If .au was open for direct registrations (eg. domainname.au) would you get one today?

[petermeadit]

This would be a major change for many in Tech and IT related industries.
It would be helpful to know what people think about .au direct registrations.
The poll will stay open for 28 days.
Thanks all!

 

[eBranding.com.au]

For a number of reasons, I think it's completely unnecessary. From a commercial point of view, it's detrimental to both business operators and domain investors.
Is the .com/net.au name space really that oversubscribed?! Just look to .uk and .nz for exampes of how well this works - not very well imo.
There's still so much room to move in com.au (i.e. free to register or buy cheaply) that frankly it would be a blatant money grab.
Unfortunately, it almost seems inevitable. The New Zealand name space has minuscule demand and about a fifth of the population of Australia, and yet they still went for it.

 

[snoopy]

I think it will be a lot of forced duplication. People feeling they have to buy the .au. The main effect in my view is a doubling in holding costs and a major dilution of the name space. I think it would allow non .au extensions to become more popular over time for local business because there may no longer be one clear choice. Good for Ausregistry, Auda & registrars revenue though! That alone will probably be reason enough to bring it in.

 

[snoopy]

I didn't vote in the poll, as the responses didn't quite fit for me.

To explain: I'd buy duplicates basically because half the value the the current .com.au I owned would probably be gone if I didn't so if there was some type of entitlement and the .com.au was definitely valuable it would be throwing money away not to. I'd also be looking for the exits for the handful that I own. I'd sell off the .com.au and .au together or the .com.au with the entitlement..

 

[petermeadit]

Yeah snoopy,
The idea that the existing .com.au is given some kind of entitlement for the equivalent .au may also be a deciding factor.

This Poll has started now, and I hope it will help indicate if people would buy a .au. Maybe we'll have a different poll later to ask: Under which eligibility criteria would the .au domain licences be granted?

So Demonoid,
If we had an idea of how many people every day go to register a domain name only to find out it is already taken? But of course that is where the value of the name comes into it, be it a .com.au or a .au.

Please Note, this is not official voting in any way at all, it is just a Forum Poll to get ideas on what people's thoughts are about this here on the discussion forum.

 

[findtim]

go grab a beer, this is a rant.
-------------------------
loaded question ! and as snoopy say the choices for anwsers seem irrelevant, its to BIG a question to put down to 5 choices.
we've had threads like this before, its just a MONEY GRAB and totally unfair if not handled correctly.
HOW about this question, have auda say they will create this in 2016 and longevity of ownership will tke precendence , then watch NF and drop go bust because someone has owned "cars.net.au" since 2005, but cars.com.au comes up for auction ! who the F is going to buy it ? not me as i'll be screwed in a year.
then think about the major domain owners who have worked had to get a portfolio, now they have to spend EXTRA money to hold their own? utter BS
lets ignore trademarks for this discussion.

eligibility criteria

: always the .com.au regardless on registration date, otherwise you slap the face of almost every domain auction thats even happened.

..........only to find out it is already taken

they missed the train, we can not GIVE an idiot an even break, i have clients right now that i tell let me REGISTER THIS DOMAIN for you......... its a hand reg you idiot, and they still don't !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it almost seems inevitable

possibly, but as a member of auda you do have the power of your opinion to the boards, if it is enevitable then we need to clarify how it would be implemented.

existing .com.au is given some kind of entitlement

YES, and at NO COST, the way uk and nz did it was just money grab , its a catch 22 for them, they may say " ohh we are doing this because we need more domain names" but in reality my dubbodentist is just going to have to pay more for what he already owns ????????????
its like saying " we sold you a house and now what we are going to do is build another house ON TOP of yours, but if you pay us money you can own it, if not someones house will sit on your ROOF " !!!! BS
OHHHHHHHH, and by the way, we do not care that when you purchased your house we didn't tell you this was going to happen because we are the "ruling king and queen " and we just do whatever we want.
SO what is the purpose? give the .com.au first choice to buy? BIG WOOP, give him 5 yrs to do it like UK, BIG WOOP....... thats like "you have 5 years or we shoot you in the foot", and GOD help us if they outsource it the .melbourne mob and a domain name with no proven value is $4000 !!!

WELL, i think i have said enough to not be welcome at the 2015 xmas party but somebody has to say.
i didn't take the poll either.
tim

 

[petermeadit]

I have made a simpler Poll too:

Yes or No .au (eg. domainname.au) direct registrations?

Go here to the Poll: https://www.dntrade.com.au/threads/yes-or-no-au-eg-domainname-au-direct-registrations.9782/

In case people just want to say yes or no.
You can vote in both if you want.
Are you interested in how many people want this to happen or not?

 

[Erwin]

I would...
IMO it's a question of not if, but when this happens

 

[petermeadit]

BTW, no body can see who voted, no names are visible so the Polls are anonymous.
Interesting opinions here too.

 

[findtim]

I would...
IMO it's a question of not if, but when this happens

so photoman you are happy to double your expenses ? IF you are lucky, what if the "gods" think this is a premium extension and move the renewal price to a standard $50? $100? how do you feel about that now?
tim

 

[Erwin]

so photoman you are happy to double your expenses ? IF you are lucky, what if the "gods" think this is a premium extension and move the renewal price to a standard $50? $100? how do you feel about that now?
tim

That was not the question that was asked, merely a yes or no, to .au
This is a different question you ask. A premium price on domains would certainly make me think about which domains to buy- at what price they set them at & their annual renewal fees..

 

[findtim]

photoman, threads often change based on posts and hopefully they stay on track, but i guess i diverged because of others opinions as well as mine
since you have your premium domain in com.au and net.au it would be nothing for you to just get the .au version

A premium price on domains would certainly make me think

, i doubt it given your domain name, you will jump full throttle into it, i suspect you might even stress about the ODD chance of not filling out the form correctly, i can think of 1000 others that would want that .au
so that is the problem, if they bring this out they have YOU by the balls, there is NO way you are not going to give them money, they know it. money grab.
as someone that owns a similar industry vertical domain name i'd love to see yours on drops or hand reg, thats where this is heading and its a scary place.
yes or no answers don't cut it.
tim
ps: on a lighter note, love your website, and i also have a degree in photography, i really appreciate your skill and ability to "see" light , very nice images

 

[Erwin]

@findtim thank you sir..
When it does I'm sure it will frustrate many existing domain name owners/investors who have spent thousands on their names only to possibly fork out more down the track..

 

[findtim]

there are many sides to this coin ! and i am repeating another thread really ,sorry
first, someone who purchased a domain for thousands of $$$, so an extra $20 isn't a big deal, then you have the person who owns MANYYYYYYYYYYYYY domains, so thats now thousands x $20 which is a big deal.
then you have " joe blow" who is a small business guy but in a competitive market and owns 2-5 domains, ........ you just doubled ( if lucky ) his costs.
then their is the .net owner who registered the domain before the .com.au, now who gets first bite ?
then there is the .net.au owner who registered it because he couldn't get the .com.au BUT then the .com.au drops and someone else picks it up but the time clock resets itself !
then their is the .net.au owner who registers a premium name shortly ( maybe when it goes to pending delete? ) [ these are not secrets as anyone should be able to see what can happen ] before it drops ? someone pays $10K for the .com.au on drop but technically the .net.au was registered first ( nobody can deny this may occur )
its a mind field !
" ma and pa business" are going to be REALLY pissed off, and the reality is MOST ma and pa do not know whats going on or could be happening.
the other fact is most web designers who register domains for people also don't know, certainly the registras aren't going to send out emails warning them the rules COULD change, what they will all do is wait and then send out an email saying " we F'd you over so now panic and buy this one or else, BUY NOWWWWWWWWWWW "
come on, some one tell me i am wrong !
tim

 

[Rhythm]

You are wrong findtim.

 

[findtim]

only time will tell

 

[Bacon Farmer]

I think the .au should be tied to the .com.au and just be an alternate way of typing it. That solves ownership or entitlement issues and lazy typers.

When .net.au's aren't fully used up then the argument for more choices is invalid.

 

[Erwin]

Apparently .co.uk owners have 5 years in which to register the .uk version of their domain before registries open it up for others to register. Maybe .au might take a similar approach should .au open up.

 

[findtim]

bacon, you have hit the nail on the head, tie them together ( but no fees )
i don't want to add a few grand to my yearly expenses and neither do my clients.
eg: i have 1 client that has 34 sign written vans, 100 different business cards so the STUPID part of it all is he'll have to buy the .au , not change his vans etc as that would be to costly and just keep trading as the .com.au , then maybe slowwwwwllllyyyyy change everything to the .au whilst having to pay now for a redundant .com.au during transition and forever more !
so whats the point ? it doesn't "open up" the market, it just makes a mess.
.....money grab.........
tim

 

[Horshack]

I'm curious how people with conflicted NZ domain names have managed to resolve their issues because the same problem is going to happen with .au if/when it arrives. A few NZ domain holders seem to have opted just to hold the new shorter .nz and let their old co.nz domain names drop.