RegisterFly and the Question of Registrar Stability
According to Netcraft, a popular domain registrar, RegisterFly, recently went offline “amid allegations that the former president and CEO misused company funds.”
This is unsettling to me. It makes me wonder: if an ICANN accredited registrar can go down like this with no real regard to their customers, could it happen to me? Apparently, ICANN is on the frontlines of this one, fighting to get the customer records and ensure that each registered domain is protected from being snatched away from rightful owners. But it’s still tough for all those caught in the middle.
I’m with one of the most reputable registrars / web hosts in the world. And I’m not sure what RegisterFly’s reputation was prior to this breakdown. Given the scope of the matter, it would seem that no company is immune to this type of problem. Rigid standards for accountability in finance and business practice would go a long way to help the matter, but there are loopholes to every system and some executives would simply find the flaw and exploit it.
I hope I never experience an outage like this with my registrar. And I hope ICANN makes an example of RegisterFly.
[tags]registerfly, netcraft, ICANN, registrar, domain, company[/tags]
Kirk Longhofer
2007-03-07 1707hrs
This is why I’ve always spent the extra money to use Network Solutions. I just don’t think saving $20 is worth any risk like this.
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David
2007-03-07 2037hrs
Kirk: I totally agree. In fact, the domain is really the most important piece of web communications. If people can’t get to the site, we can’t communicate to them! I can deal with a hosting outage and a problem with a CMS, even a security exploit, but I can’t imagine being faced with the potential loss of a domain name. I, too, consider NetSol the best company when it comes to domain registration. I stand behind what I said in that no company is immune to this issue, but NetSol has done a lot over the years to create a strong brand and credibility in the business. Still too expensive for my tastes. :) But if I ever felt like I couldn’t trust 1and1, NetSol would be the only other option. I certainly would never consider registering with the unethical and immoral GoDaddy.
Stephen
2007-03-07 2152hrs
So THAT would go a long way toward explaining why I had such a terrible experience attempting to register a domain last week. Good to know, yet not so good.
David
2007-03-08 1255hrs
Stephen: Bummer dude! Hope you went somewhere else for that domain. Are you with RegisterFly on other domains?
I found a site yesterday that profiles this problem, with the obvious spin of a site filled with disgruntled customers: http://registerflies.com. Great URL, and I’m sure they didn’t register that domain at RegisterFly. :)