Domain names - why should I get one?

[IFTB]

Why do people get domain names (myname.com/.net/.nl etc.)
What options do exists, mail fwd, website?
How does that work?
What is the advantage?
What experience do you, experts, have?

That would answer just a few of my questions on the subject.

Thanks in advance for your comments!


IFTB

[Tinstaafl]

I have a domain name. No website attached to though. I use it for my email.

By having my own domain I can have an unchanging email address no matter how many times I change ISP or where in the world I reside. My domain automatically forwards my emails to whatever ISP email account I tell it to.

As far as the world knows my email is at my domain.

[fobotcso]

IFTB, taking your questions in order...

Business presence, a place to put files you may want to get at from a different location, showing off, vanity and you can publish images on PPRuNe.

Mail forwarding yes; Web Site/Page obviously. A place to put your holiday photos. :yuk:

Your Web Hosting Company (mine was Verio and is now 1&1 Internet Ltd) allocate space to you on their Server (for which you pay) and you place the files that make up your Web Site there. The is a simple rule that dictates what visitors see when they type in your URL. The file transfer is easy using "drag & drop" in Windows 2000 or XP. There are "File Transfer Protocol" (ftp) Programs that can be used. Basic files are composed in HTML using anything from Word 2000 (yuk) to Frontpage Express and other customised programs. Images can be put there as they are. Videos are fun and "gif" files are simple moving images that don't take up much space.

"What is the advantage?" - huh? advantage over what? The facility enables you to do something you couldn't do before. If that's what you wanted, then that's an advantage.

What experience...? Funny question. You get what you pay for and you reap the reward in direct proportion to the effort you put in. But isn't that true of most endeavours?

Reckon on spending about £50-£150 per year depending upon the level of flexibility and facilities you want from a hosting company.

[osbo]

About 30 quid to buy it (2 years before registration renewal).....****** all to host it with most ISPs....and.........

it should cut your spam to ZERO in a nano second as long as you're sensible and don't put "this is [email protected]" in every post you make.....................

Worthwhile in my view................


All he best,

[email protected]

[IFTB]

Thanks all for your replies.
Question was badly worded on "what is the advantage", I meant over having an AOL/Wanadoo/Freesurf etc. name.
OSBO's remark on SPAM is interesting.
Why will it be virtually SPAM free? Because mails are routed through a source which actively filters out SPAM?

I have no end of problems on my AOL.com account which I keep for family members who are not very good with e-mail/www yet, it gives a nice border with easy and obvious hints on what to do next. Very usefull for that but SPAM is a big problem.
Domain names seem to give what you need without difficult SPAM killer programmes which are not always very effective, I understand.
The cost is very reasonable, I found the damain name most suited to us for 3 euro a month including mail fwd.
I think I will get it now. But not for the status of having "that special name".

Thanks again for your advise.

IFTB

[seacue]

I find POPFile to be very effective at throwing spam into my Deleted Mail folder. It was 99% correct for the month of November on about 1750 emails, 75% of them spam.

You have to train it, however, and continue to train it when it makes a mistake. That takes five minutes every few days since it makes so few mistakes. My experience was about 75% correct after a couple of days, and improving after that. Probably 90% at the end of a week.

POPFile is free, but the author asks for a contribution. I gave. I use version 0.18.1, which is much smaller than the latest version and works file for me.

SC

[Tinstaafl]

The advantage is that you can change your ISP as many times as you like but not change your email address as far as any of your contacts are concerned.

[Jet II]

As has been said already, constant email addresses are the main benefit.

I have used 123 Reg (http://www.123-reg.co.uk/register.shtml) for several years and found the service to be fine.

Costs are minimal - if all you want is email and web space forwarding (use the free webspace provided by your ISP) then is only costs 0.09 pence per year (+ £2.50 one-time registration payment) for a .co.uk domain. If you want webspace or a .net/.com/.org name then the prices are a bit more but still reasonable.

I have several .net domains as they have a bit more cachet than the common .co.uk ;)

[Deaf]

Constant email address is a definite plus but just as or more important is spam control. With a domain and email forwarding you can have as many addresses as you like. If I give my address to Fred Nurk I will give him [email protected] if then subsequently I get Viagara ads sent to [email protected] all mail to [email protected] is then automatically scrubbed and I may or may not give Fred a new address of eg [email protected]

Cost for .com, .net and .org is USD15 pa with email redirection, well worth it. Other TLD's can cost quite a bit more but for personal use are not really necessary.

Part of my signature block is

NOTE - This email may have been sent via abcdefg.net.au. Due to their method
of handling mail and newsgroups spam is causing problems.

FOR replies USE - the address you have been given - OTHERWISE
USE - Reply to:
NOTE the Reply to: address ceases to be valid after one week (or a longer period depending on spam)
ANY mail sent to [email protected] is invalid
Mail sent to an invalid address is rejected by the system without notification to the sender and cannot be legally considered as received.