What name should I use for my new forum?

[HannahP]

Does it matter if it's a .com ...

A lot of people will tell you it doesn't mater, and that extensions will eventually become meaningless. But I've been hearing that for years and I still don't see how that is ever going to happen. .dot com is still the default and defacto first stop in most people's minds, and I think it will be that way for a long time. I run a popular site on a .net, so it can be done. But if I could buy the .com, I would do it without a second thought.

Also consider this; if you start a site on a .net and it becomes popular, buying the .com is going to be more difficult. Back in the 90s I had to pay about 10 times what a domain was worth because I foolishly started a business on the .net. Shortly after I was up and running I asked the owner about buying the .com. He went to my site, saw that it was a busine$$, and immediately jacked up his asking price.

Always go with .com over .net if you can. .org is a different kind of animal, and it is probably a good second choice after .com. But I wouldn't start a new site on anything other than those top three.

 

[Peggy]

I agree with mjp. A few years ago, I started a designs site on a .net as the .com was not available, but I really wanted that name. For the first 6 or 7 months, it was pretty slow going. Then after a year, the .com became available and I snatched it up. Within 3 - 4 months, my traffic picked up considerable. I remain convinced that it was due to purchasing the .com.

 

[Jethro]

Thank you.

What are your thoughts on GeneralChat.net ?

Don't even think about that one, it's horrible, people wont join, and there will be tears at the end. As stated, general chat sites can be one of the hardest things to get going as you don't have a hook. All Admins thinking of these sites need to ask themselves one fundamental question, "why would someone join my site rather than the hundreds of similar sites?". It begins with a name, you need something slightly more catchy.

 

[D37]

Don't even think about that one, it's horrible, people wont join, and there will be tears at the end. As stated, general chat sites can be one of the hardest things to get going as you don't have a hook. All Admins thinking of these sites need to ask themselves one fundamental question, "why would someone join my site rather than the hundreds of similar sites?". It begins with a name, you need something slightly more catchy.

I honestly don't think the name could be that bad. Also I feel that whether it is a .com or .net it doesn't matter as long as it is well marketed. I believe someone would go to my site compared to others depending on how I market it. I could make a brand out of it.

For example, just off the top of my head "GeneralChat.net - Your chat network" or something similiar.

 

[D37]

A lot of people will tell you it doesn't mater, and that extensions will eventually become meaningless. But I've been hearing that for years and I still don't see how that is ever going to happen. .dot com is still the default and defacto first stop in most people's minds, and I think it will be that way for a long time. I run a popular site on a .net, so it can be done. But if I could buy the .com, I would do it without a second thought.

Also consider this; if you start a site on a .net and it becomes popular, buying the .com is going to be more difficult. Back in the 90s I had to pay about 10 times what a domain was worth because I foolishly started a business on the .net. Shortly after I was up and running I asked the owner about buying the .com. He went to my site, saw that it was a busine$$, and immediately jacked up his asking price.

Always go with .com over .net if you can. .org is a different kind of animal, and it is probably a good second choice after .com. But I wouldn't start a new site on anything other than those top three.

Well I started MiscTalk.com, but I'm not 100 percent happy with the name. So I've been thinking and was wondering what do you guys think of:

YAForum.com, which stands for "Yet Another Forum"

For some reason I really like it because it's really short and easy to remember. Plus people won't know what YAForum.com is when they see it so they may be interested what it is and visit

 

[StarBuG]

Just as a note.

In general a forum that has no major topic (e.g. is not targeting a niche) is destined to fail 99,9% of the time.

Pick a topic you like yourself (which is important to continued success) and start a forum about that.
If you can't think of one right now then wait until you do.

Just my 2cents and years of experience as community builder

 

[dutchbb]

Always go with .com over .net if you can. .org is a different kind of animal, and it is probably a good second choice after .com. But I wouldn't start a new site on anything other than those top three.

The best thing to do is to invent a brand that isn't registered yet and register it on all available (important) domain extensions. Then redirect everything to the main domain, which depends completely on the kind of business/organisation you'll be running:

Wikipedia.com -> Wikipedia.org
Xenforo.org -> Xenforo.com

 

[dartho]

why limit yourself to a dozen or so characters? All the "good" or memorable short names are gone.

Why not go with something easy to remember like "ABloodyGoodForum.com" or"AMostExcellentForum.com" or to follow your own theme "AForumAboutEverythingAndAnything.com" (and as a bonus you can also register afaeaa.com as an acronym for the domain) or similar (these are all available, BTW ) easy to remember, easy to type (as it is natural language) and descriptive.

 

[D37]

Just as a note.

In general a forum that has no major topic (e.g. is not targeting a niche) is destined to fail 99,9% of the time.

Pick a topic you like yourself (which is important to continued success) and start a forum about that.
If you can't think of one right now then wait until you do.

Just my 2cents and years of experience as community builder

Thanks for the tips. I was thinking of starting DiscussApple.com an DiscussBlackberry.com because I love both of them.

why limit yourself to a dozen or so characters? All the "good" or memorable short names are gone.

Why not go with something easy to remember like "ABloodyGoodForum.com" or"AMostExcellentForum.com" or to follow your own theme "AForumAboutEverythingAndAnything.com" (and as a bonus you can also register afaeaa.com as an acronym for the domain) or similar (these are all available, BTW ) easy to remember, easy to type (as it is natural language) and descriptive.

Those are really long domains though. I personally wouldn't see myself typing those in if a friend told me to go to it.

I think I'm going to switch MiscTalk.com to YAForum.com