Name Selection Poll for Root Certificate brand

No not really - I do plan to talk to Tin about that today.

 

These are still just suggestions. Epik isn't bound by the results or suggestions within this thread/poll -- they could totally scrap it all, and imo it would still be 'fair.'

I love the dialogue, and I imagine it's all constructive for Epik's vision.

 

Yes, totally.

I think Tin's initiative is admirable mostly because he has probably forgotten more about how encryption certificates work than I ever knew. I don't profess to be a subject matter expert there. However, I am fortunate to have hired some very clever folks. Ironically we had just hired Tin's financee in Vietnam so this particular dynamic has an extra level of intrigue associated with it.

 

I didn't really mean it in a way that he should or should not use SSL .. I just meant it to say that the above list was likely just very quickly put together and that we shouldn't necessarily take it for granted that just because a name is on the list, that it actually meets the unmentioned requirements.

I actually submitted the category killer SSL name .. destroys every name on this list if including "SSL" in the brand were an option .. but I do understand it's a tricky decision. The term is technically dated .. but it is the generic term used to market the product (kinda took on a life of it's own) .. really interesting case study actually! lol

In the end though, the other question is who is the targeted end user, and does that user get what SSL means? Or does it even matter because the term is plastered everywhere that non-tech people understand what it refers to even if they don't know the exact technical meaning (like the term "LASER" for example)

I think if a submitter lists their submitted domain on auction isn't really wrong (minus the calls to vote for it to make it seemingly more valuable) .. and is actually more an indication that they don't think the name is relevant, nor that it has much of a chance of winning.

 

It seems Top 10 is fixed.
All the best!

 

They also were trying to stuff the ballot box so to speak in the chat room trying to give names away for votes which is unprofessional and bordering on desperate. Rob was alerted. It obviously takes some of the fun out of when people will do anything to promote their name as the best. 🙄

 

I already felt this is going too far... self promoting and now giving names away for vote... This is worse.

Hope it didn't happened with previous searches...

Definitely need some thought into this...or it didn't make any sense and not useful for any party.

Loses genuine efforts

@Rob Monster

 

It seems Top 3-5 is fixed.
(Other submitters can vote them, as more objective.)

All the best!

 

Doesn't appear that there's a Top "anything" - could be anyone. Remember, Rob said that it's a blend between votes and comments.

 

I voted 3 names (only one is my suggestion);
because, Rob's Poll is for the opinions, not for self-promoting.

What is other submitters' thought (as objective)? We can share with Rob.

 

I agree the poll is likely just a small factor in decision making as are the comments and shameless promotion here, on other threads and in chat. In the future, I hope people will conduct themselves with integrity and let your name speak for itself. We are supposed to be adults here and Rob doesn’t have to call a vote or a thread to make a decision.

 

Some of the names with under 5 votes are pretty fine too. Unfortunately, no one and not even the submitter of these domains have given an explanation why they can be a good fit. May be they lost interest with the votes frenzy.

Somehow, i feel the process should be qualitative and not quantitative. Votes really are not much indicative of anything, especially based on how some of the names are gathering them. It skews the entire process and gets into a mad race.

May be next time, we can do away with vote counting and people can just give subjective explanation of what are the pros, cons, good and bad about the list of names. More brand perspective and ideas can emerge out of it. That should be good enough for any Contest Holders or Rob and his Epik team to pick out a name that stands out.

- Leopard

 

Well said...

I totally agree with your observation...and already mentioned before.

But doubt only pros and cons mentioning will help...
As you can see what is happening in this thread again will be repeated in pros and cons...

But definitely more filtering and scrutiny should be a step towards selecting rightful winner...

Thanks,
Ravi

 

Another alternative is to select 10 experienced and trustworthy members who are also experts in branding and have them (and only them) to vote on the names, everyone else can post their comments in support of their favorite names to convince the 10 member panel to vote for them. This way it will cut down greatly on manipulation by anyone (provided that the 10 member panel has been selected properly). IMO

PS: Also the poll results should be kept secret till the last day so that the 10 member panel won't be influenced by each other's votes. IMO

 

Only 10 members? What's wrong in involving Domainers community to vote, may be they are not brand experts but they may have good knowledge on product or service .Rob is doing great thing that he is giving a chance to all Domainers from newbie to expert in domaining to submit/suggest/vote their domains. Irrespective of count of votes for each name getting, discussion through comments involving huge members always an advantage. I believe if only 10 brand experts vote, there is no guarantee that they choose the best name and there is no conflict. Of course if some name is good in the list, definitely you will see lot of positivity about name in discussion.. Anyway Rob is good enough in knowing which name is best and which is not after going through the comments and votes and other options or factors....

 

I agree with this 10,000% - "Anyway Rob is good enough in knowing which name is best and which is not after going through the comments and votes and other options or factors...."

 

As I mentioned previously, I voted for Digifender. I have no connection to the name/owner.

Many of the names will work for what Rob/Epik is planning. I like Digifender because I like brandable names that are cool/different/memorable and that one stands out to me. It's very easy to spell (although ironically it's misspelled in the poll) and passes the radio test, much more so than Toki from a previous contest. Or was that Tokey or Toky or Toaky or Toqui or ..... you get the idea. When there's strong misspells of a name I think it weakens the name.

As far as Rob is concerned regarding messages: If I was him I wouldn't answer messages that were offering names he didn't like - not answering IS an answer. It would be a time saver for him for sure. On the downside, I'd never get an answer but I could live with that.

Digifender - the digital defender for all
Digifender - defending the internet, one site at a time

 

I do try to answer everyone -- I am at almost 100% on that. It is sometimes a few days later but I value everyone and also respect people's time even if my response does not do justice to the create energy that sometimes get unleashed.

On the positive side, I am reasonably good at returning favors. So, even if I don't choose a name, I do get to know folks so that if/when you run into some challenge, there is prior context and relationship where I know with whom I am dealing.

At the end of the day, this is a community, and we are working together to make the pie bigger. I believe it is absolutely happening and I find that to be very worthwhile and encouraging.

As for the poll, I think we are just about there with the decision. We are just wrapping up some details and making sure we did not miss anything important. Thanks for your ongoing input and generous capacity for co-creation. It does come back.

 

When you consider any name consider misspellings, including phonetic ones. Do people know how to spell "auth" once it is said? Oth? How about seal? Probably yes altho some will still misspell it seel. Encrypt, WE know how to spell it, but does the general public?

A lot of these names were just registered, that speaks for itself.

 

I think if someone knows what is an "SSL" or "TLS", or has heard of LetsEncrypt, we are most of the way there in terms of customer education. The objective here is to create a product that brings the benefit of free security certificates as a best practice, but does it a way that can scale more and where no tech skills are required to order, configure, install or monitor the cert.

 

DigiCert (com) is busy w the FreeSSL.com service.

 

Now as Rob is finalized with the winner almost, let's guess who might be the winner .

My guess is encert.com or certifa . Dark horse may be fullEncrypt or rootauth . Just blind guesses 😊

 

As a Tier-A Namer:
FullEncrypt ; as the name implies:
Meaningful
Powerful
Useful

All-in-one!

 

We have a winner:

DNEncrypt.com

This was a hand-reg at Epik. The purchase price was $1500. Congratulations to @Tin Nguyen.

Let me explain my logic for choosing this domain:

1. The domain checked all the boxes. It is brandable, short, and descriptive of the value proposition which is to provide an alternative to the likes of LetsEncrypt.

2. The word encrypt is broad enough to encompass all protocols, e.g. SSL has given way to TLS, which will in turn give way to yet something else.

3. There were no trademark issues. Other very promising prospects like Webseal.com, were available for reasonable prices but came with a near-instant invitation to spend quality time with IBM lawyers.

4. The domain has parallel structure with our recent selection of DNProtect.com which is currently under fast-track development. Encrypt and Protect for which there will be both free and non-free options.

5. The seller, Tin, is an authority on encryption. We know him in part because his fiancee works for Epik in Vietnam and because he is an Epik client. Tin has agreed to do some product consulting for us.

6. The price was reasonable. Sure, it is a nice windfall for a new hand-reg. While an aged domain would have been nice, it was never a criteria.

A few further comments:

- I am aware that the poll was gamed by some of the candidates. Regardless, it is apparent that there are several good candidates on this list. I expect there will be more competitors to LetsEncrypt. That is an underserved market as a massive surge of domains seek encryption. It is already happening.

- For the folks who were participating in our domain suggestion bounty program, if your domain was not selected, PM me to claim your domain(s) for free.

- Special thanks to @Leopard and @Sumeeth for their extensive "behind the scenes" input. @Sumeeth was the winner of our last poll and is prolific namespinner. @Leopard is a NP treasure!

- Apologies to @Ategy.com for my inadequate responses to his comments on this thread. I have to take his strong views with a grain of salt, but his input is always appreciated.

The public comments were also very helpful and, again, much appreciated!

As for product timing, we are some weeks away from having something to share, but @Ala Dadan will be briefed soon!

 

Congrats for all, especially for Epik and winner.