I realize this is immensely trivial but figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. I’m probably making a personal web site in the near future in the form of <my name> <dot> … well, I don’t know yet. I assume .com is the most popular option here but certain other suffixes seem much more appropriate here, particularly .name. However, I have no wish to endure the accusations of lameness that are bound to arise when I tell people to go to “saganist dot name”.
I will try to get a poll up but this is my first one, so no guarantees. Also, if it matters, the site will be designed to accompany my job hunt, but will not be relied on.
edit: Didn’t include an other option in poll, so please just post if you feel something else is better, which would probably be .us (yes, I am american)
Probably .net if you’re really wanting to avoid the connotations of being a commercial enterprise. .info .biz and so on are ones I associate with those stupid “Earn five million dollars a day AT HOME” pyramid scheme websites (even though I know there are plenty of legit domains using those ones), and .xxx - not unless you’re trying to get hired as a porn star
I think I’m leaning towards .info myself, but I see no one agrees. .com doesn’t feel right because it seems like I’m selling a product instead of just talking about myself and .net just feels like I’m from the days of dialup aol. Meh. And yeah, the .info is stupid cheap.
Eh, .com doesn’t read as commercial to me anymore; it’s just default. Hell, 90% of the time I’m just gonna type your domain name in my address bar and let Firefox/Google figure out the rest.
Seconded. Even though they are perfectly legitimate domains, .info and .biz have been pretty much ruined by unscrupulous Chinese hackers that wanna steal ur lewtz and other such unsavory denizens of the 'net underworld. It’s hard to see a site with one of those domains and not feel automatically biased against it.
From your list, I voted for .net. I don’t know why you would associate it with AOL or dialup.
However, I also agree with Balthisar that .com is now generic, rather than specifically commercial, and that .org could also be appropriate for a personal site - or, as you mention, .us (no one is likely to accuse that of being lame!).
If you can find a suitable name, I’d go for .com, only because that’s what people will try if they forget the tld you told them verbally. At the very least, make sure the .com equivalent of what you choose isn’t already occupied by a site devoted to octopus porn or something (unless, y’know, you’re into that).
Info is quite popular though. There are lots of great sites with .info.
I use my “last-name.info” for my online resume.
The problem with using anything other than .com is most people assume it’s .com so they may go to the wrong website. For example if you have Acme.Info they may go to Acme.Com instead.
In terms of Google and other search engines, all the top level domains (TLD) whether generic (like .com or.biz) or country (.us or .me) are treated the same
Yes. Even with all the suffixes now available, I think people tend to assume “.com” unless they see otherwise.
My own personal page is a .net because .com was already taken. I would have jumped on .com in a heartbeat, but .net is the next best alternative. Those are the “big two” IMO. The others make a site seem marginalized somehow; I wouldn’t take a .info or .biz site as seriously as a .com or .net, and .org reads as “charity” to me. I know it doesn’t truly make any difference, but it’s a psychological thing.
A data point, since you mention using the website for your job search:
Every single freelance designer, marketer, actor, etc. I know uses FirstnameLastname.com. No, they’re not selling products, but they are selling themselves.
