Ether Name Service has got a lot of good vibes. How and why did this project come about in the decentralized digital naming identity space?

We’re huge believers in the future of Ethereum domain technology. But we feel that current protocols can be doing things more fairly and decentralized, and better utilize web3 technology.

So we built what we consider to be the next generation of Ethereum domain services, with features like:

• One-time, lifetime payments
• Fair pricing & fair launch
• An on-chain referral system
• New naming options (like 1 or 2 character names)
• Limited characters (no emojis, non-Latin characters, etc.)
• Configurable & sellable subdomains
• 0% creator fees
• & much more

ether.domains is only step one. In addition to the domain registry, we’re also building out ether.market, an enhanced analytics UI and marketplace, as well as ether.network, a new concept that will allow .ether holders to develop their own token-gated subdomain communities.

.Ether differs quite a lot from the popular .eth naming system and one of the key differences is that  .ether has zero annual renewal fees. Can you explain why you decided to take this route of a one time payment?

With other popular ENSes, you’re effectively leasing, not buying. We don’t think that model is in the spirit of web3. We believe that users should pay a one-time fee to own their domains forever, and that all domains should be priced the same, with no premiums on more desirable names.

Of course, recurring fees are a source of revenue for ENS. What we’re doing instead is betting big on our novel subdomain communities. We take a 0% creator fee on domain trades but 10% on subdomain sales. With .ether, we only earn royalties when our holders make profit.

At Unstoppable Domains, one the naming services in the space, pussy.crypto is selling for $100,000 (no one has bought it yet) but pussy.ether is already selling on secondary for about $10,000 (6.9ETH). Firstly, how much was  pussy.ether originally minted for on Ether Name Service and do you think that the mouth watering  $100,000 price tag for pussy.crypto is overpriced? After all .ether TLD only has 5 letters and crypto TLD has 6 letters.

Per our fair pricing model, all .ether domains mint for .01 ETH (.008 with a referral code), irregardless of the amount of characters. 

We’re not much into speculation, but we can say that the listing is priced higher than our two most exclusive Clubs, the 1-digit club (10 domains), and the 1-letter club (26 domains). These clubs are especially enticing because one and two-digit domains do not exist with ENS.

How many ether domains does someone need to own to be considered a whale at Ether Naming Service?

We don’t have a whale role in our Discord, though we’d be open to it if the community were interested. At present there have been about 16,000 domains minted by 5,200 unique addresses.

Naming collisions are plaguing the decentralized naming system industry. Recently we saw Unstoppable Domains pull off the .coin TLD because Emercoin was the first to take it to market. There is also an actual court case between UD and HNS about the .wallet TLD.  Has ether naming service done its homework to prevent collisions with other naming services?

We are not aware of any previous uses of the .ether domain and we did extensive due diligence prior to launch.

Ether Naming Service is gaining momentum on the secondary market like Opensea. What do you think is the reason for this growing interest in .ether naming service ?

I think many feel they missed the ENS boat, now that premium name prices are high and most of the desirable names have been minted. .ether brings not only speculative opportunity but the chance to get a better name, which we feel is an essential part of the web3 identity.

Besides getting a better name for a lower price, our unique features are also appealing to web3 users. For example, our on-chain referral system resulted in fast, organic growth by leveraging blockchain technology and earning holders ETH rewards. Holders are also excited for the ecosystem we’re building because it goes beyond the scope of other domain providers.

You have one of the best subdomains system in the space. Can you explain how subdomains on ether wor? For example If I wanted liz.pussy.ether or sandy.pussy.ether, where do I mint these and if I mint them, will they be mine forever to do whatsoever I please with them?

For domains you own, you are free to create your own business models. You could allow an open, free mint, an allowlisted, paid mint, or anything in between. These can be minted at ether.domains and follow the same lifetime ownership model as domains. 

In 2023 we’ll be releasing ether.network, a novel application that will allow domain holders the opportunity to develop their own token-gated subdomain communities. Functionally, it will be like a cross between an Opensea collection page and a Patreon, giving unlimited creative potential to .ether holders. Examples could include:

• An influencer offering early access content to holders 
• An NFT project giving free subdomain mints to corresponding holder numbers
• An enterprising holder who wants to build their own community

The possibilities are truly endless and we think this will give the NFT market a new platform for brand creation and activation.

The promise of decentralized websites that are uncensorable is one of the possibilities of NFT domains. If I purchased liz.pussy.ether and I proceeded to publish unpolitically correct graphic satire on the dweb site, would you try to censor the website under the guise of preventing misinformation ? In other words, what roles does freedom of speech play at ether domains? Can they be censored or not?

This is a great question. Our Discord, of course, is subject to moderation at our discretion. We will not actively censor .ether domain holders outside of the Discord (i.e. on Twitter), though they may be subject to the rules of the platform they’re interacting with.

ether.network will be where freedom of speech gets more nuanced. It is our idealistic (and perhaps naive) hope that subdomain communities will be able to self-police, but we will likely need to craft some platform-wide principles to ensure for the safety of each subdomain community member. This is something we take seriously and will be releasing more guidance as we get closer to launch.

How do you see the role of Ether Domains 5 to 10 years from now?

As a web3 community, we’re only just scratching the surface of the potential for NFTs and subdomains. Our current roadmap takes us until mid-2023 and this is intentional. We want to ensure we stay nimble and adaptive, and build a strong foundation first.

I want to assure readers that we’re thinking long-term. If we wanted to make a quick buck we would release new premium characters (like emojis) and open a mint today. Instead, we’re focused on building the best ecosystem we can to give the Ethereum community the next-gen domains they deserve.