Some familiar faces and a new one in registrar poll.
This is the sixth year of the Domain Name Wire survey. I’ve never pretended that it’s a scientific survey. It’s more of a vote. So I’ve taken small anomalies in stride.
But this year there were some problems with the voting for “best domain registrar”. Without getting into details, there was significant voting that looked like it might be gaming the system.
Thankfully I found a simple solution. I hesitate to mention it here as it could lead to a similar problem next year without the same footprint, but it’s also important to share what these 2011 results cover. The simple solution: remove anyone who said they own fewer than 50 domain names.
I know that’s not perfect. I’m not happy about it. But it removed all of the suspicious votes.
So if you want you can put an asterisk next to this post:
*Top domain name registrars according to people who own 50 or more domain names
OK, so drumroll please….
1. Go Daddy 28%
2. Gandi.net (first year on chart) 21%
3. Moniker 10%
4. Fabulous 9%
5. Name.com 4%
As best I remember….Gandi has been a haven for HIJACKED domain names over the years and does not belong on this list. I have had first hand experience. I think the survey got hijacked on this one.
Godaddy being #1 sickens me after all the bullshit they pull.
Fabulous at #4 also surprises me, I’d have put them first, the only downside I see there is limited extensions available.
Gandi.net up there sure sounds suspicious. Go to any of the forums and very few people use them.
@ Michael – they are a top 25 registrar.
Haters gonna hate (on gandi)
If you don’t know Gandi, it’s probably because you are American. It is an European company so it’s most widely used here on the Old Continent. They’re a really great registrar, by the way!
Lots of votes from France for Gandi in the poll
I’m a customer of GoDaddy (mainly for .com) and Name.com (mainly for .tv) and both are good
To bad, no Asian registrar on the list. 🙁
Speaking of Gandi.net,
What kind of slogan is “no bullshit”. This ain’t the Howard Stern show.
A slogan like that tells you a lot about the company and the people running it. No one with a slogan like that can attract professional registrants, only teenagers and other registrants that are equally shady as the company itself.
Secondly, I own a portfolio of about 3000+ french domain names, and noticed some have been hijacked by Gandi.net.
This wise*** wannabe company is just asking for trouble, that eventually they will get when they least expect it.
Matt,
We have a 10+ proven track record and ethics that no one in the industry matches. For example, we are pretty much the only one in the top 30 Registrars that never did domain name speculation in any way. We’re just registrars, serving our customers. Nothing more, nothing less.
I’ll be happy to discuss it with you anytime, because what you’re saying is simply wrong. We don’t do any advertising (remember the naked superbowl ads ? not us) in any way, and this result is simply the word of mouth effect we are SOLELY using to promote our service.
Best,
stephan
Yes, gandi isnt that good. Double language too.
Gandi has a huge fans community here in France.
They asked for a little support in this survey 😉
The blog post (in French) : http://www.gandi.net/news/fr/2011-01-14/275-miss_nom_de_domaine_2011/
GoDaddy from personal experience these people are about as ethical as there town Las Vegas. I had great domain name which they stole. It was listed under private listing when I went to renew it they changed the password then put me through all kinds of probing for persoanl information to sell. I told them I could prove it was mine as I had the receipt from Wild West Domains that I paid for it. They told me that it was not important who paid for it but who it was registered to and with private registration it was listed uder Wild West domains. In short they stole the name and sold it to the highest bidder.