The new gTLD extension .GOP was suppose to go live today July 7th for general availability but as far as I can tell you can’t register one.
The Dot GOP registry proudly announced in the Wall Street Journal back on April 23, 2014, that there go live date would be July 7, 2014.
Landrush applications were being taken as late as Friday night on Join.GOP.
I actually submitted A Total of 14 Landrush applications at $100 per domain name.
The Landrush domain name applications seemed to go through and got receipts and was billed for the domain names.
Today was the day where you were suppose to be able to go and register a .GOP domain name for $20.16 on a first come, first served basis.
.GOP like all new gTLD’s, were required and held a Sunrise period.
The Sunrise period ended on June 30th, 2014 and the Landrush period ran for just for a few days after.
Since Saturday July 5th, the Join.GOP site has either had a “down for maintenance page” or a “password protected page” which is currently has,
I have been checking the DotGOP Twitter Feed but nothing has been updated today regarding the launch. The last update on the launch was on July 1st when it said only “6 days until GOP launch.”
I can’t find anywhere what time the registry is suppose to be opened for business but typically new gTLD’s registry’s have opened for business either at 10am, 11am or noon EST.
As of publication its after 2PM neither the DotGOP site, Join.GOP or MindsandMachines.com is taking registrations.
MindsandMachines.com has a live chat box but no one has been on it all day.
The DotGOP site simply has the message “Get your .gop domain today! Make history with the first political domain.” but again is silent on where to register one or where you can go to “Make History”
I reached out to both representative of the DotGOP registry and MindsandMachines.com but no one has responded.
Even more curious the Zone file for .GOP is basically empty.
Typically after the conclusion of Sunrise period of a new gTLD, the Zone file will reflect any domain names taken in Sunrise and often also contains the up to 100 domain names the registry is entitled to use to promote the registry.
Now that Landrush is concluded it would not be unusual to see the domains taken in Landrush also show up in the Zone file.
However I just pulled the Zone file and these are the ONLY domains contained in it:
nic.gop
a.ns.nic.gop
b.ns.nic.gop
That’s it.
We will update the story if and when we get any updates.
The whois for MindsandMachines.com does not reflect any records including for domain names I applied for in Landrush.
All of the domains that were available to be registered in Landrush which I paid for seem to be registered at Tucows, not to me but to:
Minds and Machines Limited (Ireland)
Here is one of the whois records for one of the 14 domain names I applied for in Landrush, ThePresident.GOP.
Needless to say if I don’t wind up with any of these domain names, unless they go to a Landrush auction of which I’m a participant in, I will not be a happy camper.
Registry Domain ID: 58423-Minds
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.mindsandmachines.com
Updated Date: 2014-07-07 13:40:48
Creation Date: 2014-07-06 22:35:38
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2015-07-06 22:35:38
Registrar: Minds and Machines Limited (Ireland)
Registrar IANA ID: 1416
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: domainabuse@tucows.com
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.4165350123
Reseller: Minds + Machines Registrar
Reseller: support@mindsandmachines.com
Reseller: +1.3104521491
Domain Status: ok
Registrant Name: Minds and Machines Limited (Ireland)
Registrant Organization: Minds and Machines Limited (Ireland)
Registrant Street: 32 Nassau Street
Registrant City: Dublin
Registrant State/Province:
Registrant Postal Code: Dublin 2
Registrant Country: IE
Registrant Email: thepresident.gop@mm-privacy.com
Admin Name: Minds and Machines Limited (Ireland)
Admin Organization: Minds and Machines Limited (Ireland)
Admin Street: 32 Nassau Street
Admin City: Dublin
Admin State/Province:
Admin Postal Code: Dublin 2
Admin Country: IE
Admin Email: thepresident.gop@mm-privacy.com
Tech Name: Minds and Machines Limited (Ireland)
Tech Organization: Minds and Machines Limited (Ireland)
Tech Street: 32 Nassau Street
Tech City: Dublin
Tech Postal Code: Dublin 2
Tech Country: IE
Tech Email: thepresident.gop@mm-privacy.com
Registration Service Provider:
Minds + Machines Registrar, support@mindsandmachines.com
groovy says
Hi Mike,
I received this email from M&M on July 3rd, it doesn’t mention .GOP but I strongly suspect it may be relevant.
Dear Registrant,
If you are receiving this email, we have important information regarding one or more new TLDs that you have purchased.
We have received notification from the Registry that they will be extending the Landrush period for the following TLDs:
.COOKING, .COUNTRY, .FISHING, .HORSE, .RODEO .VODKA.
The new launch dates are as follows;
Landrush end: 31 July 2014, 16:00 UTC
GA start: 15 September 2014, 16:00 UTC
What does this mean for your domain name(s)?
It means that you may continue to purchase names until the 31st July and if any of them are purchased by more then one person, they will go into auction. Domain names will be delegated and auctioned in August and then General Availability begins 15th September. At this time, you will no longer be allowed to register for domain names, only purchase them outright.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please write to support@mindsandmachines.com.
Best Regards,
The Customer Support Team
Minds+Machines
Jeff Schneider says
Hello MHB,
The GOP Brand is severely tarnished, is anyone surprised no one, so far, wants to be judged and labeled GOP ? Talk about being way off the grid?
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
John Berryhill says
It’s July 7 and is going to remain July 7 for quite a while yet, depending on one’s location on this revolving planet. Might have been a good story for tomorrow, but we’ll know in a few hours.
Michael Berkens says
The registrar is opened for business at join.gop
Michael Berkens says
John
Well the backend provider is headquartered in England where July 7th was getting pretty old in the tooth.
I have no idea why the registry didn’t post anything on their site or Tweet when the registry would be opened for business.
Registries and registrars usually don’t like to keep that a secret.