Renting a domain name...

[Baz Watkins]

Hi all,

Just thinking out loud, but when you buy a domain name you actually just rent it for a year or two, so why don't sellers say that. Also the fact that after a year or two if you don't continue to pay you lose the domain.

Buy 'in my mind' means to purchase outright and own forever...

B.

 

[Dominic Taylor]

You're buying the lease I suppose. The cost of renewal is minimal by comparison though (compared to most buy prices of £xx - £x,xxx).

 

[Glowbridge]

The payment isn't for the domain name. They aren't things that exist. The payment is for services rendered, namely by the worldwide DNS network. You buy the rights to have certain strings of text point to your server, globally.

Technically speaking there is nothing stopping you setting up your own DNS server and having any domain you like (Google.com for example) pointing to your own web server. The hard part is getting all the other DNS servers to trust you over its friends at VeriSign or Nominet etc and using your information instead of theirs.

 

[K9-Steve]

Hi all,

Just thinking out loud, but when you buy a domain name you actually just rent it for a year or two, so why don't sellers say that. Also the fact that after a year or two if you don't continue to pay you lose the domain.

Buy 'in my mind' means to purchase outright and own forever...

B.

Baz, you can always purchase the domain name for 10 years (example). You can also setup auto-renew.

The reason you "lease" the domain is due to running costs of running the DNS (Domain Name Servers/Services) is actually pretty expensive.

 

[Glowbridge]

You aren't even renting the domain. Essentially the payment is for services rendered by the worldwide DNS network.

Technically speaking there is nothing stopping you setting up your own DNS server and pointing Google.com to your own web server. The hard part is getting every other DNS server to trust you more than people like VeriSign, Nominet etc and adopt that information.

 

[fisicx]

I rent beer.

The pub takes my money in return for a short term loan which I deposit in a porcelain trough at some later point in the evening.

 

[cmcp]

Baz you make a good point. What happens on digital death? Who is there to protect and maintain a digital estate when the owner passes on? How do your various providers deal with a deceased account holder?

 

[astutiumRob]

Just thinking out loud, but when you buy a domain name you actually just rent it for a year or two, so why don't sellers say that. Also the fact that after a year or two if you don't continue to pay you lose the domain

You buy a TV licence, but it runs out after a year.
You buy a bus pass, but it expires at the end of the month.

Whilst "subscribe" might be a more definitive term, "buy" is the common parlance - and you should always be told what period you're paying for with a domain registration.