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“This domain name is categorized as ‘Premium’ at the registry.”

Maybe you’ve seen something like this message before at Gandi or another registrar. If you have, you may also have wondered what makes these domains special and why they cost extra.

The concept of a “Premium” domain applies primarily to the field of new gTLDs. Within the space of a little over a year, around 900 new extensions have been added to the once relatively narrow band of “classic” TLDs (you know, like .com, .net, .org …). The result has been a steady multiplication of the number of available domain names.

One consequence of this flourishing domain name market has been that it is now possible to replicate the same name across hundreds of extensions (think of how many Google must own). It’s now also possible to choose an extension that matches a special area of interest or a particular commercial market. Take .beer or .archi, which primarily focus on beer and architecture (all you need in life, really).

It’s important to note, however, that each extension is not created equal. They are each managed by a different registry. Some large registries like Donuts manage hundreds of extensions. Other registries like dotStrategy were created specifically to manage a single extension. In this case .buzz.

Not every domain name is equal either. Some domain names have a much higher probability of being popular (or have a higher market value if you prefer). Kind of like search engine keywords.

Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) keeps a database of registered trademarks. Obviously, terms stored there are likely to generate higher demand. In general, though, we are talking about easily-recognizable and memorizable domain names. Or ones that have optimum SEO.

Some are generic. Others, like englishmuffins.cooking, teahupoo.surf (it’s a famous Tahitian wave), or royals.london are especially valuable only in conjunction with particular extensions. The domain name romance.bets isn’t terribly attractive, but romance.online is quite the catch.

The registries of these new extensions, then, have a set of unique challenges. How can they ensure an orderly roll-out of these high-value domain names? This doesn’t just mean managing competing purchases (generally domains are registered on a first-come-first-served basis). It also includes keeping out domain squatters, especially on domains corresponding to brand names.

Most of these registries are also commercial entities. They’re also motivated to take advantage of the high demand in these domain names.

One solution to the problem is to auction off domains to the highest bidder during the Landrush phase or Early Access Period.

The other option is to make certain domains “Premium” . But it’s not actually a uniform solution. Some registries make all their Premium domains open to all (again, generally first-come-first-served). Others have eligibility requirements. These can range from a statement of motivation and the registrant’s “good faith" to a complete business plan.

There are also several ways of pricing Premium domains. Some registries have complicated hierarchies of Premium domains. Afilias ( .blue, .vote, .rich, and .porn among others), for example, has eight categories of Premium domains.

Approaches to pricing can vary too. Large registries often prefer a finely tuned machine that hones in on that sweet spot on the supply-and-demand curve that gives optimal ROI. Small registries might release their extensions in the GoLive phase without designating any domains as Premium. Then, when they have the budget to do some research on the topic, they add domains to their premium list.

Likewise, compiling lists of Premium domains varies widely as well. To determine what domains are likely to be popular, registries sometimes monitor social media (like in the case of United TLD, the registry for .ninja domains). They might use search-engine history and traffic or even sales history of the classic TLDs like .com. One thing that’s relatively consistent, though, is that the secret sauce and the list itself is rarely made public.

So, what it all means is sometimes when you’re looking for a domain, you might find that it’s Premium. But “Premium” doesn’t always mean “prohibitively expensive.” For example, sql.agency and pop.solutions are two premium domains under $50.

And, it’s important to note, your domain might not be Premium at all. If you’re a small business and your company name isn’t super generic and isn’t another brand name, it probably isn't.

Or maybe, if you find out you can’t register a particular domain, your domain is actually “reserved.” It’s important to make the distinction.

A Premium domain would likely be at the top of the list of domains a registry would like to see registered. A registry’s list of reserved domains however are the ones they don’t want to open up to the public.

This can be for moral and political reasons to potential liability or even vanity. The domain rob.sucks, for example, is a reserved domain because the CEO of the .sucks registry is Rob Hall.

So be sure to note whether the domain you want is actually “reserved,” or if it’s “Premium.”

Which brings us back to:

“This domain name is categorized as ‘Premium’ at the registry.”

What should you do with this message? If you can register it online, then you should see the Premium price right next to. But sometimes you’ll need to contact our Customer care team to find out what the Premium price is. You may also want to ask if the extension has particular eligibility requirements. If you don’t want to pay the Premium price, try a different iteration of your domain name. If a domain name sounds like it’s Premium, it probably is.


SUMMARY: AT A GLANCE
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1. Recently-Added TLDs to the Root
2. Gandi Events
3. Update: One-click upgrade to PHP 5.6
4. In-depth: The Lifecycle of a Domain
5. Tech Fundamentals: IANA
6. TLD release Calendar
7. Promo Roundup

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It’s March and that fresh, clean Spring air is coaxing the buds on the trees to open up and cover the branches with soft, green spring leaves. That Spring air seems to have even blown through this month’s newsletter. At least, a crop of fresh, green updates, promos, and new releases are budding.

This month, we’re looking at new TLDs being added by ICANN to the root zone, Gandi is attending and hosting a flurry of events, you can upgrade your Simple Hosting instance to PHP 5.6 with one click and witness the lifecycle of a domain in one glance. We’re also looking into a little bit of Internet history with this month’s Tech fundamental on IANA. And of course we’ve got some great new releases and promos this month, so don’t miss those calendars either.

LAUNCH 2016 stage
LAUNCH Fest 2016, see events for more

Recently-Added TLDs to the Root
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We took a look at the TLDs coming down the line that were just added to ICANN in the past month. We won’t necessary end up offering all of them, but we thought you’d at least like to know.

Read more | Next | Back to top

Gandi Events
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This month we attended, are attending and even hosted a number of events, whether in Paris, San Francisco, Luxembourg, Taipei or beyond.

Hyperloop at Launch


Read more | Next | Back to top

Update: One-click upgrade to PHP 5.6
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A one-click upgrade to PHP 5.6 for Simple Hosting instances is now available in Beta.

All you need to do is go to your instance’s control panel and click on the “Update” link.

Read more | Next | Back to top

In-depth: The Lifecycle of a Domain
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We’re also starting a new series of infographics exploring the mysterious recesses of domain name registration, hosting, the Internet as a whole.

This month, we are delving into the life and death of a domain name: from the moment it is first registered and blinks into existence, to its renewal, and then to the mysterious afterlife that lies beyond expiration.

Lifecycle of a Domain

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Tech Fundamentals: IANA
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In March 1972, Jon Postel along with Vint Cerf called for the creation of a catalog of socket numbers. The purpose was to create, essentially, a list of all the existing codes and numbering systems allowing computers to network with each other. This was the first step on a road that led to IANA, ICANN’s numbers and names authority.

Read more | Next | Back to top

TLD release Calendar
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Here's a look at TLD releases at Gandi for the month of March 2016:

Thursday March 3:

.bet (GoLive)

Monday March 7:

.佛山 (.xn--1qqw23a // Foshan GeoTLD) (GoLive)

Tuesday March 8:

.bible (GoLive)

Thursday March 10:

.vip (Sunrise)

Monday March 21:

.barcelona (GoLive)

Stay tuned for updates and, of course, for next month's releases.

Next | Back to top

Promo Roundup
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We've got a healthy early spring harvest of promotions this March. Take a look below :

Starting Tuesday March 1:

.me $4.00 per year through March 14

Super Tuesday: .democrat, .republican, ($25.00 per year) .vote  and .voto ($50.00 per year) through March 7

.cloud $9.00 per year through December 31

.club 50% off through March 31

.co.com $19.99 per year through May 31

.online $4.99 per year through March 31

Spring has sprung: .xxx, .porn, .sex, and .adult $12.00 per year through May 31

 

Starting Monday March 7:

St. Patrick's Day Promo: .pub $7.00 per year through March 18

 

Ongoing promotions:

.asia 70% off, through March 31

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Well, that's all for this month. Don’t hesitate to drop us a line with your impressions and feedback on any of our services or our newsletter. We’d love to hear from you.

Otherwise, see you in April.


In March 1972, Jon Postel along with Vint Cerf called for the creation of a catalog of socket numbers. The purpose was to create, essentially, a list of all the existing codes and numbering systems allowing computers to network with each other.

Postel was editor of the Request for Comment (RFC) document series in which this call and the resultant catalog were published. In it he dubbed himself the “czar of the socket numbers,” in December 1972 when the catalog was complete.

This role as “czar” became a permanent function. He took it with him when he earned his Ph.D. from UCLA and moved to the University of Southern California’s Informational Sciences Institute (USC/ISI). There, he brought on-board Joyce Reynolds, a graduate student.  The two of them became the “Internet Assigned Numbers Authority,” or IANA.

IANA then collaborated with Elizabeth Feinler from Stanford and the rest of Stanford Research Institute’s Network Information Center (SRI-NIC) to maintain, more or less, a directory for the Internet.

When a new host joined the network, they would email Feinler. Feinler would then add them to a HOSTS.TXT file sent out and installed manually on every networked machine. When domain names were invented, the task shifted to adding strings to the root name server.

In 1990, NIC's function was contractually shifted to Network Solutions, a private company. In 1995, they received authorization from the National Science Foundation to charge a fifty-dollar fee per year on domain name registration. This move caused widespread dissatisfaction with Network Solution’s concentration of power and money. The researchers who had been contracted to create the Internet were especially critical.

It wasn’t until January 28, 1998 that this conflict came to a head. On that day, Postel made history. He emailed eight of the twelve operators of the Internet’s regional root nameservers and told them to change their root zone servers from Network Solutions’s A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET to IANA’s DNSROOT.IANA.ORG. The operators made the switch. This "test" demonstrated that the ultimate control of the root zone belonged to IANA and not Network Solutions.

This led directly to the Clinton administration’s creation of ICANN to take control of the IANA function. Despite being told by presidential science advisor Ira Magaziner that he would “never work on the Internet again,” Postel was set to become ICANN's first chair.

Sadly, Postel died before ICANN was realized, and it was Joyce Reynolds who managed the transition of the IANA function from USC/ISI to ICANN.  Ostel’s old colleague Steve Crocker who took the role of first ICANN chair. Postel is memorialized in RFC 2468: “I remember IANA.”

Reynolds passed away more recently, just this December, but hers and Postel’s legacy lives on. Their contribution can be seen not only in the numerous technical documents they authored and co-authored. They are also visible in principles like “rough consensus” and “Postel’s law” which states a fundamental rule of networking: “Be liberal in what you accept and conservative in what you send.”


Here's a look at upcoming, ongoing and past events at and away from Gandi recently.

Events at Gandi

UX Speed Dating: User Testing Night

Every third Wednesday, Gandi hosts a User Testing Night with the UX Speed Dating meet up group at our San Francisco offices. The last one we hosted was February 17 and we’ll be hosting again on March 16.

This is a chance for tech professionals who want to have some software or device or concept tested to present any sort of product to three users for preliminary, in-person feedback.

The owners of the products sit in a single place and then the users rotate between them every 20 minutes or so.

Check out the specific rules here and see the Meetup page here or the UX Speed dating site.

The Root Zone.

We'd like to invite DNS nerds and DNS newbs alike to check out a new series we intend to launch shortly titled The Root Zone. We'll be kicking this series off sometime in early April (though we don't have specific dates set yet). Watch the meetup page for information and updates, though.

Gandi (re)fait le .point

On February 18 at the co-working space Le Tank, Paris 11, we held the third annual “Gandi (re)fait le .point,” event, a punny name for our conference about how to best leverage new gTLDs.

For those interested, the 2016 edition of our white book on the topic is available (in French) here.

Events Outside of Gandi

Hyperloop at Launch
Hyperloop at Launch Fest. See below for more about LAUNCH

M3AAWG 36

This last month we were guests at M3AAWG in San Francisco. M3AAWG, for those unaware of the organization, stands for Message, Malware, Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group, and it is one of the foremost abuse and security conferences.

Just like Fight Club and Las Vegas, communication about M3AAWG publicly is prohibited, so, suffice it to say that if you want to know more about what we were up to there, check out M3AAWG’s website.

ICANN 55

We also just attended ICANN55 in Marrakech. ICANN is the one organization which is perhaps the most relevant to what Gandi does (i.e. domain name registration), so not only is it a venue to connect with the organization in charge of almost everything we do as a registrar, but it’s also an excellent opportunity to connect with others involved in domain name registration.

AsiaBSDCon 2016

From March 10-13, 2016, Gandi will be in Tokyo at the Tokyo University of Science for AsiaBSDCon 2016.

So what is AsiaBSDCon? It’s a technical conference that aims to collect the best technical presentations and papers to share with the widest possible audience. This includes basically anybody who develops, deploys or uses systems based on any BSD operating system, including FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, DragonFlyBSD, Darwin and MacOS X. 

LAUNCH Festival 2016

 

Launch 2016

Having an office is downtown San Francisco has exposed us to the large and very active world of entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity. And what is it that every new idea should have? A domain name. No, seriously. Whether you have a completely built out website, a "coming soon" landing page, or even just an email address with your company's name on it, it shows that you're in the business of making your dreams come true. And THAT is what LAUNCH festival was all about. We caught some speeches, fireside chats, panels, and presentations that were not only inspiring but jaw-dropping. Not to mention 150 startups pitching their ideas back to back to back to back. Hats off to them! 



We've got a healthy early spring harvest of promotions this March. Take a look below:

 

Starting Tuesday March 1:

.me $4.00 per year through March 14

Super Tuesday: .democrat, .republican, ($25.00 per year) .vote  and .voto ($50.00 per year) through March 7

.cloud $9.00 per year through December 31

.club 50% off through March 31

.co.com $19.99 per year through May 31

.online $4.99 per year through March 31

Spring has sprung: .xxx, .porn, .sex, and .adult $12.00 per year through May 31

 

Starting Monday March 7:

St. Patrick's Day Promo: .pub $7.00 per year through March 18

 

Ongoing promotions:

.asia 70% off, through March 31


Four years on and ICANN is still adding the TLDs from the applications they announced they’d received back in 2012. This month the gTLDs being added tell the story of the race between Google and Amazon to buy up as many extensions as they can.

On February 19, for example, Amazon’s application beat out Google’s for .spot (the coveted .spot spot, as no one calls it). It also beat out one from DotSpot Inc., a corporation apparently organized specifically to act as registry for these domains.

Amazon was also awarded that day with .coupon. After a “private deal in June 2014,” Amazon’s application became the sole application for this extension.

On February 22, ICANN added .食品 (/shokuhin/, Japanese for “food”, .xn--jvr189m in punycode), honoring again Amazon’s application, as well as .store, a TLD which both Amazon and Google (among many) tried to snag. DotStore, Inc. ultimately won out.

Most recently, on February 24, Amazon also scored a valuable TLD for the music industry, .song, despite various objections, similar to those raised for .book (also added recently) that allowing Amazon to act as registry would be anti-competitive.

You can keep track of future developments on this page from ICANN.

Remember: these are new TLDs on the cutting edge of having been added by ICANN. As such, any discussion of one of these TLDs should not be interpreted as meaning any of these extensions will be imminently available on Gandi (though we, of course, try to offer all the extensions we possibly can).





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