Registries – the good and bad
January 24th, 2010
I like buying country code top level domains (ccTLDs) where it is possible to buy directly from that country’s registry. It gives a sense of security, and often it is cheaper than buying through a registrar.
But I have found that large countries do not necessarily operate the best registries. Far from.
For example, the Russian registry at RU-Center is horrible. Nothing less. It is very difficult to navigate around, and after I bought my first (and only) .ru domain, I have been flooded with spam in my email. Apparently, it is not difficult to harvest data from this registry’s whois database.
On the other hand, a ccTLD registry such as Iceland’s ISNIC is a real pleasure to deal with. Great user interface, instant processing and friendly customer service.
Conclusion: Big is not always good…
