Domain Names. Most of us use them several times every day. Some of us give their names more thought than others. I thought I had given domain names quite a bit of thought, but when my best friend, Keri, asked me a very elementary question this morning, I realized I had no answer. She asked: How are domain extensions chosen?.
When she asked this, she didn’t mean what extension she should choose when registering a new domain name. What she was asking was who gets to choose the actual top level domain letters. I had read recently that the dot Mobi domains were being managed by an Ireland-based LLC. The question Keri asked made me wonder exactly how some random LLC could suddenly be in charge of an entire top level domain. Could anyone do it? What was the process.
ICANN: Grandmaster of Top Level Domains
I started my search at dot Mobi’s main site because I figured they’d have a good trail to follow. The breadcrumbs from their site led me to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). I had, of course, heard of ICANN before, but wasn’t exactly sure what they did, who they were or how they worked. A quick trip to ICANN’s About page gave me all the information I needed:
To reach another person on the Internet you have to type an address into your computer – a name or a number. That address has to be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN coordinates these unique identifiers across the world. Without that coordination we wouldn’t have one global Internet.
ICANN was formed in 1998. It is a not-for-profit partnership of people from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet’s unique identifiers.
ICANN doesn’t control content on the Internet. It cannot stop spam and it doesn’t deal with access to the Internet. But through its coordination role of the Internet’s naming system, it does have an important impact on the expansion and evolution of the Internet.
Okay. So ICANN doesn’t control the content on the internet exactly, but they do have to approval all gTLDs (generic Top Level Domains). Right now, this application and approval process is the main focus of ICANN as – especially since the dot Mobi approval – there is much interest in creating new, specialized top level domains.
As part of ICANN, the Generic Names Support Organization (GNSO) creates policies regarding the entire process of establishing top level domains – from intial application to appointing the official global registrar. Right now ICANN is revising the gTLD creation process. As of April 2008, they are working on: “developing an application interface that automates as much work as possible; comparative evaluation approaches, including an exploration of the use of auction, for the situation where two people apply for the same gTLD string; and devising the business and technical criteria necessary for a successful application.”
The Story of dotMobi
To get a better idea of how the process currently works, I will outline the process of establishing the newest of the gTLDs: dotMobi. In 2000 (yes, eight years ago), the idea of a dot mobi domain extension was born at Nokia. By December of 2003, Nokia had added Microsoft and Vodaphone to their team. In February of 2004, the triumvirate invited other interested companies to join. By March of that year, ten companies had formed the dot Mobi consortium and submitted their application to ICANN.
More than a year later, in July 2005, ICAN approved the .mobi contract and appointed dotMobi, an Irish LLC, as the global registrar. In January 2006 the dotMobi Dublin Headquarters opened, preparing for the Limited Industry Sunrise. The limited industry sunrise began in May 2006 and allowed hundreds of companies to register .mobi domains in advance of general registration. The next step, the Trademark Sunrise, took place from June to September of 2006. Immediately after this, with more than 13,000 trademark domains already registered, dotMob opened general registration.
As the global registrar, dotMobi upholds certain standards for the top level domain. Every .mobi domain must meet certain standards to ensure that the extension can be a trusted indicator that a website is mobile-friendly. As I mentioned in an earlier article, there are many resources available for dot mobi developers to make it easier for mobile-ready sites to be built.
The Story of .xxx
Just last year, ICANN’s board voted – for the second time – to not allow the creation of a .xxx domain extension. Those in favor of these extension argued that it would be easier to filter out adult domains if they were all required to use a specific extension. Those against the .xxx said that the new gTLD would just make it easier for everyone to find porn-related sites.
Both times ICANN voted against the TLD for reasons related to their core values. By approving a .xxx domain, ICANN’s voting board felt it would be, in a way, regulating content on the internet. Whether it was taken as an approval of adult-oriented domains or a need to segregate that type of content, ICANN remains firm in their Switzerland-stance on what and how information is available online.
But I Want a Top Level Domain Now, Daddy!
Getting back to Keri’s question: What if I wanted to create a new domain extension? Though policies are in a state of transition right now, I would recommend getting some serious players signed on. Talk to people and companies with leverage who might somehow have a stake in the top level domain you would like to propose. Once you have the right people signed up, it’s just a waiting game.
What it boils down to is Interest + Time. You need a certain level of interest from important people and companies. Both the .xxx and the .mobi stories illustrate the fact that ICANN takes their job very seriously so there will be no hasty decisions. This means you need a fair amount of patience to wait around while they kick about the pros and cons of your proposed TLD. I think it is possible for one person to get the ball rolling, but it takes a lot of cooperation and leverage from others to build up the momentum needed to actually make a new top level domain a reality.
To stay up-to-date on the decisions and actions related to the new TLD process, you can check out ICANN’s New gTLD Program website.
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