Táim ann. I'm in. Don't want Brendan and the fam showing up for a coicís....you're welcome for a week though am ar bith.

Rachaidh muid ann lá éigin, a Fhéabair.

Actually, Bríd, as I explained above, we wouldn't. Nobody can stop us using the URL we have, i.e., irishlearner.awyr.com, as long as I own awyr.com. And they can't stop us using the name "Irish Learners' Forum" unless they already had a forum by the same or very similar name before we did, and then only if they can prove that we draw "business" away from them.

Having the domain name can be helpful for people to find us, but it is not essential. How many of you have actually ever typed in irishgaelictranslator.com or foghlaimnagaeilge.com to get there? I didn't. I always got there by a link from someone else or from a search engine.

Another point with domains is that even if someone grabs the one you want most, you can always find another. For example, if someone grabbed irishlearnersforum.com, we could still get .org, .ie, etc., or we could use something else that easy to remember. I would actually go for "irishlearner" myself and may do so eventually but it is not essential to do it right now.

That could possibly happen eventually, if we can keep going like IGTF has/did. But for the moment, our usage is well and truly covered by the provider service I have for my business.

I don't actually use much bandwidth - I mainly own my current domains for the e-mail addresses I can create for my business, and the little bit of uploading such as soundfiles I did from awyr.com. It won't be very expensive to upgrade my package to the next usage level if we do start to use higher bandwidth but we won't need to worry about that for ages yet.

I'd consider a donation if it was a very expensive proposition, but I think under Australian law we would have to incorporate as an association if we accepted any form of donation or membership fee, and it would just be a hassle declaring it to the Tax Office, etc. I'd rather just pay the few extra bucks it would cost from my own pocket for the enjoyment I get out of it. (But if people shout me a pint when I meet them, I won't say no. )

I will also look into a backup plan so that if I were to disappear off the face off the earth for any reason, or my provider did for that matter, Redwolf could relocate the site to her provider, for example, and the forum wouldn't disappear with me.

Please rest assured that the forum is in good hands this time and safe from profiteering.

Brendan

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

If it would make people feel better, I could register the domain for a year and redirect it to irishlearner.awyr.com - I have plenty of open "slots" for domain registrations. (Technically I don't even think my registrar account has any limit) Then if any time in the next year you decide that you'd like to officially link the domain to the forum, I can transfer the registration to you.

David

I think that would be a great idea.

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It is recommended that you always wait for three to agree on a translation.
I speak Connemara Irish, and my input will often reflect that.
I will do an mp3 file on request for short translations.
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That would be great, David. If you could register irishlearnersforum.com, I think it could serve as a backup plan in case something happens to me, as mentioned above. If Redwolf keeps a regular backup, then perhaps you two could work together to get the site running again in an emergency.

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

OK, done! It might take a little while for the DNS changes to propagate, but once that happens, both irishlearnersforum.com and www.irishlearnersforum.com will point to this site. EDIT: oops, I forgot you would need to make changes on your end to enable that, Breandán. I'll make it use a redirect instead for now, so that anyone who uses that domain will get sent to the right place.

It's probably best not to use these domain names to advertise the site, at least not until you decide whether you want it permanently.

David

Thanks, David. The redirect is working nicely (which is good because I wasn't sure what I would have to set at my end otherwise. )

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

Just dont rename it Modern Irish Learners Forum

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Nuair a shuíonn an coileach péacoige ar a thóin, níl ann ach turcaí
Chief Buffalo Breath
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Wisdom is never on the menu, you have to own the restaurant.

I'm sure I haven't the slightest idea what you mean.

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

Yes, that would be outrageous - omitting the apostrophe like that.