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End User Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a domain name?
- Registry? Registrar? Reseller? Registrant? What do these words mean?
- Once I have a domain name, how can I make changes to it?
- I forgot/lost the login information for my domain.
- How do I change ownership of my domain name? (ie. I want to sell it or give it to someone else)
- Who does a registered name actually belong to, the end user or the OpenSRS Reseller?
- How much control do domain owners have over their domain?
- What does REGISTRAR-LOCK & REGISTRAR-HOLD mean?
- Some WHOIS databases say my domain expires in 2004, OpenSRS says 2003, which is right?
- What happens to domain names when they expire?
- My domain name is in the Redemption Period and I cannot contact my reseller.
- Does OpenSRS register in any other top level domains (.ca, .us, .co, .uk, etc.)?
- What's the difference between .com, .net, .org domain names?
- What's the difference between a ccTLD and a gTLD?
- This is fascinating. Where can I go for more information on the domain name space?
End User Answers
- What is a domain name?
A domain name is essentially a signpost on the Internet. Every website you've ever been to, and
every email you've ever composed, has used a domain name in its address. People register domain
names in order to 'stake a claim' to a particular name -- whether for business or personal reasons.
Once a domain name is registered to a person or company, it is that person's to use exclusively
as long as they continue to pay the yearly renewal fee. Our domain name is tucows.com, and we also
own opensrs.com, opensrs.net and opensrs.org
- Registry? Registrar? Reseller? Registrant? What do these words mean?
Registrar: A "Registrar" (or "Domain Name Registrar") is an organization like Tucows or
Network Solutions that has control over the granting of domains within certain TLDs (top level domains,
like the generic .com/.org/.net or country-specific .ca/.us/.mx etc.).
Registry: The 'Registry' is the backend that registrars have shared access to. Each registrar
writes new names to a central registry database, from which the authoritative root (essentially, a table of
all domain names on the Internet) is built.
Reseller: A reseller is a company that uses the Tucows/OpenSRS registrar system to
provide domain registration services to the general public.
Registrant: A registrant is the person or company who purchases a domain name. For example,
Jessica Smith (registrant) registers the name example.com through an OpenSRS Reseller.
- Once I have a domain name, how can I make changes to it?
You can make changes to your domain name by using the OpenSRS
management interface at: http://manage.opensrs.net.
Bear in mind you'll need your domain's username and password to make the desired changes.
If you do not have the username and password or have forgotten them, please contact your
OpenSRS Reseller for assistance.
- I forgot/lost the login information for my domain.
Your login information can be obtained from your OpenSRS Reseller, please contact them directly for assistance.
They are able to email it to the admin contact email address listed for your domain.
If the admin contact email address listed is no longer valid, the domain owner must print, sign and fax us the
Administrative Email Address Change form located at
http://www.adminchange.com. Our fax number is 1-416-531-2516
If your OpenSRS Reseller is refusing to provide the admin/owner contact listed with the login information
please contact our Compliance Department at compliance@opensrs.org.
- How do I change ownership of my domain name? (ie. I want to sell it or give it to someone else)
You can simply give your username and password to the new owner
and allow them to change the contact information using the
Management Web Interface.
They should also move the domain into a seperate profile with a unique username and password.
To change the contact information:
Log into https://manage.opensrs.net, and click
on the "Organization" link and update the information.
To move the domain into it's own management profile:
Log into http://manage.opensrs.net and
click on the "Manage Profile" link. From there click on the "Change Ownership of
Domain" link and enter in the new username & password of the profile you want
to add this domain to, or create a new profile and provide a username
and password. If you are moving the domain to an existing profile,
click on the "Move to existing profile" checkbox and type the name of a domain
that is already in the profile into the "Previously registered
domain" field. Click on "Change Owner" and the domain will be
in the new profile.
* It is important to remember that anyone with the login information can change all the
contacts/ownership information for all the domains in the management profile.
- Who does a registered name actually belong to, the end user or the OpenSRS Reseller?
A domain name is owned by the registrant listed in the
WHOIS database. The designated administrative contact
generally has full control over the domain as well. In addition to this, please contact your OpenSRS
Reseller to verify if they have any additional Terms & Conditions posted on their website.
- How much control do domain owners have over their domain?
Domain owners, in general, have full control over their OpenSRS
registered domain names. This means that the domain owner has the power to:
a) Change admin/technical and billing contacts for the domain.
b) Change ownership of the domain.
c) Change the nameservers that are authoritative for the domain.
d) Create sub-users and enable them to change some/all of the options in a, b and c above.
e) Change the password that enables a, b, c, and d above.
As an end-user, it's unlikely you'll care to bother with such details. If this is the case, there are
many OpenSRS Resellers that offer to manage these services as a 'value-add' to their registration service.
Please review individual OpenSRS Resellers policy pages for information on how they deal with domain authority.
- What does REGISTRAR-LOCK & REGISTRAR-HOLD mean?
If you have chosen to lock your domain name to prevent unwanted transfers and name server changes, the domain status
will show as "REGISTRAR-LOCK". A "REGISTRAR-HOLD" is normally applied to your domain name when it expires.
The main difference between the two is that REGISTRAR-HOLD will prevent the domain name from working.
To enable or disable locking please contact your OpenSRS Reseller directly.
- Some WHOIS databases say my domain expires in 2004, OpenSRS says 2003, which is right?
The expiry date located in the OpenSRS WHOIS database is always correct. In order for Tucows/OpenSRS to hold onto a
domain name when it expires we must submit a temporary renewal to the registry. This is what you are seeing when
you perform a WHOIS lookup at http://www.internic.net/whois.html on
your expired domain name.
Please also note the DISCLAIMER in the Internic WHOIS:
NOTICE: The expiration date displayed in this record is the date the
registrar's sponsorship of the domain name registration in the registry is
currently set to expire. This date does not necessarily reflect the expiration
date of the domain name registrant's agreement with the sponsoring
registrar. Users may consult the sponsoring registrar's Whois database to
view the registrar's reported date of expiration for this registration.
- What happens to domain names when they expire?
Expired domains will be held at OpenSRS for a grace period defined by the registry.
For .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .us, .name, and .cc the grace period is 40 days.
For .ca it is 30 days.
For .tv it is 55 days.
For .cn it 10 days.
.uk domains are held until the 25th day of the month after they expire.
There are no grace periods for .de domains. They are deleted on the day after the
expiration date.
During the grace period all associated services will cease working until the name is
renewed (if and when this happens). As well, name server/DNS changes will not be possible.
If a renewal is not made by the end of the grace period the domains will sent to the registry for deletion and
returned to the available pool. Deletion at the registry level can take 1 to 10 days.
Please note, .com and .net registrations will enter into a new "Redemption Period" state and will be held at VeriSign
(the .com & .net registry) for an additional 30 days. During the Redemption Period it is still possible to
recover the domain name and have it renewed. For information on process please contact your OpenSRS Reseller directly.
- My domain name is in the Redemption Period and I cannot contact my reseller.
If your domain name has gone into the Redemption Grace Period and you cannot contact your OpenSRS Reseller
please e-mail our Sales Department at sales@opensrs.org for assistance.
- Does OpenSRS register in any other top level domains (.ca, .us, .co, .uk, etc.)?
Currently, OpenSRS offers registration services for .com, .net, .org,
.info, .biz, .us, .cn, .cc, .tv, .name, .de, .co.uk, .org.uk, and .ca through its
Registration Service Providers (Resellers). For a list of OpenSRS Resellers please visit
http://referrals.tucows.com.
- What's the difference between .com, .net, .org domain names?
Originally, the three letter extensions after the dot (or Top Level Domain/TLD) were meant
to denote whether the domain name was being used for business (.com) charity/non-profit (.org) or
for a technology based company (.net). However, with the explosion of the Internet
(and specifically, the world wide web) as a new business medium, the lines were blurred, and
companies and individuals alike started cross-registering domains (ie. example.com, example.net, example.org)
just to protect their interests. Now, .com, .net, and .org names (the generic Top Level Domains) can be
used for any purpose.
- What's the difference between a ccTLD and a gTLD?
A gTLD is a generic Top Level Domain. These are top level domains
that are NOT affiliated with any country and can be registered
by anyone for a fee.
ccTLDs are Country Code Top Level Domains. These are the two character
top level domain names affiliated with various countries around
the world. Many ccTLDs are closed or restricted, requiring proof
of residency in the country in question. Others are not restricted,
and can be purchased much like gTLDs. For a full list of ccTLD's please
visit http://www.iana.org/cctld/cctld-whois.htm
- This is fascinating. Where can I go for more information on the domain name space?
For a detailed account on the evolution of the domain space as
a business phenomenon, please visit http://www.icann.org.
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