I do this, and I actually have DNS. I think it's because what I did is:
* Sign up for a hosting plan one of the times that it was super-cheap (I paid like $9 for a year of hosting and got a free domain for the year.)
* Cancel hosting after cheap period is over
So all of my DNS stuck around, and I can change it and everything like normal. I think I can even buy domains elsewhere and use Dreamhost as my DNS server for them.
The one complaint I have with them is that their forgot password scheme is "email your password in plaintext", which makes me feel a little bit like my domains aren't safe. So if I were to find my ideal registrar (~$10, not evil, decent interface, free DNS), I'd switch for that reason.
* Sign up for a hosting plan one of the times that it was super-cheap (I paid like $9 for a year of hosting and got a free domain for the year.)
* Cancel hosting after cheap period is over
So all of my DNS stuck around, and I can change it and everything like normal. I think I can even buy domains elsewhere and use Dreamhost as my DNS server for them.
The one complaint I have with them is that their forgot password scheme is "email your password in plaintext", which makes me feel a little bit like my domains aren't safe. So if I were to find my ideal registrar (~$10, not evil, decent interface, free DNS), I'd switch for that reason.