Any suggestions?

[Dan Kaplan]

I alluded previously to having regrets about not checking on the price of rundown.com when it was available for sale.[nbsp][nbsp]At the time, dankaplan.com was my only domain name, and I didn't really care to pursue purchasing another (beyond NIC stuff).[nbsp][nbsp]My site title is Run-Down, so I later set up run-down.com and most recently run-down.net, some time after rundown.com was apparently purchased.

Lately, several people have told me they cannot reach Run-Down.[nbsp][nbsp]Of course, it has turned out that they forgot the hyphen, even though I was careful to point it out...[nbsp][nbsp]I cold always grab rundown.net, but I'm not sure how much use that would be without the .com.

So, to make a long story short, I checked out geomail.com, which is what rundown.com forwards to.[nbsp][nbsp]They are an email service of some sort, and I imagine they use the different domains as email extensions.[nbsp][nbsp]However, I see no mention of rundown.com.[nbsp][nbsp]So, I emailed their support address and kept getting it returned saying it had exceeded the max number of hops, regardless of what email account I sent it from.[nbsp][nbsp]Next step was emailing the person rundown.com is registered to, but no response.[nbsp][nbsp]That's about the end of my ideas.[nbsp][nbsp]:(

Can anyone think of anything I haven't tried?[nbsp][nbsp]I imagine even if it is available, they'll want far more than I'm willing to pay, but I'll at least sleep better at night knowing I tried![nbsp][nbsp]:)

DanK

[Kens]

Dan,

Can't help you with rundown.com; sounds like you're already doing everything you can.

However, if you're opening up the possibility of changing your domain name, you might be interested in checking out this page:

http://123domainme.com/help.html

I accidently found it a few weeks ago when I was looking for a new domain name. It's free and you just enter some keywords and it will send you e-mail results for taken domain names and NOT taken names. While many of the results were not all that creative, I was surprised how many decent names were still available. And, you save a lot of time because it checks a ton of possibilities automatically. Even if you don't use any of the options (which I didn't), it still gets your creative juices flowing. Maybe you'll find other variations on "run" (sans down) that might serve your purposes as well, hopefully better.

Ken

[pridetech]

Dan,
The only thing you can possibly try is phoning him. But it looks like he is not interested in selling.

RunDown.Net appears to be available.

Regards
------------------
http://www.freesoftwaretools.com

[Dan Kaplan]

Hi Ken,

Thanks for the suggestion.[nbsp][nbsp]I don't intend on chaning the name of my site, as I humbly feel I have the best running title there is.[nbsp][nbsp]:)[nbsp][nbsp]Making the domain easier to describe/remember is my main concern.

However, I went ahead and submitted some keywords with 1 2 3 Domain Me! (sounds like a nursery rhyme) and will be interested to see what it comes up with.[nbsp][nbsp]If nothing else, it will be good scouting to see if it's worth recommending to others.

Dash

[Dan Kaplan]

What's the general feeling on .net extensions?[nbsp][nbsp]Are they becoming considered (that can't be correct grammar) more viable now that the .com's are filling up, or do most people still look at them as second rate?[nbsp][nbsp]Hmm, I suppose asking that at FutureQuest.net might yield different answers than elswhere...

Ooh, I can't resist this -- I just got the confirmation message from 1 2 3 Domain Me!, and it included the following:
While you are waiting :), please allow us a brief moment to tell you about our hosting services...

1 2 3 HostMe! (http://www.123hostme.com/) - Affordable web hosting.[nbsp][nbsp]Get an extra 5% our web hosting when you by a domain name from 1 2 3 DomainMe! That's an exact quote.[nbsp][nbsp]Someone sure spent a lot of time proofing that beauty![nbsp][nbsp]Maybe they're the Joker.com of hosting companies?[nbsp][nbsp];)

Dot.net?

[Kens]

Dan,

Sorry, I mistook going from run-down.com to rundown.com as changing name.

Maybe you could use something like this when you mention your domain: "Run-Down.com, just remember Run(dash)Down.com"

I know it's technically a hyphen, but since many people call it a dash and "dash" is associated with running...
Bit of a stretch, but just a thought to help recall.

The hyphen thing is always tough to work with; about the only site I've seen where it sorta works OK is cgi-resources.com since people are used to using a hyphen for cgi-bin.

I believe .net is well enough accepted, but then you run into another version of the same problem where people remember "rundown" but add the "dotcom" from habit and find another way to miss you.

BTW, I certainly wasn't recommending the 123... host, just the domain name generator/checker gizmo.

Ken

[Justin]

.net domains are generally considered to be a network provider of some sort - eg, a web host is generally considered to have a .net domain (though visit www.FutureQuest.com (http://www.FutureQuest.com) :))

Besides - say "FutureQuest dot net" and "FutureQuest dot com" out loud... I think the .net sounds better, though maybe I'm just used to it...

At any rate, unless you are a networking company of some sort, a .net domain is usually considered second rate (eg, your visitors know full well that someone beat you to the com variation). I'm stuck with VDJ.Net because the owners of VDJ.Com wanted $2500 for the domain, which I couldn't justify...

------------------
Justin Nelson
FutureQuest Support

[sheila]

Well, I didn't really want a .com address, since I didn't intend to do anything commercial with my site. .net suited me fine. Anyhow, when I get my site done (ha, ha) a large component of it will be about certain moderated Usenet newsgroups, so .net sounds right to me.

[Dan Kaplan]

Thanks for all the input.[nbsp][nbsp]I disappear for a few hours and come back to lots of reading material.

Maybe you could use something like this when you mention your domain: "Run-Down.com, just remember Run(dash)Down.com" That's actually pretty much what I've been doing.[nbsp][nbsp]Unfortunately, dash is too much like run, so I have to be careful to make it clear that it's not the word dash...[nbsp][nbsp]I figure most people pick up URL's visually, so the majority of the time (fingers crossed) shouldn't be a problem.

Good analysis about where .net is most at home.[nbsp][nbsp]Does .com stand for commercial?[nbsp][nbsp]I had always sort of associated it with communications, but I'm suddenly not so sure.

Disestablishmentarianism (four letters shy of the longest word in the english language :) )

[pridetech]

"Joker.com of hosting companies?"

How about "cybercon.com"? Certainly a strange name for a webhosting company!
------------------
http://www.freesoftwaretools.com

[frankc]

Dan, unless I missed a few fingers and toes, that's a bit more than four shorter than pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

Hey, what can I say...when I was 14 and bored it was something to memorize.[nbsp][nbsp]I only wish, at 49, that I could remember new stuff ;)[nbsp][nbsp]

MemorizeD MeDical MaDness
------------------
Frank
Hosanna! Lutheran Church www.hosannachurch.com (http://www.hosannachurch.com)
[nbsp]--and--
Pacesetter "Moving Message" Signs www.pace-setter.com (http://www.pace-setter.com)
[and IRO www.electronicsign.net] (http://www.electronicsign.net])
[This message has been edited by frankc (edited 02-02-00@09:45 am)]

[Dan Kaplan]

What?![nbsp][nbsp]You mean I spent $18,000 for a year's worth of education only to be mis-informed as to 28 letters being the longest english word?[nbsp][nbsp]:([nbsp][nbsp]Are you sure that's not latin?

Downtrodden

[frankc]

Dan, dig dis decisive Dictionary Dictum:
http://www.m-w.com/mw/mw/wftw/98dec/120798.htm

Dang, dat's dandy!
------------------
da Frank
[This message has been edited by frankc (edited 02-02-00@3:04 pm)]

[Dan Kaplan]

Doh![nbsp][nbsp]Boy do I feel like a tool.

Dflated

[Dan Kaplan]

Yikes, I just heard back from the owner of rundown.com and he said he's looking for offers of $10,000 or more!!![nbsp][nbsp]:([nbsp][nbsp]That's [information super] highway robbery.[nbsp][nbsp]If I officially changed my name to rundown and called myself a celebrity, could I get him for cybersquatting?[nbsp][nbsp];)

Devil

[Justin]

I don't think that would apply if he had the domain *before* you took the name officially :(

DOH!

------------------
Justin Nelson
FutureQuest (http://www.FutureQuest.net/index.php) Support

[Dan Kaplan]

Ok then, what if I had Kurt Vonnegut testify on my behalf?[nbsp][nbsp]"Everything that ever has been always will be and everything that ever will be always has been."[nbsp][nbsp]I think that's in the right order, but then again, that doesn't really matter...[nbsp][nbsp]:)

Dizzying

[Tatu]

heh, have all of you heard of Dot Com Guy by now? Some dude in Texas legally changed his name to "DotCom Guy" and pledged to live in a house starting out with nothing excepta a computer, internet connection, and spending allowance. So in other words, he decided to live off of e-commerce and e-commerce alone as a publicity stunt.

What do I have to say about all of this madness?
It's pretty kewl.

-Tatu

PS: Did I mention, aside from the tons of corporate sponsorsips, that if he does this for one year he also gets paid $90000? He does nothing but order food and play Nintendo all day for "Cha ching!" :)

[Neil128]

dot coms and dot nets, ha, I am fortunate enough to be able to develop a site for a non-profit organization, and who doesnt trust a dot org?

[Dan Kaplan]

Good grief.[nbsp][nbsp]I was thinking maybe I ought to register rundown.net on the off chance something materializes in that direction in the future.[nbsp][nbsp]At least, I could just tell people "rundown.net" and they'd get to it whether or not they include the hyphen.[nbsp][nbsp]Well, I just checked, and someone registered it February 2nd.[nbsp][nbsp]:([nbsp][nbsp]Indecisiveness definitely does not pay in this business...

Hmm, looking at the date I first posted this thread, I can't help but wonder...[nbsp][nbsp]Christopher Rugh, are you out there??? ;)

Distant second

[Justin]

Ouch - that hurts....

[Dan Kaplan]

must....keep....sense....of....humor....

disheartening