222024-06-19 17:10:28RobinTempletonmention a couple gandi alternatives212022-01-26 22:50:41JesseShumwaychanges navajos to shelob202020-12-30 05:25:53RobinTempletonhttps-ify gandi link192020-12-30 05:15:59RobinTempletonremove godaddy recommendation from 2007 (see last revision for wp "controversies" link)182020-12-30 05:05:03RobinTempletonswap gandi and godaddy recommendations, add extra info on each172014-12-16 05:44:35c-73-11-158-140.hsd1.wa.comcast.netRemoved my recommendation for domain registrar162013-10-15 11:38:09DaniilFrumin152013-06-24 17:55:42DavidKerschneradded my own recomendation for domain registrar142013-02-13 04:36:59RobinTempletongandi endorsement132013-01-14 07:02:31ClintonEbadicat122009-03-13 12:06:52AdamChlipalaHCoop subdomains112008-07-07 04:28:03localhostconverted to 1.6 markup102008-04-20 15:43:16AdamChlipalaNew nameserver recommendations; fix a typo92008-04-05 06:07:42MichaelOlsons/ns1/ns5/82007-12-15 17:29:05AdamChlipalamembers2 -> members72007-11-12 18:01:37MichaelOlsonMigrate info from DomainRegistration page62007-11-12 06:30:43RyanMikulovskywe don't endorse registrars.52007-11-12 05:55:24MichaelOlsonFinish for now42007-11-12 05:51:45MichaelOlsonMove pitfalls higher. s/email/contact info/32007-11-12 05:48:28MichaelOlsonUpdate email addr warning22007-11-12 05:47:12MichaelOlsonDocument managing dns using registrar12007-11-12 05:42:01MichaelOlsonInitial contentsThis page explains how to buy yourself a domain name from a registrar, and how to manage it at HCoop.

If you don't want to pay to register a "real" domain, then you can request a domain of the form SOMETHING.hcoop.net from us. Use the domain permissions request form and then, when you receive a confirmation that your request has been approved, configure your subdomain as usual with DomTool.

Otherwise, if you want to manage a domain with DomTool, you must first buy a domain from a domain registrar. Search for "domain registrar" via your search engine of choice to see several of the available options. HCoop as a whole does not endorse any particular domain registrar. That said, here are a few that some of our members like. FrankBynum and RobinTempleton recommend . They are a French registrar who has a nice English-language site and are one of the only few registrars that declares in the agreement that you actually own the domain name. HCoop uses Gandi for its own domain names. However, Gandi's ownership has changed since that recommendation, along with a considerable increase in prices; there may be more suitable "default" registrars by now. Members are presently evaluating alternatives like Namecheap, Porkbun and (for paid TLS certificates) ssl2buy.

Be sure that you provide valid contact information. Your domain can be disabled if someone complains that your contact information is incorrect. Don't let that domain lapse. Be careful not to let your domain lapse. Otherwise, unscrupulous people may buy it and then try to sell it back to you at a profit. Lock your domain once it is set up. All registrars should permit you to "lock" your domain. The reason you want to do this is because you can lose your domain by not answering an email from ICANN within 5 days if your domain is not locked. Do this after setting up your nameserver information. You can lock and unlock your domain at any time, though the change may not be instantaneous.

If your registrar provides a web interface for managing the DNS records of your domain, then you can either use their web interface to fully manage your DNS, or you can use DomTool. Before choosing either option, you will first want to request control of a domain using the HCoop Portal. Be aware that it sometimes takes a while for the changes that you make to the DNS records to propagate to all ISP's, depending on how long various ISP's cache data. Usually by 3 days they are all updated.

If you want to use your registrar's web interface to manage DNS for you domain, you can do that. Just be sure to set the DNS option to noDns in the DomTool configuration file for your domain. Here's an example: You should set up a CNAME (or an A) record for your domain pointing to shelob.hcoop.net, the current machine server users web sites.

If you want to use DomTool to manage your DNS, then use your registrar's web interface to specify the nameservers ns1.hcoop.net and ns2.hcoop.net for your domain. Then read the DomTool User Guide for instructions on using DomTool. There's also a thorough overview of the DNS directives at DomTool/Examples, in the DNS section. CategoryMemberManual CategoryMemberManual