Say good-bye to the
traditional web addresses. An internet oversight group, Internet Corporation
for Assigned Names and Numbers, unanimously passed rules to allow new endings
to web addresses.
Now uses will be
able to have domain names that end with words such as .sports or .newyork. It
is the first changes to the system in 25 years of its existence.
Not only coming to
the realization of the fact that the internet have been in existence for 25
years makes me feel old, but I also have to feel older because now there are
more endings to have to remember.
I can’t tell you how
many times I go to type in a site and forget if it is .com or .org. Now there
are infinite possibilities. I am worried.
Not to mention the
disputes this change will cause. If two organizations want the same endings,
the board said a decision would be made through auction. This is already the
case for the .sports.
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.
Therefore coke would have the first choice when it comes to the .coke address.
It should be interesting to see
what creative people come up with now that there are so many more endless
options. Should we apply now for .searchwarp domain address?
And because one
sweeping change is not enough in an organization in 25 years, the group decided
to add a second sweeping change. The 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.
I think overall while exciting
this is going to just create confusion for users. After all, it took us 25
years to really begin to be proficient at the Internet we know now. Adding an
infinite amount more addresses will just make it more confusing.
It will be fun to watch the
outcome. What are your thoughts? Any domain addresses you want to grab quickly?
