Topic: How can we improve Namecoin adoption? (Read 1629 times)

Why do Namecoins have any value at all then? I feel like running out and selling my remaining 20.

Found the service I mentioned in the OP about translating Bitcoin addresses into names. It's called OneName. Seems popular too.


There is also this site too although I haven't used it:

http://dotbit.me/

Click on the "surf.bit" tab and choose one of the letters to browse the sites.


I've always had an interest in Huntercoin since it's a very unique coin and one of only two where the coin takes the form of a human-playable game (the other being Motocoin until it got taken over by bots).


The creator of Namecoin (Vincent Durham) was an anonymous pseudonym who is currently retired. It was the lead dev who died. The lead dev of Namecoin was also the creator of Huntercoin.


The Namecoin FAQ's proposed solution to the problem of domain squatting doesn't seem satisfactory IMHO. Someone who owns the domains Facebook.bit or Namecoin.bit isn't going to let their domains expire if renewal fees are slightly raised, and if renewal fees rise too much, then that will discourage ordinary people from using .bit domains too.


Entries are stored in the blockchain which is shared across all nodes in the network so names should resolve even when your client is not running or when your computer is shut down. However, you will need to run as a full node in order to register and renew domain names. If you don't want to run a full node, there are domain name registration services that can do this for you. More information about the process is here:

https://wiki.namecoin.info/index.php?title=Register_and_Configure_.bit_Domains


Not sure what you mean by this. Most domains are registered but have no website. Some are just parked with a placeholder page. A minority are actual websites.


Currently, it is only .bit domains that can be registered but it could be expanded in the future. Other than raising renewal fees, another possible method suggested by the community to combat squatting is to expand the range of TLDs that can be registered which should free up more space for new names.


I'm not sure if there are any distros that come with Namecoin or support for .bit domains preinstalled but almost all Linux distros are capable of running Firefox and there are plugins available for Firefox which can add support for .bit domains. From a quick Google search, it seems that Chrome has similar plugins too.

Yea lmao. I met someone squatting tigerdirect.bit, namepros.bit, myspace.bit and more. Theres even one guy who owns google.bit and facebook.bit.

Oh yes, that's right. Thank you.

[But it would be neat if one name <=> one IPv6 address...just sayin'...] 

You can map multiple names to a single IP address - but an IP address can only map to one name.

So the IP addresses don't need to be unique but the names do.

Evidently not. Feel free to explain if you want.

You do realise that the IP address has got *nothing to do with* don't you?

Actually, a fork undertook by a real techie could use IPv6 from the get-go. IPv6 hex numbers are free as in air right now, and will be for some time.

never say never. Who's to say a fork won't happen that will fuck er fix the squatters.
Which needs to happen anyway to fix the issue.

are the .bit parked names worse then regular dns?



can other domains be added or will it forever be only .bit?



are there any linux distros that include namecoin? maybe ubuntu or mint?

Do I have to run my namecoind or qt to make my domain active?

Let's say I register blabla.bit with core wallet and then close wallet. Will it be available when I close my wallet? Or I've to run my wallet to keep it active to resolve dns?

Again - with all the squatting it simply will never work.

Those that took all the .bit domain names just want to get rich so they don't care about the success of the tech at all (in their mind they invested 10 USD to try and get 1M USD and if that doesn't happen they are happy to just lose the 10 USD and see the whole thing fail).

You just need to *forget* about .bit as that will never happen.

Namecoin is a nice alt which actually is useful. It is a shame .bit domain never took off. We need a cool site with a .bit domain to get more people to install the namecoin dns plugin.

other points to consider.

namecoin has some competition, nxt dns system, and bts dns system

namecoin has only had 1 fork, huntercoin.

And what's to come:

Over the last two or three months, our very own lead developer was awarded a donation of F2pool(Discus Fish) to re-implement Namecoin onto the latest Bitcoin Core (see https://github.com/domob1812/namecore/ ), improving and updating Namecoin's very old code (from around Bitcoin version 0.3). This is now being used by F2pool/Discuss Fish and others.

He is now in the early process of doing the same for Huntercoin, so that we will be able to see those great benefits also.  This will also enable to make use of pruning efforts being made upstream by the Bitcoin developers.
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.10625130

yea I'm using meowbit actually

It's an alternative DNS root so some type of plugin is required since browsers typically use ICANN's DNS system by default:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_DNS_root


I'm not sure how old this is or if any of the sites are still working now but there is a list of some sites using .bit domains here:

http://www.meowbit.com/list-of-working-dot-bit-websites/

I'd like to find a way to get more people involved as well.
I've tried looking for popular sites that have a .bit presence and haven't found any yet.
Is there a search engine for it yet? I know a lot of names are taken but they sure don't have a site.
Or I have the plugin configured wrong but I don't think so. Easier plugins would be better too though.
I'm working on an idea for a .bit site actually that will drive interest/traffic to the namecoin idea.

I tried using it but you had to install a firefox plugin. You couldn't simply give someone your address to type into a browser. You had to get them to install the plugin before they could use your URL. It might take off if it worked without the plugin.

A decentralized DNS systems frees up domain names from government and corporate control. Traditional domain names can be shut down by governments or blocked in entire countries, and indeed this has happened many times in the past. Governments also have the power to seize domain names and a decentralized solution would help to prevent such things from happening. Registering a domain name also means forfeiting a certain degree of privacy which might not be ideal for journalists, free speech activists, or anyone else who values their privacy.

Then there's the problem of reverse domain name hijacking (RDNH) which is most commonly perpetrated by large corporations. Examples include paint.biz and Canadian.biz. Despite being generic words, both domains were taken from their original owners although the latter was reversed on appeal. There are other examples too:


Sadly, this is probably true.

It simply became a ridiculous squatting exercise that resulted in no-one being interested in using it.

Perhaps namecoin could have some better purpose in the future but unless someone comes up with a really good use case then I am not sure it will gain any traction.