More professionals to be allowed .pro domains

WhoNet · May 19, 2008

The organisation behind .pro has received approval to make the top-level domain available to a wider range of users.

On Tuesday, RegistryPro, the exclusive operator of the top-level domain (TLD), said it had achieved ICANN approval for its plan to make .pro available to "any professional or professional entity holding credentials from a certifying governmental authority anywhere in the world". The TLD has until now only been available to accountants, engineers, lawyers and medical professionals in Canada, Germany, the UK and the US.

"This is a significant milestone for .pro," said RegistryPro general manager Catherine Sigmar. "By approving these changes, ICANN has given us the opportunity to open up .pro to tens of millions of licensed and credentialed professionals and entities across the globe."

RegistryPro has also changed its registration process for .pro domains. Whereas applicants previously had to submit written documentation of their credentials, they now only need to say what type of certification they hold, who they work for and what their licence number is. The organisation will monitor new and renewed registrations, and registrants will need to annually reaffirm that they are "using the registration for the professional purpose as intended".

ReigstryPro plans to officially "relaunch" the .pro TLD on 14 July.

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/0,1000000097,39417170,00.htm

labrocca · May 21, 2008

Great post Campbell and I think Diabro you should give up. You have dug a hole for yourself with a flawed logic argument from this statement.

Domainers kill a lot of the value because they speculate and buy everything they think is good so that people who may have great ideas and want to develop get turned off and you get a lot of blank pages.

I don't need to rehash what Campbell has eloquently stated. While I am not a fan of parking by any means...one has to realize that quantity of registration does equal exposure. Success and exposure go hand in hand. I am not sure how you think domainers don't add value while you are a member of a domainers forum. You might want to totally rethink your position.

Diabro · May 21, 2008

labrocca said:
Great post Campbell and I think Diabro you should give up. You have dug a hole for yourself with a flawed logic argument from this statement.

I don't need to rehash what Campbell has eloquently stated. While I am not a fan of parking by any means...one has to realize that quantity of registration does equal exposure. Success and exposure go hand in hand. I am not sure how you think domainers don't add value while you are a member of a domainers forum. You might want to totally rethink your position.

Aren't you the guy who thinks CitizenHawk is the good guys?

Really, I could care less what they do with .pro. I think it is a sucky TLD and if you guys want to go buying it up thinking it is the same as gold go ahead.

I do not see any value that Campbell has added to .pro. Have you added anything to it more than just a parked page?

Basically I see the argument as very self centered. It seems that Campbell has little to nothing in the way of .com names and grabbed some good .pro's so wants that opened up. Sure it may increase the value of his domains a LITTLE but what does the registrar get from it?

Also, labrocca and Campbell do you have ANY good .com's? I would be interested to know if you guys have anything nice in the .com arena.

I see people who missed out on that seems to be the ones pushing the other TLD's the most, to a point of desperation. They also compare those TLD's to .com a lot and those TLD's are not .com.

I would say .DE is the closest but I may certainly be wrong? I would put .pro and .info pretty darn far down on the list IMHO.

Diabro · May 22, 2008

akcampbell said:
Developing an alternative extension is incredibly difficult with domainers on side and completely impossible without them.

OK, Since you say this and Labroca agrees with this in what alternative extension was developed BECAUSE of domainers on its side?

akcampbell said:
Domainers perform various functions;

1) They bid up the price of domains. Higher perceived value makes an extension more attractive to business. The higher the value of a domain asset the more a business is willing to spend on development.

2) Domainers provide free advertising whether it be through reported sales, direct marketing efforts to other businesses, conversations with friends and acquaintances, ad listings, and parked sites resolving and getting visited by other Internet users.

So you and Labroca think parked sites add value? Parking is GOOD for the industry. Do you and Labroca think typo parking adds to the value as well?

akcampbell said:
3) They boost total registrations and that provides registries with cash to spend on infrastructure and marketing. If a domainer doesn't register a .pro they will register a .info or a .mobi and that means competing registries will have more to spend on promotion.

I do not necessarily take that as fact. They could spend it on the king, .com.

akcampbell said:
4) Domainers often develop sites. My motivation for regging and buying .pros was to provide a stream of development opportunities for the future. I focus on .coms at the moment because that's what other Internet users are comfortable with.

I looked through a couple of your sites and they do not seem developed at all. They seem to resolve to parked pages. A lot of my domains either do not resolve or resolve to parked pages but I am not making the above statement.

I believe Labroca at least has a developed site.

But in contrast to your wishful statement that people who want to believe you take as fact I think the vast majority of sites owned by domainers are NOT developed.

In this thread: http://www.namepros.com/industry-news/467998-kevin-hams-prescription-success-new-may.html

-db- makes a great point on Kevin Ham NOT developing names:

-db- said:
Religion.com - Hmmm... no, just a bunch of sponsored links.

Heaven.com - Nope. Just a parking page.

Baptism.com - Afraid not. Another parking page.

Jew.com - Anybody interested in some paid links?

Christians.com - Sorry, just a parking lot.

Muslims.com - No real content here, just another parker.

So akcampbell and Labroca where is the information to back up your assertion?

akcampbell said:
5) Domainers tend to be entrepreneurial and are more likely to start businesses and develop sites than non-domainers whether they do it themselves or pay somebody to do it.

This is absolute nonsense! akcampbell and or Labroca show me some proof of this statement you are making or rubber stamping with agreement on.

This is just MORE wishful thinking and fairy tales. I would say that most of the businesses in the world are owned by NON-Domainers. Also please see the above linked post about Kevin Ham.

akcampbell said:
To make .Pro work Registry.pro either have to spend tens of millions of dollars promoting it or use the free resource domainers provide. To date, they have done neither and that's why there are only 6,500 .pro registrations. Pride comes before a fall.

WHAT resources do domainers provide? You listed a bunch of wishful thinking and fantasies but they seem to hold no water when looked at from an objective source.

akcampbell said:
They've wanted that since 2004 and haven't got it, my guess is unless they change direction they will never get it.

Sure if they open it up to domainers and lower the price they will sell more domains. That may make them more money but it certainly does not mean that it will be successful.

akcampbell said:
Surely it's preferable to have 1m .Pros registered with 25,000 being developed and used by professionals in strict accordance with the original remit than 6,500 .pros registered and only about 100 developed which is where we are at the moment.

Preferable to you but then at that point what separates .pro from .biz, .info or .cc? Really.

Well upon further review your post is much like your sites, undeveloped and lacking in content.

Ben42 · May 22, 2008

Diabro said:
Preferable to you but then at that point what separates .pro from .biz, .info or .cc? Really.

It's interesting that non-domainers that I've talk to about other tld's do not trust them at all. I've even heard one guy call them hacker websites and avoids anything that is not a .com at all costs.

What seperates .pro from .biz or .cc and many others is that it's an extension with meaning. Just about everone in the english speaking world knows what a Pro is. As .com stands for Commercial people know they will find goods or services. Same with .pro and Professional goods and services.

Do those other extensions say that? To me no.

.biz = Bizness?
You might trust this ext if your a really bad speller like me.

.info = Information
This is great when looking for content, but to buy and sell or for professional services? Nah.

.net = Network
Been around a long time and makes perfect sense for hosting companies and some others. But again, for general goods and services? Not really.

This is why, imho, I think that after .com, .pro may someday convey to the internet community that this is the place to be for professional goods and services. And perhaps someday, may be even more trusted than .com.

lol

Diabro · May 22, 2008

Ben42 said:
It's interesting that non-domainers that I've talk to about other tld's do not trust them at all. I've even heard one guy call them hacker websites and avoids anything that is not a .com at all costs.

What seperates .pro from .biz or .cc and many others is that it's an extension with meaning. Just about everone in the english speaking world knows what a Pro is. As .com stands for Commercial people know they will find goods or services. Same with .pro and Professional goods and services.

Do those other extensions say that? To me no.

.biz = Bizness?
You might trust this ext if your a really bad speller like me.

.info = Information
This is great when looking for content, but to buy and sell or for professional services? Nah.

.net = Network
Been around a long time and makes perfect sense for hosting companies and some others. But again, for general goods and services? Not really.

This is why, imho, I think that after .com, .pro may someday convey to the internet community that this is the place to be for professional goods and services. And perhaps someday, may be even more trusted than .com. lol

Ben, I pretty much agree with you. I purchased a .us for a friend of mine that owns a restaurant. They have a domain name that is restaurantnamerestaurant.com. I purchased restaurantname.us and they have no interest in it. It is shorter but I cannot explain to them clearly enough that a 3 letter .us is better than their .com and just as useful.

So I will forward it to the site and try again. I mean I am trying to GIVE this domain to them and they do not know what it is so they do not want it.
:blink:

labrocca · May 22, 2008

Aren't you the guy who thinks CitizenHawk is the good guys?

And your point?

Also, labrocca and Campbell do you have ANY good .com's? I would be interested to know if you guys have anything nice in the .com arena.

I don't own a single pro domain. Most of my portfolio is .com. http://www.domado.com/list.php if you want to criticize me more.

I see people who missed out on that seems to be the ones pushing the other TLD's the most, to a point of desperation. They also compare those TLD's to .com a lot and those TLD's are not .com.

That's an amazing assumption especially given I don't own any pro domains.

My post was simply pointing out that you are getting owned here in this thread. Campbell has your number.

OK, Since you say this and Labroca agrees with this in what alternative extension was developed BECAUSE of domainers on its side?

I think .info is a good example. Because of cheap reg fees domainer flocked to the extension and then many developed MFA sites. It has good exposure and is often seen on the top domain sales list.

Now you name an extension that has been successful WITHOUT domainers. And you shouldn't count com,net or org since they were started before domainers was a word.

The success of mobi is almost purely related to domainers. Flowers.mobi generated an awful amount of hype. Everyone knows I am not a fan of mobi but for you to say that domainers can't or don't influence an extension is poppycock. You have no basis for that opinion.

You speak about people protecting their portfolio of pro's or whatever..seems to me it's how you think about your dot coms. Hey..I love dot com. It's king. Any fool with a portfolio should have dot coms. In the stock market every fool should hold some Dow stocks too but that doesn't mean he shouldn't diversify into penny stock or high risk a certain percentage.

You seem to be just missing some valid logical points made in this thread.

Campbell has even expressed he focuses mainly on dot coms. Where are you getting your assumptions from?

The statements here are basically that pro could use domainers help in pushing the extension. That's it. 6500 is meager. With domainers help they might reach 100k or more. I would say that exposure is invaluable to pro. Does it hurt dot com? No. Does it mean suddenly pro is worth a pile of money? No. It just means that pro won't be the pariah it has been to domainers. It might actually have a few good sites even. The law of averages just works for their favor. If just 1% of registrations get developed that's 10x more developed pro domains now that before. How does that hurt them?

btw...do you develop at all? Because if you don't then I can understand where you are coming from. Developer-Domainers have a better understanding of SEO and how extensions aren't necessarily that important. They also can take any name and make it a valuable site. If you're into parking..then you rely on one thing...type-in traffic. That's lame.

Diabro...read this whole thread. Figure out where you went wrong because someone you did.

EDIT: To add to my argument.

Diabro said:
This is pointless and circular. If they were getting developed and worth something domainers would be there.

You make a perfect point. However it works against you. Your statement is circular. That means domainers are there if an extension is doing well but it's that circular mentality that domainers being there means it's doing well. You can't have one without the other. Your perfect world where an extension has large developed percentage with no domainers is out-of-touch with reality.

Reading your posts over and over I just can't understand how you don't make these connections.

You are going after Campbell for making dot com comparisons however he initially made very valid comparisons to dot info. You seemed to just overlook anything logical in this thread that you don't agree with instead using hyperbole to make your argument. We are more intelligent than that.

You don't have to like ice cream in order sell it. Point being that it doesn't take a believer to understand that pro needs domainers if it wants to make more money. I really haven't read anywhere in this thread someone heralding the coming of dot pro.

Ben42 · May 22, 2008

Personally I hope, with the lighter restrictions, they just use those to just go after adult sites. .xxx failed, but this is a chance to do the opposite. I see .pro as a tld with no adult material dedicated to professional business. Companies could open up the entire extension on the internet and not keep it firewalled. Difficult to police, but I think RegistryPro can do it. Again, imho.

Diabro · May 22, 2008

labrocca said:
And your point?

I don't own a single pro domain. Most of my portfolio is .com. http://www.domado.com/list.php if you want to criticize me more.

Do you have any GOOD ones. I took a quick glance, what do you suppose your best ones are?

labrocca said:
That's an amazing assumption especially given I don't own any pro domains.

Actually what you are responding to does not mention .pro. I just asked if either of you had any good .com’s. I did a quick look at your portfolio and would like to know what you think the best ones are.

labrocca said:
My post was simply pointing out that you are getting owned here in this thread. Campbell has your number.

He has nothing but wishes and dreams. He speaks on the way he thinks things should be but does not back that up with any data.

labrocca said:
I think .info is a good example. Because of cheap reg fees domainer flocked to the extension and then many developed MFA sites. It has good exposure and is often seen on the top domain sales list.

I think .info is good but I am not sure how much success domainers have had in its popularity. It is just a good extension. It says a lot and would be attractive to many, many people. Do you have any data that proves it is more popular based on domainers?

labrocca said:
Now you name an extension that has been successful WITHOUT domainers. And you shouldn't count com,net or org since they were started before domainers was a word.

I will use .com, .net and .org since the fact that there were no domainers when they started is precisely the point I am making. You do not need domainers to be successful.

labrocca said:
The success of mobi is almost purely related to domainers. Flowers.mobi generated an awful amount of hype. Everyone knows I am not a fan of mobi but for you to say that domainers can't or don't influence an extension is poppycock. You have no basis for that opinion.

You have no basis for your assumption. .mobi? Is it successful?

labrocca said:
You speak about people protecting their portfolio of pro's or whatever..seems to me it's how you think about your dot coms. Hey..I love dot com. It's king. Any fool with a portfolio should have dot coms. In the stock market every fool should hold some Dow stocks too but that doesn't mean he shouldn't diversify into penny stock or high risk a certain percentage.

I am not trying to protect my .com’s. I just think that Campbell is making some big assumptions based on little to no facts and assuming things all to support his self interest. I would love to see more TLD’s be more successful.

I have no .DE but I think it is great that Germans have adopted it to the level they have. Same for .co.uk which I personally hate but it does great.

labrocca said:
You seem to be just missing some valid logical points made in this thread.

Campbell has even expressed he focuses mainly on dot coms. Where are you getting your assumptions from?

The statements here are basically that pro could use domainers help in pushing the extension. That's it. 6500 is meager. With domainers help they might reach 100k or more. I would say that exposure is invaluable to pro. Does it hurt dot com? No. Does it mean suddenly pro is worth a pile of money? No. It just means that pro won't be the pariah it has been to domainers. It might actually have a few good sites even. The law of averages just works for their favor. If just 1% of registrations get developed that's 10x more developed pro domains now that before. How does that hurt them?

I am not sure that domainers HELP them. If you open up and domainers come in and register everything “good” then when actual end users come in and cannot find a domain along the lines of what they are looking for they may just settle for a substandard .com over a substandard .pro.

I see no facts to support your statement that domainer exposure is invaluable to .pro.

labrocca said:
btw...do you develop at all? Because if you don't then I can understand where you are coming from. Developer-Domainers have a better understanding of SEO and how extensions aren't necessarily that important. They also can take any name and make it a valuable site. If you're into parking..then you rely on one thing...type-in traffic. That's lame.

Actually I do develop for self use and friends. I just started parking some domains in March.

I know what you are saying about development but I have not seen any worthwhile development from you. If you develop a good .pro or .biz people will come. I agree 100%.

I do plan on developing a site within the next few months. I am looking into finding a good developer as I would like to try it from that side.

labrocca said:
Diabro...read this whole thread. Figure out where you went wrong because someone you did.

No, I do not think so at all. You have not posted many, if any facts.

labrocca said:
EDIT: To add to my argument.

You make a perfect point. However it works against you. Your statement is circular. That means domainers are there if an extension is doing well but it's that circular mentality that domainers being there means it's doing well. You can't have one without the other. Your perfect world where an extension has large developed percentage with no domainers is out-of-touch with reality.

But so is yours and Cambells as well. You both try to take .com out of the equation but the fact is that .com was successful before domainers and some would say in spite of domainers. Letting more people into .pro and lowering the price will not mean that it will be successful at all. It will just mean that there is another option for people to choose from but will also have a hard time finding a good domain name in.

labrocca said:
Reading your posts over and over I just can't understand how you don't make these connections.

You are going after Campbell for making dot com comparisons however he initially made very valid comparisons to dot info. You seemed to just overlook anything logical in this thread that you don't agree with instead using hyperbole to make your argument. We are more intelligent than that.

I have not seen any proof from you or Campbell on how domainers make TLD’s better. Remember domain tasters and typo parkers are domainers as well.

labrocca said:
You don't have to like ice cream in order sell it. Point being that it doesn't take a believer to understand that pro needs domainers if it wants to make more money. I really haven't read anywhere in this thread someone heralding the coming of dot pro.

If the point is just to sell a lot of domains then by all means they should open it up and lower the price. That is just one way to measure success IMHO.

Personally I like .us and .net. The fact that people do not pay as much for them as .com does not weigh too heavy on me.

akcampbell · May 22, 2008

Diabro, very simple yes or no question for you to answer. Did the domainer Rick Schwartz' purchase of Flowers.mobi for $200,000 in October 2006 help .mobi's development?

http://news.domainmonster.com/dotmobi_potential/

Diabro · May 22, 2008

akcampbell said:
Diabro, very simple yes or no question for you to answer. Did the domainer Rick Schwartz' purchase of Flowers.mobi for $200,000 in October 2006 help .mobi's development?

http://news.domainmonster.com/dotmobi_potential/

Respond to my points first. You keep trying to change things around to suit your points but your points are invalid.

jido · May 22, 2008

How long did it take for .com to take off? Is .pro going to be around for that long before more than a couple people know the extension even exists?

And what are exactly the Registry.pro plans to make the extension known to the world?

I believe that what .pro needs is domainers, and domainers will bring in with them developers, which will make it something else than a joke. It is fine to have desires to regulate the use of an extension, but barring the way of domainers is just misplaced control freakness.

akcampbell · May 22, 2008

Diabro I responded to all your points 1 by 1 for 2-3 posts but if I did that every night I got home after 12 hours in the office or on a train I'd never get anything else done.

We agree on one thing. Given the choice, I don't think God would choose Kevin Ham as his web designer or merchandising partner. You know that story about the note Kevin got sent with "You Are a Piece of Sh&%" on it with a free sample inside, I heard God sent it after visiting God.com.

Diabro · May 22, 2008

akcampbell said:
Diabro I responded to all your points 1 by 1 for 2-3 posts but if I did that every night I got home after 12 hours in the office or on a train I'd never get anything else done.

But you have never posted facts or statistics to back up your claims.

You have said "Would I be wrong to suggest that you are jaded and skeptical because you don't have any good domains?". I would like to see some of your good domains because from what I have seen neither you nor Lobroca have very good domains.

You have never really backed up anything you have stated in this thread.

Look at http://www.flowers.mobi/ it is a really expensive parked page. What value is that adding to .mobi?

labrocca · May 23, 2008

I am done. I think everyone here knows the type of person you are now Diabro. Welcome to my ignore list. Just remember that the people you abuse on the way up are the same people you want as friends on the way down.

Diabro · May 23, 2008

labrocca said:
I am done. I think everyone here knows the type of person you are now Diabro. Welcome to my ignore list. Just remember that the people you abuse on the way up are the same people you want as friends on the way down.

That is a shame. I was being nice and trying to make valid points. You came in and started telling me that I should give up, I had dug a hole and had flawed logic. Frankly you were pretty rude IMHO.

I understand if when confronted with valid questions, relevant data and links that you would find your position untenable. Just don’t get an attitude with me.

To answer Campbell’s earlier question, I do not think that flower.mobi added much if any value to .mobi. I will admit that it sold a lot of .mobi domains but I would speculate that a very high percentage of those are to domainers and like flowers.mobi undeveloped and sucking money every year in renewal fees. I in no way think .mobi will be successful in 10 years. On a phone people can use any extension and with the smaller keyboard you want less characters to type, not the extra one or two more characters that a .mobi extenstion brings over .com or a CCTLD.

Good luck to both of you, you will need it.

Ben42 · May 23, 2008

.mobi is a bad comparison. But just like .pro it needs at least one big change to make it work. For cell users all "keywords" must first default to the .mobi ext, without that I'm afraid Diabro is right.

For me .pro has other uses than just being "professional", I can attest that Search Engines really do use the extension for searches as shown in my KeyPhrase list from Search Engines from my Ethanol.pro website stats. I posted this before so I'll use a shorter version.

pros of ethanol
pros of ethanol fuel pros of ethanol fuels
the pros of ethanol
pros about ethanol
ethanolpro
ethanol properties
ethanol pro
why people choose to produce ethanol?
pros of ethanol biofuels
people that are pro ethanol
properties of ethanol
pros ethanol production
pros on ethanol
ethanol in gasoline pro and con
pros on ethanol fuel
pros to ethanol
pros of ethanol gas
pro-ethanol
pros of ethanol fuel made from corn
ethanol gasoline properties
pro e85 facts
pros of ethanol for the environment
pro ethanol articles
pros of ethanol use
pro and con of ethanol gas for cars
pro ethanol
pros of ethanol plant
pro ethanol article
pros of ethanol
pros of ethanol fuel pros of ethanol fuels
the pros of ethanol
pros about ethanol
ethanolpro
ethanol properties
ethanol pro
why people choose to produce ethanol?
pros of ethanol biofuels
people that are pro ethanol
properties of ethanol
pros ethanol production
pros on ethanol
ethanol in gasoline pro and con
pros on ethanol fuel
pros to ethanol
pros of ethanol gas
pro-ethanol
pros of ethanol fuel made from corn
ethanol gasoline properties
pro e85 facts
pros of ethanol for the environment
pro ethanol articles
pros of ethanol use
pro and con of ethanol gas for cars
pro ethanol
pros of ethanol plant
pro ethanol article

Diabro · May 23, 2008

Ben42 said:
For me .pro has other uses than just being "professional", I can attest that Search Engines really do use the extension for searches as shown in my KeyPhrase list from Search Engines from my Ethanol.pro website stats. I posted this before so I'll use a shorter version.

Ben, wouldn't the .info extension still be better than .pro for this kind of site? I can think of uses for .pro but an information site may not be the best fit. I like the idea you proffered but I still think that even in the Pro life/Pro choice debate for example choice.info would be better than choice.pro. Maye it is my personal prejudice but the pro at the end kills it for me.

BTW, I did a search in Google on ethanol pro and "ethanol pro" and your domain was not on the first page. That does not mean it is worthless or a flop or not a valid point. I am just saying.

Ethanol.pro also seems to have a lot of space over the ethanol header word as well. You could prob cut that empty area down in half unless you are trying to get the adverts in the center of the page.

I will admit I am .com centric but I also really like .net, .org, .us and .info (I think .info is great for certain words/phrases/sites).

I have interest in some CCTLD's (I really would have some .TV names if they were not so expensive at first) and would like to see a well regulated and policed .kids domain. I mean .kids should be 100% policed and free of speculators and squatters.

.mobi, .biz, and .asia seem like bad afterthoughts to me.

This is all just my opinion of course and I am sure I have missed out on some markets and fads and am not the best businessman here by any stretch of the imagination.

Thank you for your well thought out and informative responses Ben. :wave:

Ben42 · May 23, 2008

Well google takes forever and I have not even submitted it anywhere, nor do I have any back links. However yahoo seems to like it.

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0geu6mPFzdIhCsBQFhXNyoA?p="ethanol+pro"&fr=yfp-t-501&ei=UTF-8

I've always have had trouble getting ranked well with goog, but thats mostly me and my complete lack of SEO skills.

So far Ethanol.pro is just a bunch of junk thrown on the page. It really don't have a design at all...that, for me at least, takes a lot of time. :lol:

Diabro · May 23, 2008

Ben42 said:
Well google takes forever and I have not even submitted it anywhere, nor do I have any back links. However yahoo seems to like it.

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0geu6mPFzdIhCsBQFhXNyoA?p="ethanol+pro"&fr=yfp-t-501&ei=UTF-8

I've always have had trouble getting ranked well with goog, but thats mostly me and my complete lack of SEO skills.

So far Ethanol.pro is just a bunch of junk thrown on the page. It really don't have a design at all...that, for me at least, takes a lot of time. :lol:

HEH! I understand completely. :tu:

WhoNet · May 24, 2008

Web Hosting Company Hostway .Pro TLD Reported Approved

Web Hosting Company Hostway .Pro TLD Reported Approved
22 May 2008

Hostway Corporation, web hosting and managed technology services company, has indicated that ICANN has unanimously approved the the .Pro TLD.

Hostway has reported that RegistryPro, the exclusive operator of the .Pro top level domain (TLD) on the Internet, has received approval from the ICANN, to greatly expand the scope and availability of the .Pro TLD. The newly ratified terms of service increases the number of professionals who are eligible for the TLD, extends the availability globally, and streamlines the registration process.

Catherine Sigmar, General Manager at RegistryPro noted, ''This is a significant milestone for .Pro. By approving these changes, ICANN has given us the opportunity to open up .Pro to tens of millions of licensed and credentialed professionals and entities across the globe.''

Since launching in 2004, access to .Pro has been restricted to four professions: accountants, engineers, lawyers and medical professionals in Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. Under the new terms of service, the TLD will become available to any professional or professional entity holding credentials from a certifying governmental authority anywhere in the world. These changes significantly broaden the market for the .Pro domain while still limiting the availability to professionals and maintaining the exclusive nature of the TLD.

In addition to the expanded scope, the new terms of service also makes it much easier to obtain a 2nd level domain and greatly simplify the registration process - thereby making .Pro domains both easier to obtain and more desirable.

Previously, stringent guidelines limited the availability of 2nd level .Pro domains (e.g. ''doctorsmith.pro'') and resulted in registrants opting for the easier to obtain 3rd level domains (e.g. ''doctorsmith.med.pro.'') The new terms of service eliminates the additional requirements for 2nd level domains, making these shorter, more desirable addresses available to anyone that meets the general TLD requirements.

The registration process has also been simplified. Individuals were previously required to submit written documentation of their credentials from an authorized certifying authority. These credentials would then be manually authenticated and verified by the registry - a process that greatly impacted the time and effort required to register a .Pro domain. Under the new registration process, the registrants need only supply the type of certification they hold, the name of the organization, and their license number on the registration form.

Per the published minutes of a Special Meeting of the ICANN Board of Directors posted on ICANN's web site, the proposed changes to the .Pro Registry Agreement were approved by a voice vote of 10 to 0. These changes clearly remove the principal hurdles that have previously challenged the adoption of the TLD, but Sigmar emphasizes that .Pro is still a premium domain space for professionals and professional entities. In the interest of keeping .Pro focused on the professional community, RegistryPro is introducing a Terms of Use Agreement that every customer will be required to accept.

Mr. Sigmar added, ''Our position all along has been we don't want to become an unrestricted, general use TLD. That's why we've developed the new Terms of Use Agreement.''

As noted in the published ICANN minutes, ''Registrants will be required to annually reaffirm that they are using the registration for the professional purpose as intended.''

The new Terms of Use obligates new and renewing registrants to do three key things: 1) self-certify professional credentials, 2) agree that their .Pro domain will be used only by them and 3) consent to use .Pro domains only in relation to professional services. As part of its commitment to ICANN, RegistryPro will monitor new and renewed domains to ensure that registrants adhere to these regulations.

Mr. Sigmar continued, ''We understand this is a major shift, and we encourage current .Pro registrants to contact their sponsoring registrars if they have any questions about how these changes impact them. Our priority now is to help registrants and registrars determine how the new agreement affects them, as well as educate professionals internationally about the benefits of the .Pro TLD.''

Plans are in progress to relaunch .Pro with a target date of July 14, 2008.

Hostway Corporation provides domain name registration, web hosting and ecommerce, colocation, managed dedicated hosting, SaaS hosting, Web design and online marketing services to more than 600,000 customers worldwide. It operates state-of-the art data centers that reduce the complexity and cost of Web-based technologies for small businesses and large enterprises. Founded in 1998, Hostway is one of the three largest Web hosting companies in the world with a direct presence in 11 countries, 15 worldwide operation centers and more than 700 employees. Hostway franchises include: Affinity Internet, Bigstep, DiscountDomains, Hostway UK, Hostway Netherlands, Hostway Korea, Hostway Australia, Hostway Denmark, NetNation, PowerMedium, RegistryPro, Server Service, Service Over Internet, ValueWeb and WinSave.

RegistryPro operates the .Pro top-level domain (TLD), an Internet registry exclusively for professionals who meet specific eligibility requirements and undergo a verification process. All .Pro names are issued with a digital certificate, an online passport that facilitates secure communications and transactions. RegistryPro provides a new way for professionals to distinguish themselves on the Internet by using the .Pro extension. Initially offered to doctors, lawyers, accountants, and engineers, the .Pro domain name provides a solution for professionals who require heightened confidentiality and security in their online communications.

To learn more about RegistryPro, please visit: http://www.registry.pro.

For more information, please visit: http://www.hostway.com.

getbluesky.io

johnsonstiling.com

pornvid.pro

awestories24.com

gadespace.id

leo888.xyz

laby.fi

obereg.vet

pani.fr

v-naturalfit.pt

More professionals to be allowed .pro domains

Established Member

Top Member

Account Closed

Account Closed

VIP Member

Account Closed

Top Member

VIP Member

Account Closed

.Pro RegularVIP Member

Account Closed

VIP Member

.Pro RegularVIP Member

Account Closed

Top Member

Account Closed

VIP Member

Account Closed

VIP Member

Account Closed

Established Member

Similar threads

We're social

IndoClove.com

Swell.io

cottonzone.in

Shvilim.com

Buccia.com

ShortTermFinancial.com

DomiCoin.com

LindenPlumbing.com

CleverRental.com

CreativeArtStudios.com

Pinned

Appreciation

Agreement

Answers

Relevance

Reaction

Status

Feeling