Date: Thursday, August 2, 2007

Is the end nigh for DotCom?

The use of the word dotcom as a synonym for the internet could become defunct as the internet is opened up to a potentially limitless array of suffixes.

From next year the internet is being opened up to the general market for the opportunity to buy the top level (the part that comes after the dot), meaning that an unlimited amount of suffixes could appear on our screens! Could this be the end for the dotcom suffix as we know it? At the moment there are currently a phenomenal 60 million websites which end .com, and only 271 other suffixes out there besides this, most of which are country-designated endings such as .co.uk or .com.au. This could be all set to change with the liberalisation of the internet by the company which controls domain names online, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).

Although currently there are some top level domains (TLD) such as the .name enterprise, however the owner of this company says the uptake of these domains has been slow mainly because people don’t know they are out there. ICANN’s proposal would be set to change this with a well-publicised campaign which could result in all manner of domain names. However, the company is also worried about the potential for inappropriate domains such as .nazi and .nigger appearing so have been in long-term discussions as to how best to liberalise the internet for all, whilst still holding on to some control as to which words can be used as domain names. One way that they may be able to maintain control is through the $100,000 application fee people will have to pay, and also through the requirement that applicants have to show they are capable of running an intricate piece of the internet. What this could mean is that from 2008 we may be seeing internet addresses such as www.latest.google and www.uk.coffee, which could completely change the way we see the internet.

Source: Guardian