Choosing the right TLDs for two non-commercial sites

One UK, one not country specific. Anonymity good for former.

[graeme_p]

I want to choose the right TLD for two sites.

One is not immediately commercial but if it gets an audience will be a reputation building site that will help me do other things. Its not country specific. A .org is possible, but I am a bit put off by the ICANN agreement changes. Its also very much one person's domain which makes "org" feel a bit odd.

The other is UK specific and is going to annoy people. Its not going to have hate speech or anything even remotely like that, but it will have political stuff that gets people annoyed so I want anonymity. Not commercial at all.

Any suggestions? its proving harder than picking TLDs has been before - there is no obvious best choice.

[phranque]

have you considered one of the newer gTLDs?

or a .me domain?

[Webwork]

I'm a bit of a .Org fanboy but, like you, I'm a bit .Org apprehensive should the new registry operators get it in their heads to apply "value pricing" to .Org domains . . intended for non-profits or modestly profitable operations. (I continue to be stunned by the salaries of some CEOs of non-profit orgs.)

My solution to possible value pricing: 10 year registrations for the best domains. You can do the same. It may well be that a few years of "value pricing" will get through the collective heads of NPOs and they may either riot at ICANN HQ or set up their own registry - NON-PROFIT - for NPOs "to compete with" (crush the life out of) PIR.org.

Nothing would surprise me less than the new management of .PIR.org paying themselves handsomely for a few years then jumping ship when the blowback becomes . . . business-life threatening.

[graeme_p]

For the first site I discussed a .me is too far the other way. It is pretty close to being an online book so the domain should be suitable for a site name analogous to a book title rather than a personal name. I am looking at new gTLDs now. I am not generally keen on them, but if neither .org nor a ccTLD is right I think I should. Its a long term project which I want to put a lot of effort into so want to make the right choices.

I cannot use a .uk for the other site, even though it is UK specific because I want anonymity which can be tricky with UK domains. I think it will be .org or a new TLD. In fact .vote looks like a good fit, but the rules are a bit confusing. Any advice on anonymity, by the way? Its critical in this case.

With regard to new TLDs, I do not trust the registries very much. I am now not sure how much I trust PIR either! Its OK for the second site as its not a long term project. With ccTLDs I worry about how future events might change things - as,say, had happened to British registrants of .eu domains.

[tangor]

Governments across the world are seeking avenues to prevent anonymity and I suspect that the future will be quite different. However, wishing all good luck!

[graeme_p]

@tangor, I do not need it to be anonymous forever, and I do not need it to be robustly anonymous (i.e. I do not need anonymity that would survive a police investigation).