> This is a benefit, because running a registry is a technical business, and running a registrar is a customer service business.
I’ve registered and managed domains for my businesses for 20+ years now and I have never once been in contact with a registrar’s customer service. I want a registrar that runs like a technical business. My main problem with them is that they all turn into leaches when they are successful – charging more and more for renewals, filling their websites with more and more spammy “products”.
> I’ve registered and managed domains for my businesses for 20+ years now and I have never once been in contact with a registrar’s customer service.
Interacting with a registrar's domain management web interface is being in contact with the registrar's customer service - it's just automated, rather than manual, customer service.
That’s like saying a gas pump is customer service. That completely dilutes the meaning out to “the customer uses the product”, which is not what people mean when they say “customer service”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_service
Thinking lowly of a company's customer service based on how few person-to-person interactions one has had with them is just about the dumbest stance a person could take on the matter. It's on par with the attitude where workers are elevated for creating fires and then putting them out while those who make sure not to create them in the first place are overlooked (or worse).
You said “the dumbest stance anyone can take on the planet” in reaction to the literal definition. It’s clearly an emotional reaction that doesn’t have any substance to engage with.
> My main problem with them is that they all turn into leaches when they are successful
And now imagine how bad that problem would be if they knew that the only way you could walk away would be by giving up your TLD, to which very likely at least some marketing materials - potentially the whole identity of your company - is tied.
I've had the best luck with providers that run a domain reselling on the side. When I was a Sonic.net customer, I used their domain services, cause it provided just enough for what I need. I currently use nearlyfreespeech.net for most of my domains; it's barebones and I have to pay a service fee to update my DNS server IP, but it's better than dealing with something else; although I have two domains they don't support.
I setup OpenSRS reseller accounts for two internet businesses I worked for in 2000, and I might do it again for a low effort side business, but I haven't convinced myself the paperwork burden is worth it to operate a business.
> I've had the best luck with providers that run a domain reselling on the side.
Yep. This is why I don't mind paying a slight premium to register everything through AWS's Route53.
AWS is making $90b/yr in revenue. Stuff's got to go pretty far off the rails for somebody there to sign off on "Yeah, you know what, I think we really need to start doing upsells and dark patterns in Route53 registrations!"
And if I need to contact support... their support department isn't budgeted based on running a domain registrar. It's budgeted based on supporting their cloud business. Every time I've contacted them about everything they've been quick, efficient, and competent.
So I pay them $14/yr instead of paying Spaceship or Porkbun $10/yr or Internet.bs $13/yr or... If I'm ever at the point where the $1-4/yr matters, I should probably just revisit all these domains I keep renewing.
I’ve registered and managed domains for my businesses for 20+ years now and I have never once been in contact with a registrar’s customer service. I want a registrar that runs like a technical business. My main problem with them is that they all turn into leaches when they are successful – charging more and more for renewals, filling their websites with more and more spammy “products”.