Now is the time to renew it or lose it - What? (1 Viewing)

Got this GoDaddy branded email from CIRA today for domains I have at GoDaddy and left to expire.

I did not intend to renew these two domains but I have never seen this type of email from CIRA before.


They say to give OUR godaddy care guides a call.









Looks like there may be more godaddy integration coming to .ca!

Guess CIRA is next on GoDaddy's acquisition hit list

Spex said:

Guess CIRA is next on GoDaddy's acquisition hit list

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It is strange, notice this too

Links to GoDaddy Terms and the RENEW button links to GoDaddy as well

https://www.godaddy.com/en-ca/legal/agreements/email-offer-agreement?isc=tfg50d

Doesn't seem right that CIRA should be sending out these kind of emails with registrar branding in them.

MapleDots said:

Got this GoDaddy branded email from CIRA today for domains I have at GoDaddy and left to expire.

I did not intend to renew these two domains but I have never seen this type of email from CIRA before.


They say to give OUR godaddy care guides a call.

Looks like there may be more godaddy integration coming to .ca!

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NoDaddy

domains said:

Doesn't seem right that CIRA should be sending out these kind of emails with registrar branding in them.

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Agree wholeheartedly

Every link and every aspect of the email is from GoDaddy except the CIRA logo and return address.

I guess the question is....

Is there any other registrar sending similar with CIRA as a partner when domains hit the redemption phase?

MapleDots said:

Every link and every aspect of the email is from GoDaddy except the CIRA logo and return address.

I guess the question is....

Is there any other registrar sending similar with CIRA as a partner when domains hit the redemption phase?

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That is indeed the question....oh Richard! @richard.schreier

This is a co-branded marketing program we are conducting as a trial with Godaddy where we are reaching out to domain owners that have domains in redemption. If successful, we may look at expanding the program to any other registrar interested in participating. And indeed, any registrar is eligible to participate in a similar program if they wish to.

Well, I agree that CIRA should put a direct link to the registrar's website where the domain can be renewed. But I don't agree that it should be a completely custom template for each registrar, allowing it to become a bunch of marketing baloney. The "valuation" link is beyond what CIRA should be allowing.

IMHO, if CIRA is sending the email, it shouldn't look like anything but an official CIRA notice, that is completely consistent across all registrars. Nothing prevents the registrar from already sending their own messages, in fact, they may have access to many additional email addresses (one for the account and others for whois contacts). So in theory, if there's any chance that the registrant wants to renew the domain, they already have all of the tools to do so.

So CIRA's email shouldn't be any more than fulfilling their official duty of a final notification, with a few courtesy bits of info, that CIRA should require from every registrar. Those bits of info should be concisely listed together in a box, separating it from CIRA's content, and should include the following:

1. the Registrar's renewal link, pre-populated with the domain name.
2. the Registrar's support phone #
3. the Registrar's support email address
4. I'm okay with a small registrar branded logo, as long as it is listed in the box with the rest of this info, and not elsewhere.

And I say it should be required because it should be consistent, and if CIRA think's its s a good practice for the sake of the Registrant, then its a good practice for all Registrars, therefore it should be consistent and required.

So while the idea is sound, there's no need to do a test with one registrar, especially one that could easily pay off CIRA employees for preferential treatment. CIRA has to choose to do business in a way that looks completely unbiased and transparent and on behalf of the REGISTRANT and not anyone else. If you need to test, you have your own test registrars for that. This isn't rocket science or brain surgery, its a bit of text and a link. Just mandate the collection of the data from each registrar and then implement it. This way it will look like CIRA implemented this for the good of the Registrant, and not for the benefit of CIRA and/or a deep pocketed Registrar as another marketing opportunity.

richard.schreier said:

This is a co-branded marketing program we are conducting as a trial with Godaddy where we are reaching out to domain owners that have domains in redemption. If successful, we may look at expanding the program to any other registrar interested in participating. And indeed, any registrar is eligible to participate in a similar program if they wish to.

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This is absolutely pathetic and reflects poorly on CIRA. So much for your proudly Canadian BS.

DomainTrader said:

This is absolutely pathetic and reflects poorly on CIRA. So much for your proudly Canadian BS.

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Would have been nice to partner with a local .ca registrar first.

I have a few topics were I predicted GoDaddy would get into TBR buy buying up an existing entity. A few members disagreed with me but I stand behind that prediction. GoDaddy wants it all, they will not leave the Canadian TBR market untouched.

This is just the beginning....

Dramatic pause

The one thing that always stands out for me, is that CIRA is one of the few registries that message clients/registrants directly. This doesn't always help since not all clients are aware of CIRA's existence and role.

FM said:

The one thing that always stands out for me, is that CIRA is one of the few registries that message clients/registrants directly. This doesn't always help since not all clients are aware of CIRA's existence and role.

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I personally like the registry having some control and responsibility towards the registrant as the registrar may not always do so. And the way spam filters can be overzealous, I like the fact that there's a second source of critical email messages as well. Kudos to CIRA for keeping some level of control - as I think that is truly best for the registrant. A ccTLD should always be about what is best for the registrant, and not the registrar. So that is a major point of difference between a ccTLD and other classes of TLDs.

rlm said:

I personally like the registry having some control and responsibility towards the registrant as the registrar may not always do so. And the way spam filters can be overzealous, I like the fact that there's a second source of critical email messages as well. Kudos to CIRA for keeping some level of control - as I think that is truly best for the registrant. A ccTLD should always be about what is best for the registrant, and not the registrar. So that is a major point of difference between a ccTLD and other classes of TLDs.

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I can see that there are advantages and some security in it too, don't get me wrong. For "normal" users domains are already complicated enough though and ultimately making things easier for end-users helps all of us.

rlm said:

I personally like the registry having some control and responsibility towards the registrant as the registrar may not always do so. And the way spam filters can be overzealous, I like the fact that there's a second source of critical email messages as well. Kudos to CIRA for keeping some level of control - as I think that is truly best for the registrant. A ccTLD should always be about what is best for the registrant, and not the registrar. So that is a major point of difference between a ccTLD and other classes of TLDs.

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To expand on that...

The two domains in question are in my godaddy account set not to renew and godaddy has been diligent in reminding me that the domains are going to expire.

That is ok because that is what I want, but I can see in @rlm 's scenario that if my spam filters caught godaddy and for some reason I did not get the emails then it's good to get another email by CIRA. That one is branded from godaddy because that is where my domains are.

Now here is the clincher.... so only godaddy .ca holders have this extra protection because cira has the agreement with godaddy to send out these emails.

I like the emails because more safety is always better but I don't like the fact that only godaddy has it but Richard has already clarified that it's a pilot program so hopefully we will see the program expanded to our local .ca registrars as well.

FM said:

I can see that there are advantages and some security in it too, don't get me wrong. For "normal" users domains are already complicated enough though and ultimately making things easier for end-users helps all of us.

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I agree, but since when is knowledge a bad thing? Domain owners should know the differences between TLDs and registries. So a registrar should help explain that part rather than hope to hide it.

CIRA is doing their part to allow the cobranded messages to help eliminate some confusion - so this is just a good and logical thing (assuming it doesn't get out of control and utilized as a marketing message rather than the domain status notification it is intended to be).

A registrar should help guide a customer into the best choice for them. The registrar should care which TLD they sell domains on, it shouldn't be the "sell them anything and everything" attitude that many have. Think of yourselves like a doctor, you wouldn't say, "you need some drugs, so here's a prescription for all of them", you should be saying "you need a domain, let us help you find the best ones for your situation". You'll get more sales to end users by passing on knowledge and logic rather than looking like you're trying to sell them anything and everything under the sun.

It reminds me of taking a bus tour once that dropped us off in a shopping district in Cancun, where you're forced to depart the bus through a tunnel that leads directly into the back door of a souvenir shop so that you have to navigate through the gauntlet of junk trinkets and sales people before getting onto the street, and then being inundated by more hawkers and junk dealers endlessly until you just leave the entire area. I feel like that's what most registrars have become with all these new TLDs.

rlm said:

I agree, but since when is knowledge a bad thing? Domain owners should know the differences between TLDs and registries. So a registrar should help explain that part rather than hope to hide it.

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Knowledge is a good thing; just most customers aren't interested in too much information, which drives some of them away. And then, when it's too late because there's an issue they are forced to learn.