Tonic Frequently Asked Questions
Tonic is the Tonga Network Information Center. Since 1995 we have been the national DNS registration authority for the country of Tonga and have provided domain name services to a wide variety of government, commercial, and personal Internet sites. We are committed to providing superior service to the global Internet community through a streamlined automated name registration and maintenance system available 24 hours a day at http://www.tonic.to
Simply click the New Domain Name icon on our home page, and you will be prompted to enter the domain name you want. If it's available, you can register it immediately, and it will be activated the same day. It's that easy.
Existing customers can reach our support staff at hostmaster@tonic.to.
PLEASE NOTE
Tonic is very serious about keeping the .TO domain spam-free and phishing-free. We have revoked - and will continue to revoke - registrations if we believe they are directly or indirectly responsible for the distribution of spam, or used in conjunction with phishing. If your domain name is being used, for example, for URL or email redirection you are responsible for each of your user/customer's behavior with respect to spam. If your business plan relies on making it easier for spammers or phishers to protect their identity while proliferating unsolicited bulk email, or if you are planning on using your .TO domain for free URL redirection / URL-shortening, then there's a pretty good chance that we'll be revoking your domain name sometime in the future.
Free URL-shortening is inherently attractive for phishing attacks, because it anonymizes the source. Therefore, if we find that your .TO domain is being used for free URL-shortening / redirection, we will suspend your domain forever with the first legitimate report of a phishing URL under your domain.
Please contact stopspam@tonic.to for information on cooperating with Tonic to help keep .TO spam-free and phishing-free.
What is a domain name, and why do I want one ?
Every computer on the Internet is identified by a unique number. Because humans are much better at remembering names than numbers, the worldwide domain name system (DNS) exists to also let all computers on the Internet also be uniquely identified by name. Some examples of domain names you might be familiar with include: mcdonalds.com, hotwired.com, whitehouse.org, and the site you are now reading, tonic.to.Every time you send electronic mail or browse to a web site, you are using the Internet's domain name system to reach your destination. A domain name is how you represent yourself or your company on the Internet.
Top level domains such as .COM, .ORG, and .NET have traditionally denoted commercial entities, non-profit organizations, and network access companies. All of the top level domains work the same way, but .TO is the first commercially available name space in which you can register names directly from a web site. Our fully automated registration system makes getting the name of your choice fast and easy.
.TO was the first country code to be offered globally through an
automated registry. Our registry has been running since June 1997.
Will my name in .TO work anywhere in the world ?
Yes, a .TO name works exactly the same a .COM name, it just happens
to have a different ending. It is treated in precisely the
way as .COM by all the DNS nameservers in the world.
How does DNS work for my .TO name?
The Tonic DNS Primer explains DNS in detail.
You can test your DNS setup at our DNS test page.
Why do I want a domain name ending with .TO ?
There are more than a hundred million second level domains registered in the
.COM top level domain. Most of the good, short, easy to remember
names in .COM are already taken by someone else. The .TO
top level domain is brand new, empty real estate, with most names still
available. In .TO you can have a short name that is easy to say and
easy to remember, and is just right for your business.
How can I tell if the name I want in .TO is still available ?
At our web site http://www.tonic.to you can instantly check to see if the name
you want is available. If it is available, you can register and activate
your name immediately.
What is Tonic's policy on trademark and copyright issues ?
Tonic has reserved a number of names. If you are trying to register
a name and find that it has been reserved, please email hostmaster@tonic.to
for more information if you have specific questions or needs.
Other than reserved names, all names are available on a first-come,
first-served basis.
Are there any drawbacks to having a name in .TO instead of .COM ?
None. Our primary name server for .TO works just the same way as the primary
name server for .COM, making your domain name in .TO available instantly
worldwide to anyone who needs to find your web site or email host.
There are currently secondary name servers supporting .TO on four continents,
including North America, Australia, Europe, and Africa, guaranteeing
speed of access and global reliability of your domain name.
What does it cost for a name in .TO ?
The cost of a name in .TO varies with the number of years initial registration. The minimum registration period is two years and costs US$50 per year or US$100 total. A five year registration costs US$40 per year for a total of US$200 (one year free). Other registration periods are available and are explained during registration. This initial fee covers maintenance and certain updates to your customer information and .TO name.
Updates that are not covered by this fee are: changes to the domain name itself; transfers of the domain name to another party; changes in the Organization's information that in effect represent a transfer of the domain name to another legal entity. These actions are not considered updates and require a new registration to be processed, which will be subject to a new registration fee.
After the initial registration period expires, there is a renewal fee based on the length of the renewal period. The minimum renewal period is one year for US$50. A five year renewal is US$40 per year for a total of $200. Other renewal periods are available.
We offer substantial referral commissions to Internet Service Providers and other
resellers. Please contact us for more information about our reseller/commission program.
How can I easily pay for my domain name ?
We accept Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, and Discover when you register a name on our automated
web site. Our web page supports encryption for the transmission
of your credit card data, which is not retained at our site after billing.
How do I renew my domain name ?
Thirty days before your domain name registration expires, you will automatically be sent an email reminder. You can easily renew your name by credit card from our web site, at www.tonic.to/renewal.htm.
At that time, you can choose to renew your name for one, two, three, five, or ten years. Tonic is the only domain registry offering these multi-year
registrations.
How do I transfer a domain name from one registrant to another ?
To transfer a domain name the current registrant must first create a transfer key. The new registrant uses that key to re-register the domain in their name. Domain name transfers are considered new registrations. All new registration charges apply.
DO NOT give away your master password as a method of transferring domain names --- this will result in reassigning the registration of ALL of the domain names registered under that customer handle!
If you have a transfer key for a domain name, go to www.tonic.to/transfersld.htm.
How do I manage my domain settings and DNS configuration ?
With your customer handle and master password, you can manage all aspects of your .TO domain registration including:
• Customer information updates
• DNS nameserver configuration
• Domain renewals
• Password changes
• Domain transfers
Note: DNS passwords have been deprecated. Your master password now provides access to all domain management functions through our secure customer portal. Be sure to keep your master password secure and memorable.
How long before the servers have the info for my new domain ?
The authoritative nameservers for .TO (tonic.to) are updated with information
from our customer database every six hours.
Note that you have to specify DNS information for your domain before it
appears in the .TO zonefile.
Does Tonic offer WHOIS and RDAP services ?
Yes, Tonic provides both traditional WHOIS and modern RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) services for .TO domain lookups.
WHOIS Service:
You can access our WHOIS service at whois.tonicregistry.to
RDAP Service:
Our RDAP service is available at rdap.tonicregistry.to/rdap
RDAP provides structured JSON responses and is the modern replacement for WHOIS, offering better internationalization support and standardized data formats.
Privacy Policy:
Tonic respects customer privacy. Our WHOIS and RDAP services provide domain registration and DNS information without revealing sensitive personal details. We will never sell mailing lists of our customers.
To verify your .TO domain names are available worldwide, you can also use
standard DNS tools like nslookup or dig.
The name I want has already been registered by someone else. How can I contact them ?
When you attempt to register a name that is already registered,
the web page that is returned has a link that sends your
contact email address to the registrant.
Whether they choose to reply to your email or not is up to them.
What happens to expired names ?
Registrants of names are sent email warning them that their name registration is about to expire, and detailing how to renew the name. When a domain expires, it goes through several phases before becoming available for registration again:
Domain Expiration Lifecycle Timeline:
• Auto-Renew Period (Days 0-40 after expiration):
The domain enters an auto-renew period where it can still be renewed at normal renewal prices. The domain remains functional until Day 5 when it is placed on hold.
• Client Hold Status (Day 5 after expiration):
The domain is placed on hold and DNS will no longer resolve. The domain can still be renewed by the original registrant at normal pricing.
• Redemption Period (Day 45-75 after expiration):
The domain goes into a 30-day redemption period. During this phase, the original registrant must contact support if they would like to recover their domain name. Additional fees may apply.
• Pending Deletion (Day 75-80 after expiration):
After the redemption period, the domain enters a 5-day pending deletion phase before it is re-released for registration by the general public.
Does .TO allow the registration and use of Internationalized Domain Names ("IDN") ?
What character sets are supported in an IDN registration under .TO ?
At present, .TO allows the registration of domain names
containing any unicode code point.
What is not allowed in .TO IDN registrations ?
.TO does not allow intentional homonym registrations.
.TO has zero tolerance of malicious use of our ccTLD domain namespace.
Registrations that are reported to be a "homonym" type registration
used to perpetrate spam, phishing, fraud, or any activities deemed by Tonic to be inappropriate or illegal may be removed from the .TO zonefile without notice to the registrant.
