Re: [dns-operations] Assistance Request: OpenDNS Not Resolving Certain .realtor™ Domains

[Matthew Embrescia]

Dear DNS-Operations Community,

I want to thank everyone who responded to my note last week and offered their time and expertise to help identify the root cause of the issue we were experiencing. As someone new to this list, I am sincerely grateful for the generosity and professionalism of this community. Your insights helped us resolve a problem that had the potential to cause significant disruption and reputational harm to our customers and partners.

If my original message came across as inappropriate or out of step with the norms of this group, please accept my apologies. I genuinely appreciate the patience shown to a newcomer.

By way of brief background: .realtor™ is a restricted top-level domain operated by Real Estate Domains LLC on behalf of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). With nearly two million combined members, NAR and CREA represent one of the largest trade organizations in the world for the real estate industry. Membership in these associations requires adherence to a strict Code of Ethics designed to protect consumers and ensure fairness and professionalism in the industry.

Because use of the .realtor™ domain is limited exclusively to verified members of these associations, maintaining the integrity and reliability of our DNS infrastructure is central to the trust our users place in us. When our registrants began reporting that their clients and consumers could not access their .realtor™ websites, trust was at risk. We are deeply thankful for the help we received in identifying and ultimately fixing the issue.

We believe our restrictions and eligibility requirements are a key part of what differentiates the .realtor™ namespace. By ensuring that only verified, licensed real estate professionals are permitted to register domains, we reduce the risk of phishing, fraud, and other malicious activity that can harm consumers and undermine confidence in digital real estate transactions. In this way, our model not only strengthens the security of our own zone but also contributes to the broader integrity of the DNS ecosystem.

I am happy to answer any questions you may have and look forward to contributing in the future. You can learn more about us at www.get.realestate if you’re curious.

With sincere gratitude,

Matthew Embrescia

President & CEO

.realtor™ & .RealEstate

On 12/8/25, 3:17 AM, "dns-operations on behalf of Ondřej Surý" <dns-operations-bounces at dns-oarc.net <mailto:dns-operations-bounces at dns-oarc.net> on behalf of ondrej at sury.org <mailto:ondrej at sury.org>> wrote:


[You don't often get email from ondrej at sury.org <mailto:ondrej at sury.org>. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification <https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification> ]


Dave,


> On 7. 12. 2025, at 22:17, Dave Lawrence via dns-operations <dns-operations at dns-oarc.net <mailto:dns-operations at dns-oarc.net>> wrote:
>
> So, I'll be that guy. "LOL."




I find your remark inappropriate for the public channel. Using .realtor™ might miss the audience on
a technical list, I don't think that mocking a person outside of DNS asking for a help of the DNS experts
is something that we should do.


> On 8. 12. 2025, at 8:09, Joe Abley via dns-operations <dns-operations at dns-oarc.net <mailto:dns-operations at dns-oarc.net>> wrote:
>


> Personally I think it's great that people come here and feel able to ask good engineering questions about the DNS and get helpful answers. That is, in fact, exactly what this list is for.




I am absolutely with Joe on this one, and I appreciate that Matthew was right to come here and ask for help.


Ondrej
--
Ondřej Surý (He/Him)
ondrej at sury.org <mailto:ondrej at sury.org>




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