As time passes and the positive efforts concerning the .tel domain continue to progress, there remains a small group of people out there who feel compelled to repeat the same arguments concerning their negative views on .tel domains.

It would be nice if the anti .tel camp could come up with some new material, but it looks like they are running out of steam.

Although most of these arguments have been addressed in various locations online (forums, blogs, etc), here is a compilation of responses to the most commonly cited anti .tel rhetoric.

Q:
“.tel should have never been released”, “ICANN should be ashamed”

A:
Well they did. It’s here and it’s not going to go away. So either live with it or ignore it. I somehow doubt ICANN, Telnic, owners, prospects and others are worried about this minority view. All evidence points to .tel growing in popularity at this point.

Q:
“.tel is a hack”, “It’s in beta”, “It doesn’t work”, etc.

A:
Welcome to the Internet. .tel works and it works well for the task it needs to do. The same could have been (and has been) said for Windows, MANY software applications, web sites and even the Internet itself. If you don’t like what it does, no one is forcing you to care about it and like ANY technology, it’s only going to improve. This argument is, at best, a semi-sensationalist statement, but really holds no value and has been overstated.

Q:
“.tel would have been good in the 90s”

A:
I can not believe that this has actually been posted as part of the .tel debate, let alone that it is a recurring statement. Was anyone who says this ACTUALLY using computers in the 90s? In the 90s no one had their own web page, that was for geeks and corporations. Geocities pages, etc., were all run by geeks and porn pushers and NO ONE did online dating or had “profiles”. How many people had cell phones in the 90s or even computers? It is only in today’s World of personal profiles, ubiquitous richmedia, sophisticated handhelds and multimedia convergence that a dedicated contact hub has become useful. The anti .tel arguments put forth may have been valid in the 90s, but this is the 21st century where the Internet is comprised of more elements than just the Web and the Web is now about FAR more than web pages.

Q:
“.tel is targeted towards MySpace and FB users who will never buy it”

A:
In reality, .tel is intended for anyone who has more than one contact point, so pretty much everyone on Earth who is connected somehow. It just so happens that right now FB and MySpace are the big players. Lots of those people have social site profiles, but lots of the intended target market do not. Yes, .tel is marketing to MySpace and FB users, but who isn’t or wouldn’t if they could? People who use free sites do pay money and buy things, this is pretty much a fundamental element of online marketing, if they didn’t then why do FB and MySpace exist? It’s amazing how people make broad claims about things that are based solely on opinion without facts or even evidence.

Q:
“.tel domains are too restricted”, “When Telnic changes their policy, then maybe…”

A:
Too restricted to do what exactly? For the task is it assigned to do it is extremely robust and elegant. No, you can not point a .tel to a regular webserver but this is for many reasons that have been presented and are pretty easy to understand. So either you accept this, or you do not. If you do not like this aspect, then use something else. Thousands of people have accepted this fact and spent their money without complaint which would indicate that at least a few of them may see some value. Questioning whether this policy will change is completely pointless. Assume it will never happen and figure it out from there.

Q:
“You can do this on any TLD without restrictions”

A:
No you can not. NO other TLD uses the DNS for storage like .tel and no other will in this manner. Regardless of whether this is good or bad, it is an indisputable fact. This has many benefits that have been presented and no one has come up with a compelling reason why this is a “BAD” thing. .tel is fast and it’s lean, if you want extra frills, yes, please, go use something else.
The entire cost of ownership includes time, not just server and reg fees. Under MANY circumstances the time factor favors .tel when comparing apples to apples. And… Even if you could replicate the DNS storage system, why would you waste your time reinventing a wheel you can buy for $10.

Q:
“You can do the same for free on MySpace, FB, Google profiles, etc.”

A:
No you can not. ALL of those examples require you to set up an account with that organization and they own your URL. With .tel you own your .tel URL and it is not branded by being a sub-domain or directory of a domain. Your .tel is a simple, one-dot, no-slash URL. It is shocking how many people who are in the “domain business” and don’t grasp the necessity of URL ownership or would actually suggest that an account elsewhere is a comparable solution to owning your URL.

Q:
“You can’t develop them”

A:
Yes you can. Development FOR .tel is growing exponentially and this would be covered by the “.tel development” blanket. Populating a .tel directory is not much different from setting up a static web page so does this mean a large number of web page creators are also not web developers? How do databases fit into this terminology or Flash? Where exactly is the line that divides “developers” from the rest of the population? If I develop for .tel domains that I own, then I am developing my .tel domains. The anti .tel camp must be desparate for arguments if semantics and the meaning of the word “development” are a main point of contention.

Q:
“How do you plan to develop them?”

A:
The same way anyone else develops Internet applications. Using server-side programming, client-side apps and combining the two. Whatever you can’t do directly on a .tel, you can do on a related .tld or with other software. .tel domains are complimentary to other TLDs AND other communications technologies. It’s funny that so many .tel haters are also self-proclaimed “web developers” but ignore or can’t see this obvious basic concept.

Q:
“You can’t use PHP, AJAX, etc.”
Not hosted on the .tel itself, no you can’t and this is a well known fact covered everywhere in the most basic of materials about .tel.
You most certainly can use these technologies elsewhere to interact with .tel domains however. It is actually possible to update a .tel domain and NEVER use the Web. That is correct NO WEB. People use software and interact with the Internet without access to the WEB. This argument is a strong indicator of a narrow view of the Internet in general. I will repeat: .tel is for MORE than WEB pages and it is not dependent on WEB pages to work. The “WEB” is not the same as the “Internet”.

Q:
“You can’t monetize them”

A:
The blanket claim that .tel domains can not be monetized is founded by arrogance and/or a blatant disregard of the obvious. They are as viable as any other technology property out there. It goes without saying that to monetize anything online you need traffic and content. If someone is trying to build a .tel based business without complimentary technology and/or marketing ability, then yes they are foolish, but that has nothing to do with .tel and is the same for ANY product or service. To broadly and definitively state that ANYTHING (.tel or otherwise) can NOT be monetized is absurd.

Opinions presented by .tel haters are comprised of the same, repetitive opinions that have been listed above. If anyone has some new data or compelling info, feel free to let me know and I’d be happy to hear them, otherwise I think that about covers it.

There may be no new arguments on the side against .tel, but the arguments in favor of it’s success continue to grow.

See ya in the SERPs… Or more like, you’ll see me!
FS