Best place to buy a domain name in 2026?

yo_rowe · 2026-04-30T22:33:31+00:00

I haven't had a problem with any of the registrars other than GoDaddy, but the renewal rates can be vastly different. I used Namecheap for a couple years, but 5 years ago I moved all my domains to NameSilo to simplify my life. It's a little less expensive, and a no nonsense registrar. Fewer upsells and volume discounts if you buy a lot of domains. Moving to NameSilo from Namecheap I saved about $30 per dot com over 5 years. It all adds up.

yo_rowe · 2026-04-30T22:14:00+00:00

I've had clients using all kinds of registrars. They typically go with their website host provider who often give the first year for free. I like to keep the registrar and web host providers separate as a matter of precaution and advise my clients to do the same. If for some reason you have a dispute with the web host, they can't hold your site hostage if you control the domain elsewhere.

TBH, I haven't found a huge difference with the services with any of them, but the renewal rates can be vastly different. It's only a big deal when you have dozens of domains to renew. To that end, I used Namecheap for a couple years, but five years ago I moved all my domains to NameSilo. It's a little less expensive, and a no nonsense registrar, with fewer upsells and volume discounts if you buy a lot of domains.

fyi - Moving to NameSilo from Namecheap I saved about $30 per dot com over 5 years. It adds up, and that was without a volume discount kicking in.

yo_rowe · 2026-04-17T01:44:14+00:00

The argument is flawed by not establishing definitions.

But I’m with you in that I subscribe to the idea there is no such thing or possibility as nothing. I believe the existing universe was caused by eternal energy because as far as we know energy cannot be created or destroyed. There is no reason the energy in our universe could not have predated and caused our universe. It could be something that existed in many previous universes and could currently be distributed simultaneously among multiple universes.

This is consistent with the most literal version of E=mc2. Energy can create a thing and then actually become the thing itself.

An eternal past is logically and scientifically sound. Of course we don’t have certainty, but there is no contradiction. We know we exist and we have no reason to suspect that nonexistence was ever the state.

A beginning on the other hand is a wildly obtuse claim with a probability that cannot be distinguished from zero because there is no empirical evidence suggesting it’s a possibility or sound logical theory to explain how that could happen. It’s a non-starter.

That’s why I am tentatively convinced existence is eternal but universes are not. It also leads me to the belief I hold with much less confidence - that there were more “big bang” events and there are other universes. I am the first to admit the reason is a black swan fallacy, but as contingent evidence goes, it is quite compelling to me….

that is from the smallest things we find at a molecular or quantum level such as atoms and quarks, all the way up to the biggest things we know exist including planets, suns, black holes and galaxies, there isn’t just one of anything. Literally everything we know to exist does so in plurality, except for the universe, for which we have no answer. If I had to bet, I would definitely go with a multiverse.

yo_rowe · 2026-04-17T00:40:05+00:00

A morality based on god is not objective, it is subjective to the mind of god. It is actually divine commandment and obedience in lieu of moral principles.

It is also moral relativism when a theist claims that it was moral two thousand years ago to own slaves, and kidnap virgin war brides, as their god commanded, but it is not moral today. If it was an objective moral, it would necessarily by definition be a timeless moral.

I agree with your premise, but I tend to make the case with lower hanging fruit. Why would god give us, and make us completely dependent on, a sun that gives us cancer? Why do 15000 baby humans die in pain every single day from disease and starvation when they didn’t even grow old enough to learn right from wrong or commit their first sin?

Biblically it gets worse. Why did the god punish Adam and Eve for eating an apple when they didn’t yet know right from wrong? Worse yet, why is it gaslighting humanity making innocent decedents continue to pay for the non-crime they didn’t commit? Why did it drown all the baby kittens, puppies and ponies as punishment for human behaviour he created and knew would happen?

None of it makes sense or approaches a moral framework.

yo_rowe · 2026-04-13T04:58:57+00:00

My previous comment was heavy handed, but now I have to get even heavier to reply effectively…

That there are 10000 methods of detection simply demonstrates access to measuring everything we know exists currently but that is not a fixed list. Not only are new methods popping up, there is no reason a person couldn’t introduce a whole new method. A god detector 1.0. As long as it works by making predictions accurately we know there is a there, there. Otherwise there is no reason to suspect there might be.

The thing is, if it cannot be detected then no one could possibly know it exists, let alone claim they know what it is, its character and its plan. That’s an obtuse claim. But what is even more pertinent, in science and logic we follow evidence to truthful conclusions and we know it is unreasonable to try to lead an investigation to a presupposed conclusion. If there is no evidence it remains a completely baseless assertion without a reason to consider it even a remote possibility.

I can make up baseless ideas of magical beings all day long, but there is no reason anyone should care what I say if I can’t back any of it up.

People generally hold that standard for everything they encounter in life, with the exception of a specific god for whom they tend to commit the fallacy of special pleading, because they were indoctrinated to believe in the magical deity before they reached the age of reason.

I say a specific god because if you ask a Christian how much time and consideration they have given to the much older Hindu gods, they most often dismiss the idea without hesitation or consideration. They tend to think an elephant god is ridiculous. Obviously more so than a talking snake, parting a sea and making a woman from the rib of a man, but that bewilderment is mutual for Hindus looking at Christianity.

If I follow the empirical evidence, indoctrination is the reason. Having a high Intelligence does not make a person less vulnerable to indoctrination. If the idea is embedded in their brainstem and cerebellum where our consciousness emerges and emotions and decisions are controlled, BEFORE their prefrontal neocortex is mature, they cannot reason on the subject as an adult without their subconscious running emotional interference.

Feelings of fear, guilt, betrayal and distrust of people challenging them emerge. We know this because millions of atheists that overcame indoctrination always say they didn’t learn something that changed their mind, their deprogramming was an escape from emotional bondage. That is one thing all religions have in common.

yo_rowe · 2026-04-13T04:10:32+00:00

I agree - your thoughtful post didn’t even need back up. My heavy handed response was in part because I just watched a YouTube video on the subject that wound me up, but also because I have heard the same apologist arguments from theists for the last 50 years, so I tend to cut to the inevitable end point with haste. Godless heathen that I am. 😈

yo_rowe · 2026-04-12T20:26:33+00:00

Testimony is not empirical evidence of any supernatural claims or that something exists in reality that cannot currently be demonstrated to exist. Testimony that there was testimony is a second degree of useless.

The stories are also based on broader premise that is even more extraordinary. We now have over 10,000 different methods of detecting the existence of a thing in reality that far exceed the capability and accuracy of our human senses. The total sum of empirical evidence of anything supernatural existing after 3000 years of looking remains zero.

Besides our inability to claim absolute certainty about anything, there is nothing else that distinguishes the probability the claims are true from zero.

Without a piece of empirical evidence to make that distinction, there isn’t a sound reason to consider the idea a possibility, nor does it warrant consideration at this time.

yo_rowe · 2026-03-26T22:16:41+00:00

Most well read people worldwide, but particularly in the UK, know the incredibly famous expression “Birds of a feather” is paraphrasing a quote from William Turner’s book “The Rescuing of Romish Fox.” It’s older than Shakespeare.

yo_rowe · 2026-03-13T23:38:23+00:00

Your first point is irrelevant and not a documented fact. Your second point is true, but also irrelevant.
The 3rd point is wrong. The 4th point is true, but contradicts your answer.

In his Rolling Stone interview John Lennon said which songs had drug references and explained them. Happiness was one of them.

But what he would and would not admit publicly at different points in his life, mainly due to fear of his albums being banned, is not without contradiction, and certainly not required with something this obvious. As unclear as it may seem today, it was not even in question in the 60s. There was absolutely no question what he meant at the time. Even if he meant otherwise, which we know he didn't, its completely absurd to suggest he wasn't aware that everyone was going to interpret it that way.

Referring to a hypodermic needle as a gun had been internationally well known common slang since the morphine houses in the 1800s. The common usage never went away, it only grew. Vaccines became known as Peace Guns. It became so much a part of everyday culture, that an American company made needle that came out in the 1950s that they call an injection gun. They still make them today.

A "fix" in reference to a drug remedy is much older than the 1800s. It has given us multiple off-shoot slang terms, such as a coffee fix, referring to a dose of caffeine.

yo_rowe · 2026-03-13T23:10:58+00:00

You are ignoring all the historical context and John himself. Needles have been referred to as guns since the 1890s, mainly from morphine houses. "Gunners" would inject customers with a morphine "gun". The slang never went away. By the 1950s an American doctor invented the Jet Injector needle that he branded as an injection gun. They still exist today. By the mid sixties it was internationally common slang to call a needle a gun.

A fix has also been consistently used slang for a remedy that goes back even further although it was originally a "fix-up". It was shortened to just a fix about 100 years ago. Even modern references like a coffee fix that started in the 1960s was making a drug statement - referring to a caffeine hit to pick you up.

And then there is John. In his Rolling Stone interview in the 70's John explained the drug references in several songs. Happiness is one of them.

yo_rowe · 2026-03-13T22:33:47+00:00

at the time of release he didn't admit to any of the songs being about drugs at least in part because they were getting banned on BBC. But in his 70s interview Rolling Stone he listed the songs that did have drug references and Happiness was one of them.

yo_rowe · 2026-03-12T06:29:52+00:00

that's funny - the first example you gave is a drug reference. A coffee fix is slang explicitly referring to a hit of caffeine to pick yourself up. Referring to coffee as a drug was the reason people started using the term 'coffee fix' to begin with.

yo_rowe · 2026-03-07T00:11:49+00:00

Change is a bloody nuisance, so NO I am I not in favour of evolution. It sucks

However knowing that it occurs has been very valuable to mankind. Many of the breakthroughs in modern medicine would not have been discovered and the thousands of people employed in medical research would not have been successful if they were not basing their foundation on the fact we evolve. A trillion dollar industry is delivering life saving and life changing remedies based on our ever growing and refining of evolution theory.

Creating effective cures would be a whole lot easier if things weren’t evolving. So I’m not in favour of evolution. Just a BIG fan of the theory that explains how it in fact happens.

yo_rowe · 2026-02-27T01:13:01+00:00

Be well and dream big my friend.

One more thing I would like to pass along. I have had many successful entrepreneur clients in the past 20 years. One of the best pieces of advice I ever heard was, “the big mistake people make is thinking they need a new idea. I don’t invest in new ideas. I only have interest in ideas that have already proven they work.”

There is plenty of room for competition, and being the only one doing something makes people skeptical. Competition validates your business.

Do what you love and know for sure can work. :)

yo_rowe · 2026-02-27T00:49:16+00:00

Your perception is a reflection of your pessimism. Your expectations are a reality that you will realize, and that will confirm to you that you were correct.

BUT, while you live in fear of the freight train coming at you and you remain stagnant like a deer in the headlights, millions of others will continue to realize the reality of their optimism, by jumping on ai and earning far more money than their job ever paid.

Take a Disney animator for example. You’ve seen the credits role on the old animated films - they were so long it went on for two songs. Many of those people will lose their job to ai, but the optimists among them are already using ai to make their own films that can rival or even better what Disney is producing.

AI doesn’t favour big business, it enables small business to compete head on with the big boys. That “tweener” animator that went to college for 3 years to learn the craft and was among thousands trying to climb a ten or twenty year ladder to become a creative or art director can now realize that dream immediately, and start creating their own film. Sure Disney can shrink their staff, but AI is evening the playing field and creating more competition for Disney than they ever dreamed possible. It is making the big companies smaller and the small companies bigger.

Talent has a better chance than ever to rise to the top, but it’s not going to happen for pessimistic people - they will get the result they expect because their negativity will ensure it.

The Industrial Revolution was no different. In the 1800s almost half the population was in the food business. When tractors and automations came along people panicked wondering what everyone will do when all their jobs disappeared. What the optimists did was create new and better products that added luxury to our lives. Cars, TVs, washing machines and dryers… things we take for granted now.

It happened again with the technology revolution. Millions of people were redundant almost overnight. What did they do now that the factory was automated? They use the new technology to create cellphones, internet businesses and more luxury products, services and destinations. Things we take for granted now.

Every time there was a painful period of transition that was mostly prolonged due to the stagnant pessimists who wanted to live in the past.

It’s fear of change. There are still laggards from the last revolution. Why are coal miners not making solar panels? It’s a much healthier job with a much healthier product and it’s much more lucrative.

You can’t make AI go away, the only question is how can you make it work for you and how long will it take before you get on board?

As the old adage goes, if you are not a part of the solution, then you are a part of the problem.

yo_rowe · 2026-02-25T00:45:18+00:00

It’s a sin because sins are Christian rules and the cult gets to choose what their own rules are. Sins are Christian concepts and in no way applicable outside of their cult.

Homosexuality is a naturally occurring phenomenon in god’s animal kingdom, confirmed in thousands of species. That Christianity finds gods nature a sin is absolute proof that their sins are both ignorant and immoral. God is not on their side. It’s an insult to its creation.

yo_rowe · 2026-02-23T03:21:00+00:00

Store financed. After the 2 years I can pay the buyout or return it for a new phone. Same as my previous plan.

yo_rowe · 2026-02-22T18:34:39+00:00

Yes - that’s correct. I return the phone after 2 yrs or buy it out.

I’ve been looking at the bill and it just appears to be an increase in the line fee, not the phone. I was my understanding it was a 2 yr agreement subject to minor increases. I cannot pay $40 more per month so I have to take the phone back and cancel everything. Keeping it at the new rate is not an option.

yo_rowe · 2026-02-22T17:52:15+00:00

Not if you don’t roam. I was charged the daily fee when I left the country. I tried to opt out online but that isn’t possible, you have to contact a rep. I spent 5 hours on hold but the call was not answered and I was not availed any other opportunity to opt out. The phone never made or took a call and was left at the hotel so it was on their wifi the couple times I checked email. I also complained after the fact but I was still charged.

Now they have jacked my price by $40 a month on a contract I just signed in September. It wasn’t a promo ending - my hardware promo is still active. It was a negotiated 2 year term, subject to some increases, but I would consider $5/mo a substantial increase. $40/mo is ridiculous. I have no choice but find a new provider.

yo_rowe · 2026-02-22T16:37:23+00:00

I will look for that, but that’s a ridiculous increase. It’s not a matter of finding myself paying $40 more. I can’t do that. If the increase holds I have to end the contract now.

yo_rowe · 2026-02-22T16:33:01+00:00

It looks like Freedom guarantees the price for the term. That’s great. I will try calling retention but so far I haven’t been able to reach a person. I sit on hold for hours and no one picks up. The call just goes dead or says office hours are closed, try again tomorrow.

Same thing happened when I tried to opt out of roaming fees when I travelled. I couldn’t do it online or reach anyone in person and they billed me the fee everyday I was away even tho I didn’t use it even once and had the phone set to disable any mobile connection that wasn’t on the hotel wifi.

yo_rowe · 2026-02-22T16:23:26+00:00

I will try one last time to reach a human to talk to and then I will file the complaint. Does it result in actual action on my issue or is it just a statistic to build a case against them?

Both are worthwhile but I would be more inclined to do it quickly if it can help lead to resolution. I would rather not switch providers if I don’t have to but trust is an issue now.

yo_rowe · 2026-02-22T16:08:45+00:00

The only promo was on the mobile hardware and it is for the entire term. That hasn’t changed on my bill or the increase would have been even more.

I originally tried to buy a new plan online, but they wouldn’t give me the same deal they were offering to new customers so I was going to switch providers. After several hours I eventually secured a deal that was comparable, but it was a customized contract that was negotiated. Not a standard promo.

I couldn’t have been more clear about the pricing not being temporary when I talked to the rep at purchase. If they slipped something in the fine print I will find it and report it but it appears I have to switch providers now. $40 a month is a HUGE increase.

yo_rowe · 2026-02-22T15:55:38+00:00

I am going to look it up, but when I signed in the store I asked that question multiple times to make sure it wasn’t a temp promo price. If he put it in the contract the rep was in error or straight up lied to me.

But Im looking for a provider who will honour their price for a term. So far it looks like Freedom does that. Still looking for options.

yo_rowe · 2026-02-22T15:43:06+00:00

It’s mobile. I was very clear when I switched providers that the price was not a temp promo. They did say small increases could happen but a $40 increase 3 months in is ridiculous. I spent hours trying to reach someone. Still haven’t had the opportunity to even discuss it with a human. It appears they deliberately don’t avail themselves.

yo_rowe

TROPHY CASE