More professionals to be allowed .pro domains

[WhoNet]

More professionals to be allowed .pro domains

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

 

[netzilla]

Thats good news for the .pro extension. Thanks for sharing.

 

[akcampbell]

It will be interesting to see how the "official relaunch" pans out. If I was managing it, it would include;

1) An 80%-90% reduction in reg fees. This would make the extension attractive to domainers which is critical for developing awareness, perceived value, and acceptance.

2) Deals with at least 2 big registrars so .pro gets sold on main extension panels. This would build awareness, massively increase total .pros registered and encourage defensive registrations by .com registrants which is where .net, .org and .info get alot of their registrations from.

3) Annual prizes for the best .pro sites developed, eg a $100,000 first prize, two $50,000 prizes, and four $25,000 prizes. This would encourage the development of .pro sites by small businesses and professionally qualified individuals.

4) All qualified professionals would be entitled to one free year of .pro registration. This would raise awareness of .pro in its target market.

My fear is that Registry.pro will go about the relaunch as cluelessly as they have managed the extension to date so it will consist of;

5) A stream of pointless press releases with grandiose statements of intent.

6) A couple of shindigs to trumpet that .pro can now be registered by all professionals.

7) 2-3 lunches with journalists for Caroline Sigmar in return for a few snippets about .pro in the domain Press.

 

[Ben42]

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".

As a developer and certified DNOA professional, I believe that these credentials will be more than enough to hold any .pro name and develop it as I see fit.

But then again, you never know. :lol:

 

[Diabro]

1) An 80%-90% reduction in reg fees. This would make the extension attractive to domainers which is critical for developing awareness, perceived value, and acceptance.

I am not sure that they want domainers.

I think they want professionals registering the site for professional use.

It will be interesting to see how the legalized prostitution industry uses these names. :hehe:

 

[jido]

Actually, point #4 is something they should really think about.
I agree the prospects look dim for the previous points though

 

[akcampbell]

I am not sure that they want domainers.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I think they want professionals registering the site for professional use.

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

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.

 

[Diabro]

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.



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

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.

I disagree with you. 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.

Sure it may add value and make money in the short term but I see no proof other than wishful thinking that what you are saying is true.

 

[jido]

FWIW I agree 100% with akcampbell that domainers onboard add to the value of the extension.

 

[Diabro]

FWIW I agree 100% with akcampbell that domainers onboard add to the value of the extension.

To who? Domainers. :zzz:

 

[akcampbell]

Diabro, name me one extension where premium keywords aren't owned by domainers and are still available to register that gets developed?

If gold wasn't hoarded and scarce, people wouldn't make jewellery out of it and cherish it.

If your view was correct, .Pro would have been developed on a grand scale since June 2004 because in the scheme of things there has been little speculation and there are only 6,500 keywords registered. .info gets speculated on, there are are 5m of them, but it also gets developed and brings in alot of money for Afilias. The politics of envy doesn't get alternative extensions developed.

Registry.pro has failed miserably because it has been anti-domainer. Being mean spirited and jealous in life or business gets you nowhere. Afilias has been the most domainer friendly alternative extension and it has paid dividends, alot of .info sites are used for the provision of information and people accept its remit.

 

[zuriko]

Registry PRO is like 50 years old beauty, who do not want to have a sex with normal guys( domainers) and Looking For A Prince On A White Horse (professionals) and deaing VIRGIN!!!((

 

[Diabro]

Diabro, name me one extension where premium keywords aren't owned by domainers and are still available to register that gets developed?

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

If gold wasn't hoarded and scarce, people wouldn't make jewellery out of it and cherish it.

What do domains have to do with jewelry again?

If your view was correct, .Pro would have been developed on a grand scale since June 2004

That is untrue. You are projecting what you wish to believe because it is beneficial to you on the way things are.

because in the scheme of things there has been little speculation and there are only 6,500 keywords registered. .info gets speculated on, there are are 5m of them, but it also gets developed and brings in alot of money for Afilias. The politics of envy doesn't get alternative extensions developed.

Maybe in the long run without speculators hoarding all the names it will make headway. Of course it is no .com but I am sure that .com domain names would still have value and sell without speculators. Not as many but there is a possibility that the web would be a batter place and people would not be as jaded and skeptical about it.

Registry.pro has failed miserably because it has been anti-domainer.

Proof please.

Being mean spirited and jealous in life or business gets you nowhere.

Why is it mean spirited?

Afilias has been the most domainer friendly alternative extension and it has paid dividends, alot of .info sites are used for the provision of information and people accept its remit.

I disagree with that. I may not have seen them but I have not seen many useful or good .info domains. Especially considering the amount that are registered.

 

[akcampbell]

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

It's definitely not pointless. I'll give you an example. .Jobs is completely protected from the evil clutches of domainers but 99.9999% of recruitment agents use .com or some other extension even though they are pretty much guaranteed to get their name .Jobs if they wanted it. There are no .Jobs hoarders but it's not making any progress. How come? This doesn't tally with your view. .Travel was the same until it loosened up its rules

What do domains have to do with jewelry again?

Gold is valuable because it's hoarded and in short supply, once you have acquired a little block of it, it's worth hiring a goldsmith and making something out of it. The same applies to domains.

That is untrue. You are projecting what you wish to believe because it is beneficial to you on the way things are.

Professionals have been protected from 99.99% of domainers since June 2004 in .Pro, but have they rushed in and snapped up .pro domains to develop? No, they haven't. Of the 6,500 .pros registered, I'd estimate 100 are developed by qualified professionals. There are 80m .coms registered, so that's alot of .Pro hanging from trees waiting to be picked.

Maybe in the long run without speculators hoarding all the names it will make headway.

I don't understand this comment. Compared to .Com there is virtually no .pro hoarding. 6,500 domains "hoarded" maximum compared to tens of millions of brilliant company name .Pro possibilities. It's all there if people want it. I very much doubt there is anybody out there thinking, Casino.pro is already registered, I won't open an online casino in that case.

Of course it is no .com but I am sure that .com domain names would still have value and sell without speculators. Not as many but there is a possibility that the web would be a batter place and people would not be as jaded and skeptical about it.

Sure, but on a much smaller scale. If I could register any currently parked .com I would be more likely to find something I liked to register without having to pay a premium on the aftermarket.

I don't think there are many people on this site who are jaded and skeptical Most people are enthusiastic about their chosen alternative extensions, LLLL.coms, IDN's or whatever. Would I be wrong to suggest that you are jaded and skeptical because you don't have any good domains?

Proof please.

If we agreed that registration restrictions and high reg fees were anti-domainer policies, then established an index across gTLD registries as to how anti-domainer each had been, then ran a linear regression between the anti-domainer behaviour index and total domains registered or total domains developed you would have a very strong correlation between low total domains registered and developed and domainer unfriendly policies. It's not a coincidence that Afilias has the most friendly domainer policies or very low reg fees, promotions, and no restrictions and 5m domains registered. Whether you like it or not, there are tens of thousands of .infos developed.

Why is it mean spirited?

It's mean spirited because Registry.pro have tried to cut domainers out of their own industry. Biting the hand that feeds is impractical, uncommercial, and naive. Domainers in .pro have contributed 10 times more in reg fees than professionally qualified lawyers, doctors, medics and engineers in the UK, France, the US and Canada, they have paid Catherine Sigmar's salary when nobody, especially the audience it was intended for, cared about the extension and deserve recognition and inclusion.

I'm a UK ACA qualified accountant, I can develop web sites, I don't need to make money from parking or domain sales, and I can afford high reg fees and legal action against Registry.pro so I'm pretty safe.

However, I'd rather everybody could register a .Pro because the more domains that get registered, the more sites get developed and the more people will recognise the extension so I can develop and make money out of it. Again, sheer self interest but that outcome is in Registry.pro's interests too so I'm hoping they will loosen up.

I disagree with that. I may not have seen them but I have not seen many useful or good .info domains. Especially considering the amount that are registered.

You can say that about pretty much every alternative extension. I've never seen a useful .tv, .mobi, .biz etc. Developing an alternative extension is nightmarishly tricky which is why Registry.pro's domainer-phobia is so misplaced and foolish.

 

[Ben42]

Well put Campbell. I agree 100%. Nice post.

 

[PWA]

It will be interesting to see how the legalized prostitution industry uses these names. :hehe:

Hoe.pro

It's catchy.

I wonder if that will be allowed.

 

[Diabro]

It's definitely not pointless. I'll give you an example. .Jobs is completely protected from the evil clutches of domainers but 99.9999% of recruitment agents use .com or some other extension even though they are pretty much guaranteed to get their name .Jobs if they wanted it. There are no .Jobs hoarders but it's not making any progress. How come? This doesn't tally with your view. .Travel was the same until it loosened up its rules

OK, then show me a TLD that is not .com that is opened up to domainers that is doing better than .com.

Gold is valuable because it's hoarded and in short supply, once you have acquired a little block of it, it's worth hiring a goldsmith and making something out of it. The same applies to domains.

Uhhh…no. Domains are not similar to gold.

Gold is actually not THAT rare and is certainly not hoarded by an elite few. It is a very useful metal so it is used in lots of things. It is even used in foods.

I would also like to point out that you seem to have a vested interest in .pro, so you may be a little biased. Look at http://www.company.pro/ , go to it. It is hardly gold. Do you have any domains that you think would be gold standard?

Professionals have been protected from 99.99% of domainers since June 2004 in .Pro, but have they rushed in and snapped up .pro domains to develop? No, they haven't. Of the 6,500 .pros registered, I'd estimate 100 are developed by qualified professionals. There are 80m .coms registered, so that's alot of .Pro hanging from trees waiting to be picked.

The more you keep trying to situationally try to compare .pro to .com the more apparent it is how little you know about domains.

How would .pro be any better if the domains were cheaper and all of the “good” names were regged by domainers?

I don't understand this comment. Compared to .Com there is virtually no .pro hoarding. 6,500 domains "hoarded" maximum compared to tens of millions of brilliant company name .Pro possibilities. It's all there if people want it. I very much doubt there is anybody out there thinking, Casino.pro is already registered, I won't open an online casino in that case.

Sure, but on a much smaller scale. If I could register any currently parked .com I would be more likely to find something I liked to register without having to pay a premium on the aftermarket.

Yes, which turns a lot of valid users off.

I don't think there are many people on this site who are jaded and skeptical Most people are enthusiastic about their chosen alternative extensions, LLLL.coms, IDN's or whatever. Would I be wrong to suggest that you are jaded and skeptical because you don't have any good domains?

Sure Suzie, what are your good domains? .info’s and .pro’s? LOL!

If we agreed that registration restrictions and high reg fees were anti-domainer policies, then established an index across gTLD registries as to how anti-domainer each had been, then ran a linear regression between the anti-domainer behaviour index and total domains registered or total domains developed you would have a very strong correlation between low total domains registered and developed and domainer unfriendly policies. It's not a coincidence that Afilias has the most friendly domainer policies or very low reg fees, promotions, and no restrictions and 5m domains registered. Whether you like it or not, there are tens of thousands of .infos developed.

You mean like http://www.rates.info/ and http://www.prices.info/ LOL!

It's mean spirited because Registry.pro have tried to cut domainers out of their own industry.

How is that mean spirited? Many people may think this is actually the opposite as it keeps squatters out.

Biting the hand that feeds is impractical, uncommercial, and naive. Domainers in .pro have contributed 10 times more in reg fees than professionally qualified lawyers, doctors, medics and engineers in the UK, France, the US and Canada, they have paid Catherine Sigmar's salary when nobody, especially the audience it was intended for, cared about the extension and deserve recognition and inclusion.

That does not mean they like it.

I'm a UK ACA qualified accountant, I can develop web sites, I don't need to make money from parking or domain sales, and I can afford high reg fees and legal action against Registry.pro so I'm pretty safe.

However, I'd rather everybody could register a .Pro because the more domains that get registered, the more sites get developed and the more people will recognise the extension so I can develop and make money out of it. Again, sheer self interest but that outcome is in Registry.pro's interests too so I'm hoping they will loosen up.

Not surprisingly your whole “argument” is self interested.

You can say that about pretty much every alternative extension. I've never seen a useful .tv, .mobi, .biz etc. Developing an alternative extension is nightmarishly tricky which is why Registry's domainer-phobia is so misplaced and foolish.

I disagree that it misplaced or foolish. It is their business. Just because you do not like something dos not mean it is misplaced or foolish.

 

[zuriko]

Good post akcampbell!!!

 

[akcampbell]

Diabro, gold is hoarded by an elite few, governments of rich developed countries. Britain sold half it's gold holding in 1999, 415m tonnes for $8bn. Note the comment in the article below that this left Britain with less gold than any other major country.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1999/05/08/ngol08.html

My use of gold is an analogy, I think it's a good one because gold and domains are an old economy and new economy store of value, both get hoarded, both are coveted because they are scarce and look pretty, both can be "developed" ie into jewellery or web sites or held in raw form, parked or in bullion.

Your question about .com is nonsensical. .com is top dog so no extension is "better" than .com. I gave you the option of hundreds of alternative extensions, alot of which are lightly regged by domainers, all you had to do was come up with one that was heavily developed because of the availability of premium keywords.

I think you have to make a distinction between squatting which implies illegality, for example regging a non-generic trademark and trying to extract money from the intellectual property owner, divert business, or dilute their brand and genuine domain investors who buy generic keywords. Virtually all .Pro domains registered are generic, the owners are investors in the extension, not squatters. They may hoard on a small scale but accumulation is the essence of capitalism, if you don't like it you should move to North Korea or Cuba.

There are no prizes for guessing I have a vested interest in .Pro, I paste it in my signature. It wouldn't make sense to spend so much time writing about .Pro if I didn't have a vested interest. I enjoy promoting .Pro, if people like you help me promote my .info's as well, that's a bonus.

I think the fact Registry.pro went cap in hand to ICANN to amend their registry contract and plan to "relaunch" the extension on 14 July suggests they acknowledge making a pig's ear of launching .Pro first time around.

Instead, of getting put out by "squatters" and "hoarders" you should reg some .Pros while you still can. It's a gTLD, extremely brandable, and you'll kick yourself 10 years from now if you miss out.

 

[Diabro]

Diabro, gold is hoarded by an elite few, governments of rich developed countries. Britain sold half it's gold holding in 1999, 415m tonnes for $8bn. Note the comment in the article below that this left Britain with less gold than any other major country.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/htmlContent.jhtml?html=/archive/1999/05/08/ngol08.html

Really, it is hoarded by governments and SOLD by governments? It is rare yet many multitudes more people own gold than domain names?

Gold is hoarded by an elite few yet common enough to be used in airbag systems, computers and even alcohol.

My use of gold is an analogy, I think it's a good one because gold and domains are an old economy and new economy store of value, both get hoarded, both are coveted because they are scarce and look pretty, both can be "developed" ie into jewellery or web sites or held in raw form, parked or in bullion.

I think it is a poor analogy. Gold even if it was not more scarce than lead or zinc would still have value because of its many uses. It is highly conducive and easy to work with. All gold of the same quality is worth the same when presented in the same manner. A ring may be worth more than its weight in gold because of the craftsmanship but melt the ring down and it still holds a base value of any other gold in a similar format.

Not all domain names are worth the same. The 3 character domain name SEX has more value than the 3 character domain name ZXK.

Domain names only have worth in limited circumstances and markets as well. You could invest money in gold and be fairly sure that in 20 years that your investment will still have some value. You could “invest” the same amount in domain names and in 20 years they could have no value. None whatsoever.

Your question about .com is nonsensical. .com is top dog so no extension is "better" than .com. I gave you the option of hundreds of alternative extensions, alot of which are lightly regged by domainers, all you had to do was come up with one that was heavily developed because of the availability of premium keywords.

You are the one that keeps brining up .com and comparing .pro to .com.

I think you have to make a distinction between squatting which implies illegality, for example regging a non-generic trademark and trying to extract money from the intellectual property owner, divert business, or dilute their brand and genuine domain investors who buy generic keywords. Virtually all .Pro domains registered are generic, the owners are investors in the extension, not squatters. They may hoard on a small scale but accumulation is the essence of capitalism, if you don't like it you should move to North Korea or Cuba.

Some say investor, some say squatter. At this point I think the general population sees little difference. It is like the word hacker got hijacked and is now associated with people who crack systems.

There are no prizes for guessing I have a vested interest in .Pro, I paste it in my signature. It wouldn't make sense to spend so much time writing about .Pro if I didn't have a vested interest. I enjoy promoting .Pro, if people like you help me promote my .info's as well, that's a bonus.

I honestly like .info but had one or two names in .info and let most lapse. I have no interest in .pro but applaud them for trying to do something different.

I think the fact Registry.pro went cap in hand to ICANN to amend their registry contract and plan to "relaunch" the extension on 14 July suggests they acknowledge making a pig's ear of launching .Pro first time around.

Instead, of getting put out by "squatters" and "hoarders" you should reg some .Pros while you still can. It's a gTLD, extremely brandable, and you'll kick yourself 10 years from now if you miss out.

I would rather invest in .us. Just my personal preference. Frankly I have all the .com’s I need for personal development and maybe a couple of extra to sell. There are still come good .com’s left as well.

Good luck with your domains.