U.K.'s Nominet Proposing Shorter .uk Internet Domain

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

Anyone for dot UK?

Plans to offer UK-based firms shorter internet domain names backed by added security features have been proposed.

The scheme would give businesses the chance to register www.name.uk as their web address. It would run alongside the current www.name.co.uk service.

Applicants would have to prove they had a UK presence and pay a higher fee.

[bbc.co.uk...]

[edited by: engine at 10:23 am (utc) on Oct 1, 2012]
[edit reason] added quote [/edit]

[Leosghost]

What ! sanity at Nominet ! Now just make it that only UK registered businesses or residents or citizens can register a dotuk ..
Ok so they did propose that ..but scrap the dotcodotuk ..which every spammer worldwide can and has got ..and give the dotcodotuk registrants who fulfill one of those three criteria automatically the dotuk version of what they have registered now..

Not at £20.oo per year wholesale..because that will become more like $50.oo per year retail..

[Edwin]

What ! sanity at Nominet ! Now just make it that only UK registered businesses or residents or citizens can register a dotuk ..
Ok so they did propose that ..but scrap the dotcodotuk ..which every spammer worldwide can and has got ..and give the dotcodotuk registrants who fulfill one of those three criteria automatically the dotuk version of what they have registered now..

There are millions of legitimate businesses spending collective billions of pounds a year branding their websites on .co.uk domain names right now. So any move to remove .co.uk domains is completely impossible and not worth thinking about.

More to the point, those same millions of businesses and billions of pounds have all contributed to establishing the current status quo of .co.uk being the "de-facto" business extension in the UK, so I can't imagine many of them being happy at the prospect someone else might get "their" domain name in .uk.

I sense many, many lawsuits if this goes ahead.

[Leosghost]

That is why they ( the UK registered businesses, citizens or those with proof of legal residency ) should automatically get ( be given) their .uk if they have the .co.uk..

Unfortunately because there are currently no restrictions on who can register a .co.uk it is not only the "de-facto business extension in the UK" ..but is also the preferred extension of spammers and knock off suppliers worldwide..because they know that the public ( worldwide and UK ) think that a .co.uk means that you are a legit UK business..

The decision to allow "world and dog" to register a country TLD was an example of incompetence, and chasing the money by Nominet that has no equal in the first world TLDs..

The number of Chinese, and other countries, "knock off" and 20c tat suppliers and scammers / spammers, that have registered .co.uk and have been duping customers worldwide is staggering..all because of Nominet's members greed..

[IanTurner]

I happen to know that Nominet works hard on trying to keep the reputation of .co.uk high and actively works with the UK police in order to shut down the knock off suppliers.

See
[webmasterworld.com...]

I'm not sure if Nominet ever chases money - their problem is more about how not to make money, as they are a not for profit organisation.

There are similar consequences to blocking your country code tld from outside registrants. For instance would Google own google.co.uk and Apple own apple.co.uk if foreign corporations were prevented from registering a .co.uk? There would just be a different collection of domain squatting UK citizens doing the scamming.

[Edwin]

The problem is that Nominet has for years and currently still is promoting .co.uk as the place to do business (current campaign is "a great place to be") yet their proposal runs directly counter to that since it suggests second-class status for .co.uk.

[Leosghost]

For instance would Google own google.co.uk and Apple own apple.co.uk if foreign corporations were prevented from registering a .co.uk?

Might get them to pay some taxes in the UK..instead of hiding behind being in Ireland but doing the vast bulk of their business in the UK..

If I can be in France but have a UK ltd and pay my way in the UK and France..I don't see why they cant..

I only own a handfull of .co.uks..precisely because the world and dog can also get them..

I personally know dozens of east European gypsies..and even some people who are in Europe and the UK without "residency papers", who have .co.uk domains..and more Chinese traders based out of South East China and Hong-kong than I can shake a stick at..

For most it gives them "cred" on UK ebay..

Google do own Google.fr..and did so many years before the rules were about .fr were "relaxed"..all they had to do was register a legit company here..so they did..same applies to Germany..where they also own the Google.de..they registered a legit company..

The same goes for Apple..and all other legit companies..a "legit presence" is required for all European tlds..except the .co.uk one..

I know a fairly large number of Russians that run .co.uk domain names too..

Those in the UK web industry may not like to hear it ..but to many in the rest of the world ..the incredibly "relaxed" registration conditions of the .co.uk ..make it no more credible that .biz..and just as easy to get and hide behind..

[edited by: Leosghost at 12:45 pm (utc) on Oct 1, 2012]

[scooterdude]

seeing as all the other ccltd are restricted, maybe nominet domains too should be

Google would own its .co.uk if the restriction where the requirement for physical business presense like .fr, .eu, .us

[TinkyWinky]

Yet more confusion plain and simple. Can't see what positive results can come out of this. Nominet have a DRS (Domain Resolution Service) for all disputed domains - which seems on the whole to work pretty well in getting TM domains back to rightful owners.

Some muppet after a Knighthood/Damehood?

[superclown2]

Nominet are not only quite happy to sell .co.uk domains to anyone in the world but they are also quite happy for them to register them purely so that they can put them up for sale. Unless they are prepared to stop these abuses - which they have told me they are not - a new domain that can only be bought by legitimate UK businesses and which is expensive to register can only be a good thing and anyone who pays $50 a year to register one is hardly likely to use it as a spammy throwaway so it could be worth paying the extra price for a more respected domain.

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

Personally I think it will cause massive confusion for Internet users.

[Maurice]

but the .Uk is A uch larger in terms of domains so it makes sense to split it into .co.uk, .org.uk .gov.uk and so on.

Looks like the domainers have finaly taken over nominet and are trying to turn it into ICANT lite it will be .xxx.uk next I bet.

Wonder if I shoud sugest to Ivan that he gets his local MP to put down an early day motion on the issue.

Looks like nominet needs some other stake holders

[Maurice]

Oh and .uk is not a new domain its the parent of .co.uk et al

[scooterdude]

me, I am rooting for .co.uk, .org.uk, gov.uk

Status Quo :)

Tis weird sounding like the man

[IanTurner]

There are still issues with EU law as proving a UK presence may contravene the EU free trade agreements - I think it was this that caused relaxation in some of the other European cctlds.

It is interesting to hear that other countries think that the rules in the UK are too relaxed on the .co.uk - that will be good feedback to give Nominet.

[Leosghost]

Proving at least a legit EU presence, in order to get a .co.uk would be a start..rather than accepting anyone, from anywhere in the world..

[superclown2]

Most of the top .co.uk domains that I'm interested in (and I've looked at hundreds) are owned by a domain speculating company in Turkey - hardly an EU country despite the efforts of certain misguided politicians. Yet if a UK company owns one and Nominet find that they cannot contact them at the address in the Whois they cancel the registration - they are seriously eccentric. So, they bring out this new TLD at more than ten times the price open to UK businesses only, making the Goog look like philanthropists in comparison. I'll still buy as many as I can though, this is business after all. Remember the days when a dotcom was £65 a year? We still made money out of them even at that price and the web was a much cleaner place until cheap domains allowed spammers free reign.

[Leosghost]

I'll still buy as many as I can though, this is business after all.

If I had to buy .uk of everything I've got in dotcoms and the rest, I could by another house here..or a few containers of "stock"..( much better investment at resale of 900% markup ;))..Think I'll stick to just a dozen or so, for my sites that get enough interest from UK IPs or that are aimed specifically at the UK..

Remember the days when a dotcom was £65 a year?

France telecom used to punt them for way more than that..

French were amazed / sickened when I told them networksol's prices at the time...

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

No value in domains now. ;)

[webmasterworld.com...]

[IanTurner]

I wouldn't say that I have already had people contacting me to ask when the new .uk will be available and whether they can reserve names.

[topr8]

>>No value in domains now.

i disagree,

i've got a handful of really good .co.uk and i hope i'm given the opportunity to get the .uk's

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

OK, no value (or perhaps no point) in EMDs. ;)

[TinkyWinky]

prove they had a UK presence

Well that will cost peanuts to sort a 'ghost office' - I sense another business opportunity for someone who can be bothered!

Sorry the big issue here is there is no need.

Nom will probably try and force this through - especially as they rely on their members voting rights - of which 9 out of the top 10 companies that have the largest voting rights are domain registration companies - meaning they stand to make big profits... how is that serving their other members?

Complete sham and will end up with lots of business suing Nom for sure. Especially as they have up until just a few months ago been so cocksure about promoting .co.uk as the "place to be". So I am sure there are internal memos and emails discussing this even whilst they were telling everyone to make sure they keepyour.co.uk's!

TW