Just curious if any disucssions/thoughts ongoing at The Planet for providing DNS registration for .org domains?

Is there something "different" about that TLD that is the reason you guys don't offer it?

We do! We just don't offer them through Orbit. Before we became one big happy family The Planet registered .COM and .NET domains to server customers only. EV1Servers registered .COM, .NET, .ORG, .INFO, .BIZ and .US domains to anyone who wanted them. Then we ran into some problems and had to take down the online ordering system.

We still perform registrations manually though and since you're already a Planet customer the billing of your manual .ORG name will be easier. Just e-mail domains@theplanet.com with the domain you want, your customer ID, the whois information you'd like to use and the username and password you'd like the domain to have (for security reasons we recommend changing the admin password during your first login to the domain management panel after a manual registration).

Ummmmm ... that's good news ... but I'm slightly confused here - the "domain management panel" is separate from Orbits (?)

BTW, I already manage the DNS *name server* info from Orbits for the .org ... but sure be nice to see the *registration* in the same place. So after a "manual registration*, is there any way to see it there along with the rest of my domains?

It will be part of a different management panel; the standard management web interface (MWI) for OpenSRS (Tucows' domain management platform). I think the domain management panel that was created in Orbit is awesome. The way it manages multiple domains is a feature I've always thought OpenSRS was missing (Tucows agrees too, and it's something they've been working on for a while).

The Planet panel is, however, limiting in that you need an Orbit account (and therefore a server) to be able to login and manage your domains. The management panel you'll use for a .ORG name can be logged into from the Web site, since having a server was not a requirement for domain registration in Houston: https://domains.theplanet.com/cgi-bin/manage.cgi

If you're still confused I don't blame you one bit. It is a little confusing and I know the Reseller Services and Development teams are working toward a solution that combines the best parts of the Orbit management panel and EV1's system.

Yea ... it is confusing ... appreciate the clarification Brooks - I'm continuing to reply publically since I think others will be interested.

So ... my specific situation is I have a .ORG registered elsewhere that I'd like to move the DNS to ThePlanet (which already handles Name Service and Hosting). Would you suggest I hold off for a bit (and if so how long) so the above changes can be done ... or are you confident that if I swing it, I won't somehow get lost in the shuffle when you upgrade things?

And yea, an *ideal* solution would be for the .ORG to shows up in Orbits alongside the rest of the domains.

Thanks!

I'm confident that if you swing it you won't somehow get lost in the shuffle when we upgrade things.

It's going to be like this:

1. Have a unified panel
2. Leave The Planet domains alone (the panel can change without requiring a migration of domains)
3. Fill out the registry contracts with PIR, Afilias and Neustar / Neulevel so The Planet panel can manage all the TLDs we offer. This is actually the hardest part for us. When I was reseller services manager I used to say that every time we added a new TLD we took a year off my life.
4. Replace EV1 renewal notices with instructions on initiating a transfer request (so domains are transferred at the time of renewal) OR perform a transfer on all EV1 domains without adding a year of registration (that way we could move them and not charge the customer). Domains would be transferred to The Planet, the same way you'd handle any registrar transfer.

A lot of it will likely have to be done on a case by case basis, since locked domains can't be transferred, so we'll have to consult with the registrants of those domains individually. If I'm not mistaken the EV1 retail account has about 50,000 domains currently under management that will all need to become Planet domains. It's gonna be a blast!!!

Cool - one last question (I hope!) - what is the timeframe on all of the above?

Weeks/Months/Years?

That I'm not certain of, but I'm leaning toward months.

Rather than do via Email, I'd like to document this via the Ticket system ... please see #4052149.

Thanks again (and in advance) for your help Brooke.

Anytime, hulkster!

Will resellone.net continue as an OpenHRS, be tied into the planet's registration system, or ???

Obviously there has been frustration over how slow the tucows developers can be to respond to problems or feature requests (months) but at the same time the ability to have child accounts, batch changes, etc. makes it a powerful system, not to mention the competitive pricepoint.

Just a followup/closeout to my initial post, I transferred my .org domain over and all is well. Appreciate the excellent support from ThePlanet and in particular Brooke and Aamir - please see ticket #4052149PLNT - thank you!

As far as I know right now everything will remain the same in terms of ResellOne.net and the use of OpenHRS. I am fairly certain the price will change to reflect Verisign's increase for .COM's in the fall, but I'm sure the price will remain competitive.

Figured I'd followup on this a year later and see if things have changed WRT to having the ability to register .ORG's directly in Orbit ...

Thanks,
alek