Why Don’t More Domainers Visit DomainState?
I find it hard to believe such a valuable resource is so underappreciated by the domain name community. Perhaps the Compete.com and Alexa stats are way off the mark — I can’t see how so few domainers would be taking advantage of it as a free resource and Alexa and Compete suggesting more people visit domain name blogs than DomainState doesn’t make any sense to me.
I do most of my posts over at Namepros, however I very frequently visit both DN Forum and DomainState to read up on what’s going on in the domain name community and what the thoughts of other domainers are on issues that matter to us all. I try and visit all 3 major domain forums at least weekly — many of the topics discussed on them vary, so reading only 1 or 2 domain forums means you’re missing out on topics discussed only elsewhere.
From what I’ve observed, most of the domainers on DomainState have been in the domain business longer than your average Namepros or DNF member — many of the domainers on DomainState (including its founders) were in fact among the first DNF members.
Having more talk about policies and issues pertinent to Internet governance, discussions about the financial health of important players in the domain name business, and other topics a domain newbie may have trouble wrapping his head around, I can understand that DomainState may not be the most “newbie-friendly” domain forum out there. DomainState does have a “Getting Started” domain newbie section which would however certainly complement the domainer education to be had on Namepros and DN Forum. As a new domainer, why wouldn’t you make use of all available free resources? As much as domain name blogs are fun to read and informative, I have yet to come across one which compares to any of these 3 domain forums in terms of the knowledge available for a new domainer to make use of.
Domain forums can be a bit annoying, seeing as their massive amount of content can often make finding what you’re looking for difficult and time-consuming, however it’s well worth the effort.
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July 24th, 2009 at 1:24 am
You beat me to the punch. I’ve been using domainstate for years, but I gotta tell you that they just are not keeping up with the trends. A new design is long overdue for the site and they should update the forum software to better handle the users. I’ve had a great deal of transactions occur on domainstate but when it comes to the community itself, I feel that it is just behind the times. Namepros has a better atmosphere and feels like the admins actually care about the image. Although I do like Namepros and Domainstate, so what can I say!
July 24th, 2009 at 2:46 am
DomainState was the very first forum I found and joined. I agree that you can find helpful information there, and I also like the site layout and the fact that they have not changed it over the years. It’s easy on the eyes and to navigate.
The overwhelming reason the site has lower relative traffic is the extremely suffocating sentiment against new tld’s. When I first joined and tried to share my enthusiasm years ago for the various new extensions, the moderators repeatedly and consistently trashed anything that was not .com, .net, and .org. There were all out wars. This created a toxic environment (as well as wasting time and sidetracking many conversations) in which you could not have enjoyable or thoughtful discussions about .us, .mobi, .biz..info, .tv, etc. This was not just an occasional nuisance. It was an epidemic problem.
Every single instance in which a member would try to share positive news on the new tld’s, a mod would instantly fly in to undermine and trivialize what was shared. This was surprising as well as obviously disappointing. This can only happen so many times before you get the picture. By contrast, there was always a group of open-minded folks at Namepros and DNForum who enjoyed talking about the non-com extensions so those forums thrived for obvious reasons.
It’s really a shame because DS is/was a good forum, and safesys I found to have a somewhat more balanced view. I have over 2000 posts there and have tried repeatedly over the years to engage others in discussion of the tld’s that I was interested in. The one thing that emerged like clockwork was the chronic put downs, often argued as ‘facts”, but nothing more than someone else’s personal bias. The other thing I might add is that while various members are allowed to aggressively defend .com, you may be threatened with being kicked off the site should you reciprocate in kind. In other words, political correctness is probably more important there than any other forum. Being an open .com advocate will buy you points there and an extra free pass or two.
So the MO is peruse the site for helpful industry news, and look for common ground with mods and other members. There is usually always a common interest which domainers share and focusing on that will work fine on the site.
July 24th, 2009 at 7:44 am
I’ve surfed there a few times, although the design put me off (plus I’m not a fan of vBulletin’s end user ‘experience’, but NamePros and DNF offer some great posts, which is why I frequent there).
I may try visiting it again soon though, it’s worth a shot
July 24th, 2009 at 8:40 am
I think domainstate is a great forum one of the few i go to often there is a lot less noise unlike other forums.
I find that newbies come in saying that .rlgk is the next .com and other crap is what draws down other opinions which if you dont want than dont make such a statement.
It is apparent from the appraisal section that a good number of people would benefit form reading and understanding successful domainers rather than benefiting from someone else telling you what you want to hear like buying lkoriuoid. com will make you millions.
and as far as the design go i like it for what it is i don’t go to sites for flashing lights and buzzers i go for information some might try nickelodeon.com that might hold your attention better.
July 24th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
I joined DomainState.com looong time ago and stopped visiting after 2-3 months from my first login
What i didn’t like is that the admin and mods were not so polite taking sides and not try to really do their admin/mod job
This was not just one subject but nearly all the subjects i created. From appraisals to simple domain opinion at other topics
I agree with Menius before especially about the phrase “toxic environment”
What i like in Namepros.com is that were friendly for newbies from the day i know this forum. Polite and straight to their rules.
I also didn’t like from the start DNF but it’s 2nd right now to my appreciation list
So for me it’s :
1. Namepros.com
2. DNForum.com
3. -
No DomainState.com to my TOP1000 domain resources and not suggested to new domainers too
July 25th, 2009 at 4:43 am
LLLL - I’d write about Domainstate myself, as a domainer who started buying his first domain in 1995, except all my comments would magnify what my friend M The Menius stated “…(I) tried to share my enthusiasm years ago for the various new extensions, the moderators repeatedly and consistently trashed anything that was not .com, .net, and .org. There were all out wars. This created a toxic environment…” That one sentence sums up the “open idea enviroment” of DS. There isn’t the expectation of change in ideas there, and when the mods and admins actually pitch in with their outdated but fever-pitched desire to behead anyone and any of their ideas for something different, it kinda kills the vibe of wanting to invest more time there.
@T Kirnos - you stated it just like I perceived DS too, and I have been a member of all the public and private domain boards. Only one other “secret” board had the same mentality as DS, but their members were at least visibly successful contributors to domaining.
My fav forums would follow your selection, either NP or DNF can be switched as #1 or #2. I prefer to read Domaining.com blog reports now, with my favorite blogs being Dub-A’s Domainnamewire.com, Mikey-B’s Thedomains.com, and El-Silver’s Elliotsblog.com. Some newer blogs, such as LLLL.com are coming up nicely!
Keep up the good work, but my advice is spend more time listening to domainers who are in the present, as opposed to those still looking at domains like it was 1999, as DS seems to do.
July 25th, 2009 at 8:02 am
What about cctlds.com? i like the forum though there isn’t a lot of activity sometimes (and perhaps a little ironic that the .com extension was used for a forum dedicated to cctlds.) I’ve used (and still use) the others. DNforum I use the least. Probably because I’m a cheap bastard. Namepros I like because it’s a mixed community of not just domainers but web developers also. However, navigation can be a little difficult and there can be significant downtime. I also like DomainState and probably freguent it the most. However, I’ve had a lot of posts just completely ignored especially in the appraisal section and that, to me, is the biggest turnoff of the forum.
July 25th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Hi Chris,
Have to agree with you about cctlds.com. Another nice one is Domaineur.com for French domainers.
July 25th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Why? Because they’re not very welcoming to new people at DomainState.