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Back to Making DNSimple (Changelog Interviews #637), with Anthony Eden.

Why Are Name Availability Checks So Hard for DNSimple?

The hard part of suggesting domain names is not coming up with words to string together and suggest. The hard part is determining whether the names are available. Most registries set really strict limits on how many times a query can ask whether a name is available, and in some cases the limits are absurdly small.

Some registries let you open two synchronous connections, and that is it. Everything being done has to fit through two. The connections are stateful, not stateless. A new version of the protocol that registrars use to connect to registries is being developed around REST and stateless transfer through the entire packet, so a long-lived connection does not have to stay open. Keeping a long-lived connection open does not scale to the level people need to operate at.

On the show, Anthony Eden has a feeling that search will be a lot easier to add once the new protocol starts getting deployed at some of the registries and registrars. The suggestion part is not what makes the search hard. The checking part is really hard.

Transcript

Making DNSimple (Changelog Interviews #637) ·

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More from this episode

  1. How Did DNSimple End Up Half a Registrar?On the show, domain registration at DNSimple is now mostly equal to operational DNS.
  2. How Did No Outside Money Let DNSimple Win Big Companies?On the show, DNSimple has never grown a ton aside from the very early days.
  3. How Did a Language Model Never Run the Rails Test?On the show, a weekend try to get a language model to run the test on a fresh Rails project failed.
  4. How Did a Forgotten Domain Make DNSimple Demand Proof?DNSimple requires a person to prove they actually have the rights before a domain that used to be with DNSimple comes back into DNSimple.
  5. How Did Let's Encrypt Turn Certificates Into a Click?On the show, Let's Encrypt solved one of the biggest gaps in the internet security space and changed the world of the internet.
  6. How Did Tailscale and Raycast Make Cineplex Login Easy?On the show, Tailscale installed on everything replaced a memorized home address with a network-friendly name that search can reach.
  7. Why Won't DNSimple Start Generative Domain-list Search?DNSimple is small enough that the company has not applied machine learning to all the data coming through. The generative part is not so interesting.
  8. Why Do Attacked Registries Get Paid While Registrars Innovate?On the show, the domain business is lopsided. Innovation happens at the edges, at the registrars, and the money gets sent to the core, at the registries.
  9. How Did DNSimple Grow Slowly With Costly Domain Keywords?On the show, DNSimple stays in business and continues slow growth by focusing on positioning and how the team uses words.

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