[OT?] domain registration durations

[Dan Jenkins]

Michael ODonnell wrote:

>Years ago I purchased a "ten-year" registration
>for a domain and that arrangement has worked
>as expected.  Today I spoke with a different
>outfit about registering another domain for
>ten years and they said that ALL domains are
>only ever registered for one year and that a
>"ten-year" registration was really just some
>registrar agreeing to automatically re-register
>you on a yearly basis.  I suspect this registrar
>of instead wanting the opportunity to hold my
>domain hostage once a year until I pay them
>whatever newly increased (or invented) fees they
>feel like sticking me with - does anybody know if
>that stuff about one-year registrations is true?
>
First I've ever heard that line. I've been renewing many clients for 9 years
recently (for some reason GoDaddy doesn't seem to allow 10 year 
registrations).
Whether that is GoDaddy doing it every year automatically, I have no idea.
It doesn't make sense to me though. GoDaddy is a registrar. They don't 
resell
domain registrations like some do. I believe registrars can set the 
rules within
certain guidelines set by ICANN. This is all guesswork on my part though.
I know some company was offering 100 year registrations a while back.
That seems ridiculous.

-- 
Dan Jenkins (dan at rastech.com)
Rastech Inc., Bedford, NH, USA --- 1-603-206-9951
*** Technical Support for over a Quarter Century