I’m changing domains in an effort to save cash. Back in 2002 ICANN created a new domain intended to cater to personal content, like blogs (which had just begun to rise in popularity at the turn of the century). The new domain’s goal was preventing the abuse older domains endured, like “cyber-squatting”. Registers had have to submit proof of their identity, and would only be allowed to register a domain representing their name.
I quickly snatched up “chris.sheppard.name”, even though I had to register for it through a less than reputable company. Although the new top-level domain preservers, the rules that protected it proved unpopular. ICANN recovered from their mistake by opening the remaining .name domains, freeing them from the unpopular policies.
This is where things get confusing. I own “chris.sheppard.name”, not “sheppard.name”. The former is tied to the troublesome policies, making it impossible to transfer to a decent register. The later is easy to transfer, if it weren’t already registered by someone else. Hence, I’ve registered “sheppardfamily.name”, an unfettered .name domain hosted by the very economical NearlyFreeSpeech.net.
The savings? $27 each year.