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Or am I free to basically do whatever I want with my org site?
Frankly, though, I think you will turn off a lot of customers who think otherwise. Also, from an Internet purity standpoint, I personally think it is best that the dot org domain has some meaning. Now if you are a genuine nonprofit or not-for-profit and you sell something, that would be just fine in my book.
You want to sell stuff off an org.
However, you think that it could be shady or illegal.
This then begs a simple question, if YOU think it could be illegal/shady, what do you think VISITORS will think when they are purchasing from widgets.org?!?!?!? Perhaps the same thing as you?
Frankly, I find your assumptions stupid.
I'll send you a coupon for a free McHappy Meal if you can show me where I implied anything about shady or illegal.
The site is 100% legit. I am building a community of interest and now see opportunities to generate some cashflow to help cover the site's burn-rate.
You have a very strange way of interpreting things.
I could not disgree more. Seems a bit harsh on your part.
The questin is quite valid, in the uk you have to have certain things in place to have aa ltd.uk, so it is not beyond possibility that there may be some sort of regulatory body that stipulates what you can and cant do.
As was mentioned though do wehat you like :)
Your question is rather stupid. IMHO
That's one of the most inconsiderate responses I've seen on this forum since I've been here.
As for the original question, I think you're open to do what ever you want with the domain name, but you're obviously limited by the interpretations that Joe Public has by the dot org suffix. Many surfers probably have the impression that it's a not-for-profit type of site. You may have trouble converting that impression.
I don't think there would be anything wrong with, say, the Red Cross selling T-shirts on their site to benefit the organization. I would just say that you need to try to be explicit about the point of the sales. If it is solely to cover the cost of hosting and other out-of-pocket expenses, then it's an easy sell to your users - be explicit about where the money is going. If it's enough to pocket some, then you should proceed with a little more caution, but I still don't think it's inappropriate - depending on the purpose of the site.
We are talking big bucks here, folks! ;o)
What triggered the question was my thought about selling an ebook I wrote directly from the org site. Right now the org site promotes the ebook but sends buyers to a com site for the purchase. I think I'll keep it that way.
There is the drawback that many people type in .com unconciously. I know that many times people have told me XYZ.net or XYZ.org, and I will type in .com anyway (actually I type in XYZ and press shift+enter). So if you do keep the .org, you may want to register (if available) the .com version and do a 301 permanent re-direct (don't make the same mistake as others).
This is from memory -- I am sorry I don't find an official source at the moment.
As others already said, for better acceptance in the general public, it may be more wise to choose a .com name for a new business to develop, but this is beyond your original question.
Regards,
R.
What I think I may do is build the site on the .org, purchase the .com as well, and redirect from the .com to the .org. That way I can have my cake and eat it too ;)
I don’t think I would ever try and use a .org as an e-commerce site, though.
In days of yore I did hear of a tale that if you wished to register a .Org address you had to prove that you were indeed in need of a .Org and couldnt use a .Com instead.
As i say that was in the beginning of the web in a galaxy far far away.
...Then in became a free for all.
Personaly .Org for me mean a political or charity site.
Personaly .Org for me mean a political or charity site.
You said it...
That's why I wouldn't and sell product via a .org site.
Perhaps I’m an old-timer in a young guys body, but I would rather try and safeguard the way in which the domains were originally meant to function than contribute to their misuse.
Personally, I think a .org e-commerce site is like a cowboy wearing a dress – it just doesn’t fit.
