Common Questions About Domain Names
- The advantages of having your own name even if just for email
- How does a domain name work with email only?
- What if my name is taken?
- Can I use my domain name with any web site that I desire?
- What does .com, .net, .org, .biz and .info mean?
- Can anyone register a .com, .net, .org, .biz and .info domain name?
- Are there any restrictions with Australian domain names?
- Do I need to have a domain name for web site?
- Can I use a domain name with any type of web site?
- How long does the registration process take?
- How long will a domain name last?
- How can I find out if a domain name is available?
- What is a Registry?
- What is DNS?
- Can I nominate any other DNS servers to manage my domain?
- Is Web Hosting included with domain name registration?
The advantages of having your own name even if just for email
When you change your ISP you
will lose the email name that you have been using. Changing
ISPs can happen for various reasons... they change their own
name, change ownership, go out of business, or you may
relocate to an area where they do not have a service. The end
result is that you lose contact with friends and client that
you have dealt with in the past.
Another advantage is that it is
a lot easier to change an email name used with your domain
name than have to change your dial up account in a billing
system, at the access server, the mail server/s and other
services that you may have with an ISP. Why change a name?
Once a spammer gets you on their list you will get more and
more spam as they will not only spam you for every one of
their shady deals (and most do have many) but they will also
trade or sell your contact details to other spammers.
But best of all... you can be
very lucky to have the name that you want with any ISP because
they cannot have two account names the same. But if for
example, your name is Frederick Blackstone-West and you
register BlackstoneWest.com, each of your family members can
have their own name at your domain address, such as
William@BlackstoneWest.com, Janice@BlackstoneWest.com, and so
on.
It's better than personalized
number plates and very much cheaper!
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How does a domain name work with email only?
Most congenial ISPs will redirect mail to your user account. If you
have a dial up account with us for example, we will redirect
mail for yourpick@yourDomain.com to your normal email account.
Then you can have johnny@yourdomain.com or mary@yourdomain
.com or anything else you desire. Each name can be redirected
to the same email account or to different accounts if your
members do have other accounts of their own.
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What if my name is taken?
There are many domain name types available today. We currently
register:
- com, net, org names for 1-10 year periods
- biz, info names for a minimum of 2 years
- ca (canada) for 1-10 year period
- co.uk, org.uk (UK) for a minimum of 2 years
- all Australian names (com.au, net.au, org.au, id.au) for a 2
year period
With all of these options, and also the option of using hyphens, you
are sure to get the name that you want, especially with the
Australian names as they can only be registered to
namesakes.
Once you have a name registered it is yours forever (so long as
you keep renewing before its term expires).
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Can I use my domain name with any web site that I desire?
Yes. As your RSP we can nominate that your name be managed by our
name servers, or by those of your web host if the site is not
hosted with us. Whichever name servers that are used, all that
needs to be done is:
yourDomain.com = IP number of the site
www.yourDomain.com = IP number of the site
MX (mailserver) = our or their mail server (with a redirection
on that mail server).
Redirection by us is for FREE. All that we do require is that
whichever site host (if there is one), does manage all DNS
entries. Please note that while we are a congenial ISP there
are many others who are not.
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What does .com, .net, .org, .biz and .info mean?
These names are top level domains and considered "universal".
They do not necessarily have to be associated with a company
or country, and are available for use to the general public
anywhere.
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Can anyone register a .com, .net, .org, .biz and .info name?
Yes. There are no general restrictions relating to who can register
these domain names, although the following is the understanding
of what they 'should' mean:
.com - for private and commercial entities including companies.
.net - for telecommunications and network providers.
.org - for non-profit organizations and associations.
.biz - same as for .com.
.info - same as for .com.
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Are there any restrictions with Australian domain names?
Yes, but they are now more liberal. For example up until recently,
to register an Australian domain name you needed to be the holder
of a trademark, business, company or business name registration
of that same name, provide the relevant documentation and proof
of ownership. Now you can register your product names and those
that your business may be commonly known as. Restrictions do
apply on all geographic names that have a postcode assigned.
More detailed info is here.
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How long does the registration process take?
Once you submit your registration with us, if
it is really available (some applications may be pending in
the global systems) we submit your new name to the key registry
servers assigned to the different name types. We usually
get prompt confirmation and then add your name to our DNS servers,
making it available to Whois records almost straight away. However
it may take longer for your ISP and the other services around
the globe to update.
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How long will a domain name last?
Your domain name can be yours forever, as long as you keep your
registration renewed. The different name types each have minimum
period requirements beginning with 1 year terms, some can be
registered for years in advance, while others are either two
year minimums or 2 year terms. Prior to the expiration of any
period you have the exclusive right to renew your registration,
and our system will send you a reminder emails when within 3
and 1 month of expiration. Should you leave renewal until after
expiration, you may find it removed from the Registry and hence
available to anyone (no-one has control over this).
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How can I find out if a domain name is available?
You can perform a WHOIS query on a domain name using our
domain
search page, which will query all of the main Registry
servers around the world. Please note that a name not appearing
doesn't mean it is available as it may be pending approval.
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What is the Registry?
A Registry is a central databank responsible for key assignments
of IP number allocations and domain types for which they are
the authority. There are different authorities for different
geographical areas and name types. Some countries manage their
own, while the generic name types are managed by collectives.
In addition to registries are the many authorised resellers
of domain names whose responsibility it is to verify and add
DNS records on behalf of their clients in accordance with the
relevant rules and regulations.
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What is DNS?
The Internet is divided into literally millions of domains,
each with its own unique address. Each address is found by
a DNS number (Domain Name Server allocation). Some addresses
are sub domains or extensions of top level domain names (www.theHost.com)
and may appear as yourSite.theHost.com. To
us humans, names like yahoo.com or artistscope.net, or any
of the other four million domain names already registered
may make sense, but not to the computer. Computers work with
numbers and use IP addresses which are comprised of four numbers,
each between 0 and 255. An example of this would be 203.46.150.73
or 64.177.255.2
Domain agents and ISPs usually have at least 2 name servers (for
redundancy). When an address is sought, these nameservers first
check the Registry servers to establish which nameserver is
allocated to a domain name, and then that nameserver/s are
queried for address allocations. It is a very efficient system,
and any updates or changes made to a domain name listing can
be visible globally almost immediately and from anywhere.
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Can I nominate any other DNS servers to manage my domain?
Yes. When your domain is added to the Registry a primary and
secondary name server is nominated to manage your addresses.
Ordinarily we will recommend ours, but if you are hosting
on servers outside of Australia or on another network, we
can always nominate your host's dns servers.
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Do I need to have a domain name for web site?
No. If you host with us for example, you can have yourname.artistscope.com
which is a free service that most ISPs and web hosts can provide.
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Can I use a domain name with any type of web site?
No. Certain types of web sites such as those provided for
free by ISPs in conjunction with a dialup Internet account
usually cannot be assigned a domain name. Such sites are usually
very limited and on overcrowded servers which can be very
slow, suffer more downtime, and with little to no support
provided for your project. Also, if ever you move or change
you ISP, you will lose access to your web site.
So if you want to use a domain name for your web site
and want the freedom of uploading from anywhere and at
anytime, without restrictions on the file types you use such
as CGI for form mailers, etc, it is best to host with
someone like us who does provide those services.
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Is Web Hosting included with my domain name registration?
No.
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