On thursday, ICANN's (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) chairman Peter Dengate Thrush said,
“We’re expecting a broad range of applicants. Indigenous communities might come forward to protect aspects of their language and culture. We may see a .smith so that all the Smiths in the world will have a place.“It’s very exciting to see what people will do with those names.”
Internet’s main oversight agency ICANN passed a new rules in which it is decided that any company, organization or country will soon be able to apply for a new Web address extension, called a top-level domain. So let us think of getting over in booking new domains with the extensions like .com and .org. We should get ready for a nearly infinite variety of new Web addresses ending in words like .perfume, .sports and .paris.
The Icann board also passed another less controversial proposal that would allow these domains to be registered in scripts other than Roman characters, like Chinese, Arabic and Cyrillic. Specific countries could receive the equivalent of their two-letter country code, like Bulgaria’s .bg, in their native alphabet.
That could smooth the way for Web addresses that end in city names, brands and generic words. It could also sow confusion in the minds of Web users, create a host of new ways to exploit the Web addressing system and start a wave of legal skirmishes over applications to register trademarks — .coke, for example.
Icann officials said any applications for the new domains would have to go through an independent review process. Third parties will be able to challenge applications on the grounds that a particular suffix could threaten “morality and public order.” And companies will have the first priority when it comes to claiming their brand names.
If multiple parties want a name — as is already the case with .sports — conflicts will be settled through auctions.
At present, the domain name system consists of more than 20 suffixes, which follow the last dot in a Web address. Domains have so far been generally restricted to labels for countries —.de for Germany, for example — and descriptions for broad categories like .com for commerce and .org for institutional organizations.
Address extensions that ICANN added more recently, like .biz in 2001 and .mobi in 2005, have been largely ignored and in some cases have been adopted mostly by spammers and other malefactors.
Ron Jackson, editor of Domain Journal, an industry newsletter, said he thought the new addresses would addle and elude average Internet users. He said,
“If you have hundreds or thousands of new suffixes, they are not that easy to remember. I just see it as confusing."
Lauren Weinstein, a longtime Internet activist and co-founder of People for Internet Responsibility, an education and policy firm in Los Angeles, said he worried that the new system would create huge opportunities for shady domain name registrars, who buy and sell domain names for profit, and for others who try to exploit the address system. Mr. Weinstein said,
“The potential for mass confusion and fraud and phishing from these new domains seems to be what the primary impact will be for consumers. I fail to see the positive for consumers in this. It’s all downside.”
ICANN officials said that they would move slowly to introduce the changes, and would address many concerns and unanswered questions in a public review process that could last at least a year.
One question is how much the new top-level domains will cost. Icann officials estimated that prices would start in the low six figures, so the organization can recoup its expenses for developing the new service.
The changes had strong backing from local groups who sought designations for their cities. Supporters of a .berlin suffix, for example, say they have spent a million euros, or $1.6 million, in their quest, financed with contributions from local hotels and a phone directory publisher.
Some cities are keeping a watchful eye on how the system develops. Thomas Lowenhaupt, founding director of the nonprofit group Connecting.nyc, which is pressing a campaign to create the domain name .nyc for the city of New York, said that he was concerned about the potential for a gold rush mentality to develop.
“As this thing gets closer you’re going to see everyone coming out of the woodwork,” said Mr. Lowenhaupt, who has been lobbying for the name since 2001 and is now contending with another group try to secure the .nyc name.
The ICANN board said it would seek public comment on the guidelines before its next major meeting in November, 2008.
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