.ie, .com and other domainnames

OK, as promised in the other thread... I am a hobbyist domaineer, currently owning one .com domain and two .info domains. Looking out however to register two more, not sure which extention I'll be using yet.


Where do other forummers into the magical world of domains register ? How much do you pay ?


So far I've been using two places with satisfaction: bNamed.net (26 eur/annum for .com, not very cheap but great support and very decent nameservers), and DomainSite.com (ICANN accredited so you get them straight from the source - 8 USD/annum for .com or other gTLD, includes URL forwarding, CNAMEs, MX Records, domainlock, ... Mailboxes or POP mail access can be purchased for small extra cost)

Always looking however for other registrars as well as you get more experienced the more different services you try.

I also used GoDaddy for a while, but found their support a bit chaotic. Heard nice comments on Namecheap.com as well, both good and bad comments on RegisterFly.com
Ev1servers.net had good comments but is now only serving American customers...



Also, I have interest in purchasing a .TV domain. Originally the domain extention from the island state of Tuvalu (notorious as the isles are sinking due to sealevel rise) but leased to the same registry that used to operate .com - needless to say that since media organisations started to purchase .tv domains the prices went skyhigh... Still, if someone knows a decent place where .tv domains can be bought for a reasonable price and with a stable course, please tell me as I'm still interested.
Tuvalu uses money from .TV sales to offer inhabitants internet access and to even buy a new island in case the archipelago would actually sink completely...



Also, what are the policies on .IE domains ? Heard they're rather strict given the fact that they're for Ireland-based people only. I was interested, though what if I'd leave the country again sooner or later ?
Also, I've seen Northern Ireland based organisations use .ie domains, while in theory they are not Ireland-based... How did they surround the requirement of providing a ROI address ??


There is a company that is selling subdomains of .IE.NU as alternative (these know no restrictions) though their registry mentions no prices...

I do feel a bit uncertain in general on purchasing subdomains anyway. CentralNIC has some great extentions such as .uk.com, .eu.com, but in the end you pay 30 euro/year for a part of their domain - if they forget to renew their domain, your URL is history...



Those who need a free domain can use either a free redirect address or subdomain (examples of such providers include .EU.ORG, .DE.VU, .DA.RU, .BIZ.LY, GO.TO/something, THIS.IS/something, .UK.TT, .DE.PN, .BE.TF, ...) but with a few exceptions I wouldn't recommend them as they mostly come with popups.

If you really want it free: .TK or .COM.RU (for .COM.RU domains who are free of charge you do need to provide address to a Russian database, which some people find a bit dodgy - should be fine though as the Russian registry is under direct ICANN control)

I'd advise though to every domaineer to buy a domain and have total control, free addresses are nice to start with and experiment with but for long-term use it's worth to spend a few euro a year and have it all under control.