I did warn people that we'd have several announcements like this this week, so I'm not going to apologise!

Blacknight are now fully accredited with Afilias for .info.

In common with the other domain extensions we launched this week, all new registrations will be processed under Blacknight's ICANN accreditation. We will be enabling transfers in over the next few days (expect an update on that).

So what is .info?

The info tld is currently the 4th largest, with over 5 million domains registered worldwide!

What do people use .info for?

Pretty much anything and everything. The idea behind "info" was to use it for sharing "information", while other namespaces focussed on other things. Of course it's a completely open domain extension, so the only real limit is your imagination.

If you're a Twitter user, for example, you might find this .info site of help, as it explains the entire "fail whale" concept.

You can browse hundreds of cool .info based sites over on the dotinfo directory.

So if you want your own .info domain, then why not head over and get one now?

Posted by Michele Neylon at 2:34 PM | Permalink

The .cm launch was meant to be happening today. It's not and instead I'm writing to say that it's been delayed.

When will it launch?

We honestly don't know.

COCCA, who run the backend registry services for .cm, have serious concerns about the technical stability of the .cm (Cameroon) nameservers, which is why they delayed the launch:

"The Go Live  of .CM set for 27th August 2009 ( 00:00:01 UTC ) has been postponed by CoCCA.

The servers under the control of Camtel require further testing.  Pulling the .cm Zones from the CoCCA Registry and loading them onto the .CM TLD servers is still not reliable enough at this point for CoCCA to approve the use of our system for processing second level .CM applications.  

CoCCA provides the Register System but does not provide DNS services. The administrators of the various ccTLDs  that we host on our platform generally use Anycast technology and reliable third party DNS providers with whom with we have a close working relationship. This include UltraDNS, DynTLD and PCH  - all of which have proven and reliable DNS networks.

The .CM  DNS is managed by Camtel, - Cameroon's Telecom company ( not Netcom.cm SARL or CoCCA ).  CoCCA has been working with Netcom.cm SARL who has in turn been working with the regulator in Cameroon to improve the reliability of the .CM DNS. These efforts are not sufficiently advanced for COCCA to be comfortable in assisting in bringing this product to the market for "Live" registrations.
 
We support the approach taken by Netcom.CM to go through a Sunrise and Landrush applications phase; and to discontinue the wildcard - therefore bringing a best-practice approach to the administration of the .CM ccTLD.

As a CoCCA registrar, you have a trusted relationship with us as your registry provider.  We  need to ensure that offerings made using our systems and technology are reliable enough for you to be confident when you extend those offerings to your valued clients. Unfortunately this is not the case at this time.  We hope the situation will change in the next few days"

As soon as we know more we'll let you know.



Further information on the COCCA site

Posted by Michele Neylon at 9:55 AM | Permalink

Yesterday I talked about .me, so today it's .mobi.

We've talked about dotmobi (.mobi) quite a bit over the last couple of years.

Personally I've always found the concept of the mobile domain space to be pretty cool and as I moved from using "standard" phones to using "smart" ones I've been using the "mobile web" more and more. Over the last year I've gone from just getting information on my mobile through to actually buying goods and services directly from it.

So I am delighted to announce that we are now fully accredited for .mobi.

What's more, we're the first Irish company to have dotMobi ICANN accreditation. DotMobi are based in Dublin, so it's nice to be able to pick up the phone during office hours and speak directly to their ever helpful staff.

At present we are processing all new registration requests via our own accreditation, but we haven't enabled transfers in as yet. (We're hoping to get that up and running in the next few days)

If you're new to the entire concept of the "mobile web" then you might want to check out some of the very cool resources and tools that dotMobi have made available.

Wordpress users, for example, can get up and running very quickly with the dotMobi Wordpress mobile pack, which enables you to easily offer up both a desktop and a mobile version of a Wordpress site on your .mobi domain.

We're also going to be revamping our own mobile site so that it's a bit more useful, though I can't honestly say when that is likely to happen! (If you saw our todo list you'd understand!)

Related articles by Zemanta

• Wordpress User? Take Your Site Mobile (blacknight.com)
• DotMobi Wins Net Visionary Award (isquattedyour.eu)

Posted by Michele Neylon at 4:03 PM | Permalink

We're delighted to announce that our .me accreditation is now "live". We had been offering .me domains via one of our partners up until earlier this afternoon.

DotMe (.me) is the country code domain for Montenegro. Of course, if your native language is English, "me" also spells the most important word in the English language - "me".

I'd been feeling a bit guilty about .me for quite some time, as I was at their launch reception in Paris over a year ago!


All new .me domain names registered via our website will be handled by our own .me accreditation ie. we won't be relying on any 3rd parties ...


What does that mean for you?

In practical terms - not a huge lot.

However it means that we will be able to pass on any savings we get from the registry.

It also means that we have a greater level of control over aspects of the domain name and don't have to rely on a 3rd party, which is important to us.

Just a word of warning - expect more of these announcements over the next few days, as we roll out several domain extensions onto our own registrar backend!

Posted by Michele Neylon at 5:37 PM | Permalink

UPDATE:

Since people are either misreading this post or misunderstanding the offer details we have decided to simplify it.

Please read this article in its entirety, as it answers most of the questions we have been asked.



Are you paying silly money for IE domains?

Would you like to save a load of cash?

We can guess the answer to both questions ....

So here's what we're doing.

When?

Starting tomorrow, August 24th 2009, and running until August 29th 2009, we are going to slash the price of IE domains.


What?

Instead of paying our normal rate or even 50% of it you'll pay only 5 euro ex-VAT to register OR transfer a .ie domain. (That's close to 80% off our normal price!) - Please read on for the terms and conditions of this offer.

How much will a .ie cost?

5 euro ex-vat  for a one year registration - just in case it wasn't clear!

How do I get the special price?

Just order a .ie registration or transfer.

The discount will be applied in the shopping cart just before you checkout ie. when we're about to take the money from you the final total will be displayed

See screenshot below (click to enlarge) :




Are there any special coupons or discount codes?

No. It's all automatic.


Now there are certain limits.

The special price is limited to one order per customer and you can only register one .ie domain for a one year at this special price.

How many domains can I get a this special rate?

One

But I want to order a domain for someone else?

Fine, however only one domain will be discounted

Can I transfer a .ie from another provider?

Yes. You can transfer a .ie domain from any other provider and get this special rate.

I want to transfer a lot of IE domains from another provider to you. Can you help us?

The special rate is only applicable to one domain order. If you want to move a large number of IE domains from one of our competitors please contact our sales team who can give you a discount rate on IE domains.


Do I need to buy hosting from you?

No, you don't. We'd love it if you did, but you're under no obligation to.

Can I host this domain with ... ?

You can host the domain wherever you like, however ALL IE domains need to have dns records setup before they will function.

What's included in the price?

The IE domain registration (or transfer) and DNS services.

Unlike some companies we don't charge anything extra for DNS services for domains you are paying us for.

Can anyone register a .ie domain name?

No. The IE domain space is governed by specific rules. If you do not qualify you won't be able to register the domain. Please read over our guide here.

What kind of documents will I need to provide?

That will depend on what and how you are applying for it. Our system will send you out emails with detailed instructions based on your order.

Generally speaking you will need to provide proof of identity, business documents and possibly a signed covering letter explaining why you want to register the domain name in question. Saying that you "like it" is not enough - sorry!

How long do I have to supply the documents?

Please provide them as quickly as possible. A pending registration request will only be valid for 28 days maximum.

What happens if I don't supply the documents in time?

The registration request may lapse and someone else may order the domain.


Why do I need to provide documents?

The IE Domain Registry have very strict rules. We do not invent the rules, we merely act as a conduit.

I don't want to provide the documents, surely an email is enough?

No it isn't. If you want to register the domain name you will need to provide the documentation as requested. No exceptions.


Can I register my own name?

If you are a resident in Ireland and can prove your residence you can register your name. See the PDN site for details. NB: The rules are explicit and do not allow for any extra variations

I don't live in Ireland, can I still apply for an IE domain?

Please read the registration guide. If you are a business then you may qualify. If you are a private individual it's highly unlikely that you will.

I don't know what name to register, can you help?

Why don't you have a look at the deleted domain list. You may find some inspiration there.

How much will it cost to renew domains registered (or transferred) during this offer?

Our normal rates at the time of renewal will apply.

Can existing customers renew their domain at this price?

No. This special only applies to new registrations OR transfers from other providers.

So what is the catch?

There is no catch.

How can Blacknight offer IE domains at such a low price?

Short answer - economies of scale. We have invested heavily in automating the order process as much as possible.



All dates and times are based on Dublin, Ireland.

This special offer deal will not be extended, so if you leave your order until 5 minutes before it closes you may be disappointed, as we will not extend it even a minute beyond the deadline.


UPDATE: Added a screenshot

Posted by Michele Neylon at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (27) | TrackBacks (1)

Domains do not "live" forever.

If you do not renew them they expire, which means that you can no longer use them and someone else may use them.

A working group within ICANN, which is the organisation that "looks after" domains, such as .com, .net and .mobi, is currently looking into whether the current way domain expiry is handled is "ok".

NB: ICANN can only make policy regarding the extensions it controls ie. com/net/org/info/biz/mobi/tel/pro/travel/museum/coop/aero/name. ICANN has nothing to do with .eu, .co.uk or .ie.

Basically the group, of which I am but one of the members, has been tasked with getting answers to a few particular questions:

1. Whether adequate opportunity exists for registrants to redeem their expired domain names;
2. Whether expiration-related provisions in typical registration agreements are clear and conspicuous enough;
3. Whether adequate notice exists to alert registrants of upcoming expirations;
4. Whether additional measures need to be implemented to indicate that once a domain name enters the Auto-Renew Grace Period, it has expired (e.g., hold status, a notice on the site with a link to information on how to renew, or other options to be determined);
5. Whether to allow the transfer of a domain name during the Redemption Grace Period (RGP).

If you have an opinion please please please share it with the working group, as without the public's participation we have no way of knowing what people actually think, nor do we have any way of knowing about their experiences.

Posted by Michele Neylon at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I've always wanted to see our logo on the side of a race car.

I had been hoping it would be some kind of souped up F1 machine or similar, but I guess we'll have to settle for one of these:

(Image via on Flickr - CC license)

Before you ask, it's a Hindustan Ambassador, which has been described as "the Indian car". You can read more about them here. While it may not be as "cool" as some cars, it's still pretty neat!


So what's it all about then?

Blacknight is sponsoring the Irish team which is participating in the Karma Enduro rally in India later this year.

The drivers will have to endure a 2000km drive across India

To get a taste of what the rally will be like have a look at some of the highlights from last year's event:




The rally event is in aid of Unicef and The Rainbow Trust and if you'd like to get involved, even if only in a little way, then you can contact the team via their site.

Maybe next time we'll sponsor an F1 car .. who knows, but for the moment we're delighted to get our logo on the side of a car, while also helping a worthy cause.

Posted by Michele Neylon at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)

As a domain registrar and hosting provider it's obviously in our best interest that people use the internet.

Without the internet we wouldn't have a business.

Maybe I'd go back to one of my former careers ... Who knows?

It's hardly surprising, therefore, that people in our industry will post articles trying to show how web services can bring value and cost savings to business.

However most of the articles I've seen have been written by people from our industry, so while they can be an interesting read they're usually a bit biased ie. we're all really subjective!

So when you come across a breakdown of how much web services save an organisation, which is written by the organisation and not by an industry insider,  it really is refreshing and quite an eye opener.

Lincolnshire County Council's Head of Web and Information Governance, Peter Barton, posted a fascinating analysis of what their website and services was worth to them.

Instead of just looking at some invented costs etc., he put together figures based on what the real costs would be for providing the same services without a web site (and related online services).

The figures are scary, but what really hit home for me was the summary of costs per interaction by medium:

• Face to face £6.56
• Phone £3.22
• Web 27p

Based on the council's 177k visitors to their site per month, if only 10% rang them, seeking the information that they can currently access online, it would cost a staggering £51000 a month!

A lot of the cost saving, as he points out, are hard to put an exact figure on, but even without a clear figure it's easy to see how the organisation would be impacted.

The full article, which is discussed here and here, is well worth reading.

Posted by Michele Neylon at 7:32 PM | Permalink

We've been proactive about spam for a long time.
While all our hosting accounts have some kind of email filtering available with them sometimes it's simply not enough, so we also offer a premium service - AntiSpam.ie

The web based control panel allows you to tweak a lot of settings and gives you a silly amount of control over how you handle your emails.

Providing screenshots was one way that we could have shown off the system, but I've always found screenshots to lack a bit of "punch".

Another option was to setup a "demo" account - but you'd need to have actual data for that to be of any use...

So the best solution I could come up with was a short screencast showing you some of the features of the system.

Please excuse the audio level - you may need to turn up the volume:




You'll find other screencasts over on our video site

Posted by Michele Neylon at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I am a self-confessed addict to statistics. I won't lie

So when someone mentioned the latest "kill IE6" campaign I thought it would be interesting to have a look at browser stats for a couple of the sites that we run

• Our main site (and its various offshoots)
• Irish ISP Test

Irish ISP Test

Over the last 30 days the site has had just under 90 thousand page views

The browser breakdown shows that Internet Explorer is "top dog", with just over 52% of visitors, with Firefox at just under 35%

What about versions?

IE8 accounted for just under 48%, IE7 just under 40%, while IE6 still had nearly 13%!

Compare that to our main site...

Main Blacknight Site

Not surprisingly the visitor profile for our site is quite different.

Firefox is "top dog" this time round, with just under 48%, with Internet Explorer in second place at 33.5%

Checking the versions of Internet Explorer reveals that IE7 is the most popular version,  followed by IE8, with IE6 coming 3rd (9%)

So while there are still a lot of people using IE6 (and IE5!) both IE7 and IE8 are definitely becoming more widespread (at least among the users who visit the two sites mentioned).

If you are a Microsoft Windows user upgrading to IE8 isn't that arduous!

I'm not sure if these "kill IE6" campaigns are a good idea or not.
While I understand that IE6 maybe awkward to code for I also don't like developers denying me access to websites based on my browser version, so if you are going to code for newer versions of Internet Explorer please don't block older ones - let people still access the site, but encourage them gently to upgrade.

Posted by Michele Neylon at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

We'll be upgrading our office phone system on August 17th 2009 from around 10am

During this period some or all of our phone lines may not be working, however email / livechat etc., will be working.

More details here

EDIT: Date changed

Posted by Michele Neylon at 3:16 PM | Permalink

Nominations for the Realex Payments Irish Web Awards are now open.

The categories this year encompass pretty much every imaginable facet of the "web" and include areas such as online publications, technology, sports, podcasting and even Facebook applications.

It will be interesting to see who gets nominated this year.

Full details including the nomination form are available on the site

Posted by Michele Neylon at 12:40 PM | Permalink