IceInSpace has always been a site for Aussies and New Zealanders.. of course we welcome those from other parts of the world, but our strength is that we are a local site, for local amateur astronomers and stargazers.
Well today, we make it official. It is with great pleasure that today I announce the launch of
IceInSpace.com.au!
Getting a .com.au domain name is not trivial in Australia, there are strict rules surrounding the registration of .au domain names and it required me to register a business name before I could get the domain name. With the help of the those who
donated to IceInSpace, I was able to finally get the .com.au site up and running.
Since registering the domain, mojo and I have been working in the background ensuring that the site will transition smoothly over to the .com.au domain, and we wanted to launch this now distinctly Australasian site with a new logo as well. So you can see above the result of many emails between mojo and myself trying to get the right design that signifies what we are, and most importantly, where we are.
The hope is that with the .au domain name, the site will yield many more search results for Aussies looking for astronomy related information in a "Pages from Australia" search.
Lots of people have contributed to this site in one way or another, and I greatly appreciate everyone's contributions however large or small. Special mention must go to mojo who has helped enormously in the creative and technical area. And of course a very special thankyou to those who
donate to the site to keep us up and running.
We've got something special here. I've found nothing quite like it in our region. The site has been up just over 6 months and we're growing every week. The sense of community on these forums is palpable. Everyone is willing to help, whether it's helping newbies or experienced astronomers. Friendships are being made, real friendships. People are getting together, meeting up and having star parties and observing sessions, inviting newbies along.. Without IceInSpace, would these people ever have met? Who knows..
I'm so proud of what IceInSpace has become, and as a community, what we have achieved and will continue to achieve. With the .com.au domain name i'm sure we'll get bigger and stronger still.
From a technical side, any .com URL's will be redirected to .com.au, but if you could update any links in your favourites or bookmarks, or any links on your homepages to point to the .com.au site, that'd be great. If you'd like to add a link to your homepage, that'd also be great. Please remember to use .com.au from now on so the search engines pick up all those references!
You may have found you need to login to the forums again, because the URL has changed you'll need to save a new cookie.
Thanks again to everyone's support and contributions to the IceInSpace experience.