Dr. Matt Lee (mattl)

Domains with a .fm extension are fairly difficult to transfer, but don’t let that put you off buying one — I think .fm domains are stylish.

There’s a lot of talk right now about SOPA and the people who are supporting it. GoDaddy supported it, and then half-heartedly said they didn’t, and is now saying they don’t. A few smaller registrars have stepped up and taken some of GoDaddy’s customers, and I applaud them for doing this.

Not many domain registrars are good, and very few of them can handle .fm domains at all. Gandi is one that can, and Gandi also supports some projects I support as well. With that in mind, here’s how to get your .fm domain to them.

1. Unlock your domain — this is done in the control panel on GoDaddy and other providers have a similar interface.
2. Call your registrar — ask them to escalate the transfer request to the .fm registrar, as the authorization code they provide you is invalid.
3. Two days later, get the real authorization code in your email. Mine was a number, mine also warned me of the danger of case-sensitivity, which is a big problem for numbers. UPPERCASE NUMBERS CAN KILL.
4. At Gandi, begin the transfer process. It’s not cheap, but you will be liberated and make a positive statement at the same time.

Good luck!