Friday, 9 December 2011
The personal, non-profit, domain name I really, really want.
Written for South African individuals interested in registering a personal, non-profit domain, as well as the .za Domain Name Authority.
Given that www.travisnoakes.co.za is the least inappropriate choice for me to register my personal, non-commercial domain with as a South African researcher, what could be an ideal choice and more long-term customer offering in a better domain name system?
In my humble opinion, the ideal domain must first include South Africa's top level ZA domain; this is relevant as its developing world context not only shapes and informs my research and what I write on, but also serves the audience I am most interested to reach.
Secondly, the domain should include my first and second name to ensure ease of searchability; http://travisnoakes.za is a simple solution that is easy to remember for typing in. Since my blog features posts related to research, plus other interests, I am keener for it to be a personal blog than one featuring another descriptor, such as http://travisnoakes.research.za, which may not be relevant should I decide to work full-time outside academia after completing my PhD.
This is what I really, really want and I shall be asking the .za Domain Name Authority if offering a choice like http://travisnoakes.za is feasible. I hope to and include their feedback in a future post on this issue; hopefully this idea can move from pie-in-the-sky to reality :) !
I shall also ask whether I can purchase an 'archival' domain option to store my blogposts for digital posterity. For this, adding 'archive' as a second level domain could work nicely: http://travisnoakes.archive.za. Here's hoping it won't be needed anytime soon, though...
Would you prefer domain name solutions like these? If so, please leave your thoughts in the comments box below. Thanks.
Given that www.travisnoakes.co.za is the least inappropriate choice for me to register my personal, non-commercial domain with as a South African researcher, what could be an ideal choice and more long-term customer offering in a better domain name system?
In my humble opinion, the ideal domain must first include South Africa's top level ZA domain; this is relevant as its developing world context not only shapes and informs my research and what I write on, but also serves the audience I am most interested to reach.
Secondly, the domain should include my first and second name to ensure ease of searchability; http://travisnoakes.za is a simple solution that is easy to remember for typing in. Since my blog features posts related to research, plus other interests, I am keener for it to be a personal blog than one featuring another descriptor, such as http://travisnoakes.research.za, which may not be relevant should I decide to work full-time outside academia after completing my PhD.
This is what I really, really want and I shall be asking the .za Domain Name Authority if offering a choice like http://travisnoakes.za is feasible. I hope to and include their feedback in a future post on this issue; hopefully this idea can move from pie-in-the-sky to reality :) !
I shall also ask whether I can purchase an 'archival' domain option to store my blogposts for digital posterity. For this, adding 'archive' as a second level domain could work nicely: http://travisnoakes.archive.za. Here's hoping it won't be needed anytime soon, though...
Would you prefer domain name solutions like these? If so, please leave your thoughts in the comments box below. Thanks.
Location: Cape Town, Western Cape Province, RSA
Cape Town, South Africa
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orcid.org/0000-0001-9566-8983
I have just submitted the following email form content via http://zadna.org.za:
ReplyDelete"To whom it may concern,
Will individual South Africans ever be able to buy a domain name matching their name (i.e. in my case http://travisnoakes.za) with no second level domains?
After looking at many ISP options, it looks like the domain name choices available to South African customers only cater to corporates. Does .zadna have any plans to offer more suitable options for individual, non-profit researchers?
Thanks,
Travis"
Looking forward to their response...
The .za Domain Name Authority gave me the following prompt feedback:
ReplyDeleteThank you for the mail received.
Please take note, you cannot register a domain name in the second level in the .za namespace. Registrations for domain names can only be at the third level, i.e. travinoakes.co.za.
There are a number of second level domains that carters for individuals i.e. nom.za and org.za second level domains specifically for non-profit organizations.
Since its assumption of the management responsibility of the .za namespace, the Authority put a moratorium on new domains. This moratorium does not necessarily prohibit new domain applications, but suspends consideration of new domain applications until the Authority has done sufficient work of bringing .za domains to a certain level of service standards.
Kind Regards
Cedrick Lumadi {NC}| .za Domain Name Authority
I appreciate your speedy, in-depth feedback, Cedric.
ReplyDeleteI will register a nom.za address via http://www.nom.za and see how it works as an adjunct to my co.za blog address. Hopefully, it will be seamless and I look forward to using travisnoakes.nom.za as the web address on my email signature, new business card, website listings, et al. !
Best wishes,
Travis