.mobi Who wants some new rules for the .mobi forum?

[-REECE-]

Well there's certainly been no shortage of complaints and to be honest, I'm tired of seeing threads and posts on the same topics over and over again myself.

If anyone's sick and tired of seeing any type of threads/posts or has any other complaints about anything going on in this forum, please post them here, pm me, or let Galel know.

Let me make this clear -- Nothing critical about how this forum is currently being run is going to be held against anyone, so please be honest about your feelings and experience so we can try and make a genuine effort to improve things for everyone. If you're having problems with a particular member(s) and feel compelled to name them, I ask that you please pm me or Galel rather than single that person out here in public.

Below are a few types of threads/posts which I personally am sick and tired of seeing -- anyone who visits this forum everyday knows these questions have received answers from both sides too many times already and debating them any further serves no purpose whatsoever.

1. My iPhone displays sites perfectly, why do we need a mobile web?

2. .mobi is 1 letter longer than .com. Doesn't this make it a bad choice for a mobile web extension?

3. Why do we need .mobi, can't we just use device autodetection on a .com domain?

4. Comparisons to prices seen in 2006 -- Yeah, we all know Flowers.mobi wouldn't fetch 200k today.. No need to look for trouble by reminding anyone here of that.

5. Anything about .tel being better than .mobi -- the 2 extensions have absolutely nothing in common so there really is nothing to compare.


It's not about getting rid of "naysayers", it's about making sure members here enjoy their time spent in the Namepros .mobi forum because meaningful discussion is taking place.

Your turn to speak up

 

[labrocca]

The classic example I saw many times was when members posted about their newly developed .mobi sites and some .mobi haters would come along and say why bother building a .mobi site at all. Or when a .mobi enthusiast is chastised for posting about a newly discovered .mobi site because some consider the poster a fanboy and the information as merely noteworthy rather than newsworthy.

What about the many times mobi skeptics wanted to have honest discussions about the hype of mobi and dozens of overzealous fans would jump in to attack. Many of those skeptics were very right about the mobi valuations.

I am still going to say that the biggest problem here is the mobi placement. Maybe Namepros can adopt a policy about any new extension having a highlighted section for it's first year after sunrise.

 

[gpmgroup]

Forum activity fluctuates over time. There's not as much money around now so the "pump and dump" and their other halves the "poop and scoop" brigade don't have the reasons to flame each other. The people that are still around probably have a longer term interest be that holding, selling to end users or developing sites out.

Heated threads are not all bad sometimes there would be really good points made by both sides, anyway no one has to respond to each and every opposing post.

As a wise domainer once pointed out, If the Great Adventurers had stopped to swat every mosquito and drain every swamp they would have never had time to complete their great adventures.

 

[-REECE-]

I completely agree. Unwarranted hype needs to be countered with a reality check, else some new members may make investments they later regret. If people are fed up with negative things being said about the extension, I see a pretty simple solution in not allowing threads which make unrealistic claims about how good the .mobi market is doing, because that's where the large majority of bashing is coming from and in my opinion, it is not only warranted but necessary if someone is going to make a thread of that nature.

Posts in blind support of an extension are far more damaging to members than an "extension basher" could ever be. A naysayer will never have an affect on the actual use of and market for a domain extension in the real world. However, allowing members to go over the top with wild speculation over the value of a new extension can directly impact the finances of inexperienced domainers who don't get to hear the other side of the argument. This pump and dump happens with every new extension. Even as values drop, someone who over-invested tries to convince a newbie why there is still great value and when a responsible member drops in to call BS, the bashing card is played.

What about the many times mobi skeptics wanted to have honest discussions about the hype of mobi and dozens of overzealous fans would jump in to attack. Many of those skeptics were very right about the mobi valuations.

I am still going to say that the biggest problem here is the mobi placement. Maybe Namepros can adopt a policy about any new extension having a highlighted section for it's first year after sunrise.

 

[scandiman]

I see a pretty simple solution in not allowing threads which make unrealistic claims about how good the .mobi market is doing, because that's where the large majority of bashing is coming from and in my opinion, it is not only warranted but necessary if someone is going to make a thread of that nature.

Do you have an example?

 

[namewaiter]

Posts in blind support of an extension are far more damaging to members than an "extension basher" could ever be. A naysayer will never have an affect on the actual use of and market for a domain extension in the real world. However, allowing members to go over the top with wild speculation over the value of a new extension can directly impact the finances of inexperienced domainers who don't get to hear the other side of the argument. This pump and dump happens with every new extension. Even as values drop, someone who over-invested tries to convince a newbie why there is still great value and when a responsible member drops in to call BS, the bashing card is played.

and i'd be interested in seeing what constitutes 'blind support'. for example on the first page of threads in the .mobi sub forum, which do you consider to be harmful? which ones proclaim over the top speculation?

in contrast, i can point to no less than 3 true bashing threads (and considering others may have been deleted, there probably would be a bunch more).

i think you'd be hard pressed to find as many as you think you might.

 

[-REECE-]

Do you have an example?

.mobi beating the poor alternatives

.mobi doing much better than expected

We will all know where the .mobi market is on October 24th

Will .mobi become the most valuable tld?

Are naysayers trying to drive down .mobi prices?

And on the other side:

.mobi is officially dead : read to find out why -- was intended to be a joke, turned into more than that.

Did the King Lose 200k on .mobi

Death Knell for .mobi

Is .mobi a thing of the past?

I could go on but I think I've made my point... Some types of threads clearly lead to problems and complaints in this section, time and time again.

 

[gpmgroup]

Just create an Extensions section subforums for types like cctld (yes I know it exists), CNO, info,biz,mobi, or whatever...reorganize imho.

This seems like a very good idea as people are more likely to visit and contribute positively to the sub forums for the extensions they are interested in.

 

[scandiman]

Just to be clear, these are your examples of threads that should not be allowed because they make unrealistic claims about how good the .mobi market is doing? Some are pure silliness like Will .mobi become the most valuable tld? (answered reasonably by many .mobi enthusiasts...NO!), and We will all know where the .mobi market is on October 24th (a sales hype thread that belonged in the marketplace), but I don't see the issue with these two especially:

.mobi beating the poor alternatives - Sharing an article discussing mobile web naming conventions

.mobi doing much better than expected - Facts about reg numbers

If facts about .mobi registration numbers are not appropriate for the .mobi section then what is? Seems as if the thread title is more your issue than the content in some cases.

 

[dag]

Just to be clear, these are your examples of threads that should not be allowed because they make unrealistic claims about how good the .mobi market is doing? Some are pure silliness like Will .mobi become the most valuable tld? (answered reasonably by many .mobi enthusiasts...NO!), and We will all know where the .mobi market is on October 24th (a sales hype thread that belonged in the marketplace), but I don't see the issue with these two especially:

.mobi beating the poor alternatives - Sharing an article discussing mobile web naming conventions

.mobi doing much better than expected - Facts about reg numbers

If facts about .mobi registration numbers are not appropriate for the .mobi section then what is? Seems as if the thread title is more your issue than the content in some cases.

Not to mention that only 2 of those are even from this year -- and those are the two that Scandi makes a good case for not even fitting the definition of a thread making unrealistic claims. Seems to me that the past year has actually been reasonable in terms of over-the-top pro-.mobi threads, if that's any indication.

 

[labrocca]

Sometimes I really wonder if all this heated debate about mobi isn't really some sign of the success it might have. Mobi certainly wins the award for most controversial extension ever. Who knew?

In the other extension forums I never really see these hype threads. It's normally threads discussion current events concerning the domain. I see threads about monetizing TV, current sales, methods for development and so on.

For mobi I see threads about how awesome mobi's future is or how crappy it will be.

Ugh...I hope NP does come to a resolution on this.

 

[headstart]

I don't have many problems with the .MOBI forum and I think it's good
to hear the opinion of people who have no confidence in the extension.
But some people were only here to attack dot mobi with the same arguments in every thread and even brought the highly brandable .TEL discussion in this forum, wich should not have been allowed.
And further on, I don't see much hyping of .MOBI as mentioned by others.
I don't see the problem if someone says that .MOBI is doing better than
expected or if they mention a new developed MOBI domain.

 

[freeflow]

Hi Reece and everyone else, I think it was a good idea of you to start this thread. I have been reading this thread from the first day on, but today when I read through the second page I got very upset. Isn’t a forum a place state thoughts, observations and opinions (No matter how abstract they are? I’m sure we would have never flown to the moon if the first thoughts were “not allowed”). I have nothing against "naysayers" or bashers, because they bring some spice to a forum. From my perspective it just seems like they didn’t do their homework. I’ve been following the mobile market very closely and if I put together the bits and pieces (that many here would think are worthless) the big picture IMO looks good. I don’t think that making special rules for the mobi section is a good idea. It might be better to make sub categories for “new mobis”, “mobi lovers”, “mobi haters” etc. This would help people not to get offended if a new mobi is posted like for example discovernamibia.mobi or information like “Mobile surfing booming as hand-held revolution hits Australia” is posted.

I like this forum and hope things will resolve soon. :talk:

 

[-REECE-]

Hi freeflow,

Just to comment on what you said: No changes have so far been made. I will get in contact with Namepros Management once they're no longer busy working out the bugs with the Namepros upgrade. We can certainly consider doing something like you have suggested. I know it was posted earlier in this thread that some people have received criticism for posting in the .mobi section .mobi domains that they've developed -- that's one thing I will not tolerate (that is most certainly "trolling").

Namepros has a "Report to Namepros PM System" in place now, so if you see any trolling problems (or anything else breaking the Namepros rules), please report the post by clicking on the red flag under your username and mentioning what is wrong with it. A message will immediately be sent to me, along with the other moderators listed at the top of this section. If none of us are online, feel free to pm your complaint to a Team Leader (someone with a green username, like Galel for example) and they will get things taken care of. This will hopefully get issues dealt with much quicker than in the past.

 

[movingconcierge]

the .mobi forum at namepros should be dismantled and its ashes (sic) disbursed amongst the general discussion forum.

good luck with your recovery, Jesse.

~over and out~

 

[Fundraiser]

LOL!

Someone gave me negative rep for my post in this thread and specifically noted "keep pumping .us". It looks like a few others received negative rep for their posts as well.

All other "rep" notes in my user account have the person's forum name attached to them in the comment section but not that one. When you find any integrity, please post in this thread as others have done who may not share my opinion. That is why you have a discussion forum. Actions like yours actually give support to my point that it is the zealots who are the problem, not those who support an extension with reason and thought.

 

[-REECE-]

I'm sorry that happened to you Fundraiser. Please feel free to report it to Namepros Management and they can get rid of the negative left to you, as well as any others, plus deal with the person if as it sounds it was clearly of malicious nature.

LOL!

Someone gave me negative rep for my post in this thread and specifically noted "keep pumping .us". It looks like a few others received negative rep for their posts as well.

All other "rep" notes in my user account have the person's forum name attached to them in the comment section but not that one. When you find any integrity, please post in this thread as others have done who may not share my opinion. That is why you have a discussion forum. Actions like yours actually give support to my point that it is the zealots who are the problem, not those who support an extension with reason and thought.

 

[Fundraiser]

I'm sorry that happened to you Fundraiser. Please feel free to report it to Namepros Management and they can get rid of the negative left to you, as well as any others, plus deal with the person if as it sounds it was clearly of malicious nature.

Thanks for your post but it is no big deal. Reputation points on a forum are meaningless. Over time you get to know people on these forums through the way they communicate, through business, PMs, etc. and that is were an online rep is earned. Posts like yours for example show what a person is made of - thanks again.

 

[Timewarp]

Below are a few types of threads/posts which I personally am sick and tired of seeing -- anyone who visits this forum everyday knows these questions have received answers from both sides too many times already and debating them any further serves no purpose whatsoever.

1. My iPhone displays sites perfectly, why do we need a mobile web?

2. .mobi is 1 letter longer than .com. Doesn't this make it a bad choice for a mobile web extension?

3. Why do we need .mobi, can't we just use device autodetection on a .com domain?

4. Comparisons to prices seen in 2006 -- Yeah, we all know Flowers.mobi wouldn't fetch 200k today.. No need to look for trouble by reminding anyone here of that.

5. Anything about .tel being better than .mobi -- the 2 extensions have absolutely nothing in common so there really is nothing to compare.


It's not about getting rid of "naysayers", it's about making sure members here enjoy their time spent in the Namepros .mobi forum because meaningful discussion is taking place.

Your turn to speak up

I agree that the above topics have been beaten to death but also think they are legitimate concerns for domainers interested in .mobi - especially people new to the extension. Perhaps instead of censoring threads like those there could be a STICKY with common mobi criticisms addressed. That way if anyone brought them up yet again in another thread they could be simply directed to the sticky.

The TV forum also has a useful sticky for .tv sightings - maybe people wouldn't be jumped on as "fanboys" so easily if there was a simple place any new .mobi sightings could be posted regardless of how major/minor they may be.