domain registrars

[James Laver]

Today, namecheap had some scheduled site downtime (dns still
operational) without notifying their customers (at least neither
myself nor my flatmate were informed) but customer service insists an
email was sent out to everybody. They also can't tell me even roughly
when it will be back up.

When my domains come up for renewal, I'll be looking to switch to someone else.

Desired features:
- Cheapness
- Good customer service (including actually telling you when there
will be downtime and giving an estimate for how long it will be)
- Hassle free
- Easy to use web interface
- API for interfacing with software.

Gandi are top of my list but I have doubts since the furore with the
perl domain names. Who are we currently least hating?

--James