long time.


@seo

As for the seo stuff in the other thread I'm going to say imho extension and domain history play a part, if everflux is your bible then only manipulation would make the reverse of Blossom's statement possible (she's right).

 

[monaghan]

I don't see an issue with another TLD like .GB, this is clearly different from the existing .uk registrations, it doesn't sound like existing .co.uk names, as long as they decide what level they are going to register names at and stick to it, then it is just another new TLD to cope with and as everyone says, there's about a thousand of these in the pipeline already, so just another one to deal with.