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Domain Names. A Brief History of Confusion Stephen Dyer. In the Beginning. The Network Jon Postel Electronic Addresses such as: 1 2 3 4 5 194.23.45.67. A Bit Later. Host File mapped memorable names to addresses:
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Domain Names A Brief History of Confusion Stephen Dyer
In the Beginning • The Network • Jon Postel • Electronic Addresses such as: 1 2 3 4 5 • 194.23.45.67
A Bit Later • Host File mapped memorable names to addresses: 1 UCLA2 SRI3 UCSB4 UTAH5 BBN6 MIT7 RAND8 SDC9 HARVARD • The number of computers increased
Even Later • So some now familiar 3-letter suffixes were introduced: .com – companies .net – network providers .edu – academic institutions .mil – military .gov – governmental .int – international treaty .org – everything else and all of these had the unspoken “US” with them
The Network spread abroad • In 1985 and 1986, some European names were introduced, including these: .de .fr .uk • Plus another 180-ish two-letter Country-Code domains followed
The ISO 3166 List • The domains were based around the two-letter codes for each country maintained by the ISO - the ISO 3166 list. • Anomalies: GB vs. UK Ukraine .UA .GB and .OZ
RFC 1591 • It is extremely unlikely that any other TLDs will be created. • Concerns about "rights" and "ownership" of domains are inappropriate. It is appropriate to be concerned about "responsibilities" and "service" to the community.
Top Level Domains • GTLD’s Global Top-Level Domains • ccTLD’s, Country Code Top-Level Domains • USTLD’s including originals .gov, .mil etc
Sub-Domains • Began with the logical progression to .org.uk and .net.uk. • Therefore what could be more sensible than .com.uk, .net.uk, .edu.uk, .gov.uk, .mil.uk and .org.uk ??…
Well obviously: .co.uk .ac.uk .nhs.uk .gov.uk .bl.uk .jet.uk .x.uk .me.uk .parliament.uk .police.uk .plc.uk .org.uk .ltd.uk .sch.uk .mod.uk
New mixtures • Further sub-domains introduced: uk.com us.com au.comeu.com • New uses for ccTLDs: .MD .TV etc
ICANN • New GTLDS proposed: .web .go .tel .dir .sex .xxx .fun .art .music .culture .help .shop .cash .home .kids etc. (Actually 33 in total) .NAME, .PRO, .AERO, .MUSEUM, .INFO, .BIZ, .COOP (7 approved)
Today • .EU • Sunrise Periods • Trademarks • Regulators – Oftel/Ofcom
.EU • The Regulation • The Launch • Languages and Nonsense
Internationalised Domain Names • Up until recently you could register Faberge.com But not: Fabergé.com
Internationalised Domain Names • Special characters including: é, etc are now possible • You can now have .com but strangely you can’t have .
Internationalised Domain Names • Unicode xn—nescaf-gva.com = nescafé.com xn—caf-crme-60ag.com = café-crème.com • Cybersquatting vs. trademarks • Problems: Religions, minorities etc
Summary An epitaph for Domain Name Regulators: He tackled a job that couldn't be done, With a smile, he went right to it. He tackled the job that couldn't be done, And he couldn't do it.
Domain Names A Brief History of Confusion