Guides
5
Subnetting explained: CIDR, masks and host counts
What a /24 actually means, how to split a network without a calculator, why two addresses per subnet are unusable, and how IPv6 changes the exercise.
3 min read
DNS records explained: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT and the rest
What each DNS record type does, when to use A versus CNAME at the apex, how TTLs work, and the records that decide whether your email lands in spam.
3 min read
Does domain age affect SEO? What the data actually supports
Whether domain age is a Google ranking factor, why old domains often rank better anyway, and what to check before paying a premium for an aged domain.
4 min read
SSL certificate errors and what each one actually means
The five certificate errors browsers show, what causes each, and how to check a certificate's expiry, chain and hostname coverage before users do.
3 min read
WHOIS is dead and RDAP replaced it: what changed
Why WHOIS returns less than it used to, what RDAP gives you instead, and how to read registrar status codes like clientTransferProhibited.
4 min read
About domains and infrastructure
A domain is the one asset in a launch that is genuinely hard to fake and easy to check. Registration date, registrar, nameservers and history are all matters of record, which is why domain age is one of the signals this board verifies rather than takes on trust. This hub explains what those records contain and what they are worth as evidence.
The guides cover the practical mechanics first: what each DNS record type does, how propagation actually works and why it is rarely the cause of the problem people blame it for, and how WHOIS and RDAP differ now that most registration contact data is redacted. Then the evaluation side, including how to check whether a domain you are about to buy has a history you would rather not inherit.
Domain age and SEO gets its own treatment because the popular claim and the evidence do not match. Age correlates with rankings largely because old domains have had longer to accumulate links and content, and separating the two is what the guide is for.
Common questions
- Does buying an older domain help rankings?
- Only through what came with it. Age on its own is not a boost, and an expired domain can carry penalties or a spam link profile that costs more to clean up than the domain saved.
- WHOIS or RDAP?
- RDAP is the current standard, returns structured JSON and is what registries maintain going forward. WHOIS still works and still has broader coverage for some legacy TLDs.