ADMIN: Thank you for $57+ in donations (for Domain Names)

[RandallS]

[I posted this yesterday, looked at the PC a couple of hours later and we had $40 in donations. Then our Internet went down. This morning we have over $130 in donations. A big thank you to everyone who donated. The extra will be added to the server fund and will help make up the almost inevitable shortfall from people cancelling monthly donations. I would pay for two years of DNS, but I really want to move away from Godaddy.]

We need $57.00 in donations by Friday to renew our domain names. Why the short notice. I goofed up and forgot all about this because when my mom died in 2010, I used some of the small inheritance I received to pay for three years of domain registrations for TC. Therefore, I haven't been including renewing these registrations in the money we need to raise in our annual donation drive. So when I saw emails saying our domain names will expire on March 20 and March 21, I was surprised.

We have four domains to renew:

ecauldron.com ($14.99)
ecauldron.net ($16.99)
ecauldron.org ($14.99)

Secret domain ($10.00)

The first three are used for our web site(s) and the last is a "secret" domain name that has no web sites but is the only domain that the server will allow certain "superuser" logins from. It's an extra level of security to help prevent server hacking.  The prices on the .com/.net/.org domains have gone up since 2010 -- I'll be looking for a cheaper (but still reliable) registrar to transfer to next year. But for now we need 57.00 in donations.

Any and all donations are helpful. You can donate directly via Paypal.

I apologize for the short notice, but this has been a month from hell in real life and I haven't been doing a very good job of staying ahead of things.

[Allaya]

I apologize for the short notice, but this has been a month from hell in real life and I haven't been doing a very good job of staying ahead of things.

Donated.  And major R-E-S-P-E-C-T for being savvy enough to do superuser logins from a shadow site.

[Jack]

The prices on the .com/.net/.org domains have gone up since 2010 -- I'll be looking for a cheaper (but still reliable) registrar to transfer to next year. But for now we need 57.00 in donations.

 
Sent what I could, tho it's not much. (And I didn't realize it was asking for my forum name until I sent it? Sorry!)

If it recommendations help, I use namecheap for my domain names and I've never had any issues with them.

[Allaya]

The prices on the .com/.net/.org domains have gone up since 2010 -- I'll be looking for a cheaper (but still reliable) registrar to transfer to next year.

 
Just FYI, prices went up in 2010 with nearly all registrars due to an increase in the wholesale prices of domains by Verisign.

I really wouldn't recommend trying to scrounge a cheaper price since is has gotten to be very much a "you get what you pay for" situation with registrars. The cheap ones are pretty shit about letting folks do unauthorized domain transfers. $14.99 is pretty much THE pricepoint with a non-shady registrar.

[RandallS]

Donated.  And major R-E-S-P-E-C-T for being savvy enough to do superuser logins from a shadow site.

Security through obscurity is never a great method, but as an additional layer of security it never hurts. I just wish the author of the program I'm using to limit logins by domain would finish "perfecting it" and release it to the general public. I (and a few others) have been testing it for over two years now.

[RandallS]

If it recommendations help, I use namecheap for my domain names and I've never had any issues with them.

A lot of people on Linode recommend it. I've started testing it with some of my less important domains and if it works out, I'll be moving all of my domains (personal and TC) there. I really want off of Godaddy. They have really gone downhill -- and that's without considering their politics.

[Allaya]

A lot of people on Linode recommend it. I've started testing it with some of my less important domains and if it works out, I'll be moving all of my domains (personal and TC) there. I really want off of Godaddy. They have really gone downhill -- and that's without considering their politics.

 
GoDaddy is a hive of scum and villainy. Switched over to 1and1 several years ago and it's been an absolute dream. They're very responsive and answer questions quickly.

[RandallS]

GoDaddy is a hive of scum and villainy.

As I've only used them as a domain registrar, I've never had the problems (especially customer service/tech support issues) that people who use them as a web host frequently report. We currently use Linode as our host (we have a VPS and Linode is one of the very best VPS hosting companies) and have used Dreamhost in the past -- both provided excellent support.  I tend not to need a lot of hand holding tech support, so when I do have issues, they usually are something more complex than average and are a test of tech support quality.

[Allaya]

As I've only used them as a domain registrar, I've never had the problems (especially customer service/tech support issues) that people who use them as a web host frequently report. We currently use Linode as our host (we have a VPS and Linode is one of the very best VPS hosting companies) and have used Dreamhost in the past -- both provided excellent support.  I tend not to need a lot of hand holding tech support, so when I do have issues, they usually are something more complex than average and are a test of tech support quality.

 
I never used them as a host (only as a registrar) and still came to the conclusion that they are a hive of scum and villainy. My hosting situation sounds very much like yours but with a different provider.

I'm annoyed with Dreamhost, though, as I have some contact with them via a friend's site. I have to submit a ticket to set up a UTF-8 database? Seriously, guys???

[RandallS]

I never used them as a host (only as a registrar) and still came to the conclusion that they are a hive of scum and villainy.

Given their sales tactics and the actions and politics of their founder, that's an easy conclusion to come to.