Web hosts took up the matter on the forums recently, and in the process debated the legitimate but controversial practice of domain speculation, how many names to juggle at once, which domain registrars are favored and what to do with all those domains they haven't touched.

The domain discussion began at WebHostingTalk (webhostingtalk.com) with a question on the merit of using the same company for both domain name registration and Web hosting.

Some respondents argued it is best to keep the two separate to prevent an unscrupulous host from "hijacking your name and holding it hostage." Another post confirmed the concern, indicating new customers had complained about the move from an old Web host that did not want to release their domain accounts. Customers were warned that if they did purchase domains through their Web hosts, to check the terms. Another poster pointed out the convenience of having everything with one company for easy access to domain names and sites from the same place. The consensus was that whether registering domains independently or through another registrar or Web host, be sure the contract provides adequate control of the domain.

A recent thread at HostHideout (hosthideout.com) posed the question of how many domains participants had under management. Answers ranged from a few domains to a few hundred or more. One post touted the $30,000 "appraised value" of a batch of domains. A subsequent entry doubted an appraised value, as well as domain appraisal sites and services in general. The response was that the expectation for the domains was actually in the hundreds.

The discussion also diverged into a debate of domain name speculation, with some posters savaging the practice, and others defending it as a free market reality. Criticism centered on opportunists who register domain names in hopes of finding someone willing to pay what many consider an exorbitant amount of money for a domain that was probably secured for a few dollars.

"I think it should be a federal/international crime," one poster said. That was followed by the argument that once someone buys a domain, they are free to do what they wish with it. "We live in an ownership society, and restricting ownership to something that someone else owns because you want it and they won't offer it at a reasonable price stabs at the very foundation of this society," said a response.

A similar debate also broke out at SitePoint (sitepoint.com) under the subject, "I hate people like this." The post tells the story of attempting to secure a domain name to go along with a new business idea, only to be forced into bidding by a foreign owner of the domain. The poster went on to argue that there "should be an organization" that can take away domains from people who are not using them. There was sympathy for the situation from posters who reported similar problems, but there was backlash from posters who laid out the reality of the situation. "Unless he's infringing on a trademark you own and he decides to sell at the price you offered, there's nothing you can do about it," said a response. "This market is first come, first serve." More practical suggestions included quietly waiting for expiration of the domain's registration, trying to secure the domain name under a different top level domain such as .net, or changing the name of the business.

A typical forum conversation about recommended providers turned to domains recently at HostingDiscussion (hostingdiscussion.com). The original post described the use of three different registrars for different reasons: eNom for the DNS listing, GoDaddy for accepting PayPal, and RegisterFly.com for speed, cost and promotions. Other registrars mentioned with recommendations included Directi and Namecheap. In the end, eNom, GoDaddy, and Namecheap won the most praise.

A number of those posting in the domain name discussions indicated they had collected and continued to renew registered domains, but had failed to get around to doing anything with them.

"I've got like 10-15 that I don't do anything with that just sit there ... but for some reason, I keep renewing them as well," said a post. "Never tried selling them, never parked them, nothing. Guess I need to start at least looking into parking or something."