. . Network Solutions, which is more expensive but safe and they provide good facilities for do-it-yourself management down to the A and M records.

I have had clients lose control of their domain with other registrars when the registrar was sold or merged and all parties disclaimed responsibility. Access to management was denied. In one case the person who did the registering was no longer available (died) and unreasonable proof of ownership (dead person's registration paperwork) was required to take control.

I have successfully taken control of domains at NS - not easy but their requiremens are reasonable. In one case I had to forge letterhead because the company named in the registration never actually existed - it started up a few months later with a different name.