One of the most popular topics on the Internet today is the
future of the Internet. The Information Superhighway is adding more
lanes, and some people have questions. If there is one that you have that I
neglected to add to the list, please e-mail it to me at
Curtis@Kularski.net.
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What is a TLD?
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Why do we need new TLDs?
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How will the TLDs affect me?
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What happened to .XXX, .KIDS, .FOO, etc?
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What is New.net?
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Why are the new TLDs taking so long?
Q: What is a TLD?
A: TLD stands for Top Level Domain. A TLD is a domain extension, like
.COM, .NET, .ORG and other names that are tacked on the end of a URL when you
type it in.
Q: Why do we need new TLDs? What is wrong with the
old ones?
A: We need new TLDs because the old ones are too full, and there are almost
no unique names left, the new TLDs will allow for all of the old names to be
registered again, but by a different person / organization, allowing for
multiple to own a single name, just under a different TLD.
Q: How will this affect the way I use the Internet?
A: Most of the affects will be positive. There will be more of a selection
for you when registering a domain name, and URLs may return to being short
again. The only negative affect will be that you will need to remember what TLD
a website is in that you need to visit.
Q: What happened to .XXX, .KIDS, .FOO, etc?
A: They never existed, they were only proposed. See ICANN.ORG for more information. Some
variations of the proposed TLDs can be found on New.Net. NEW.net is not
recognized globally, and has no authority to register domain names (or TLDs)
Q: What is New.Net, why can’t we just all use them?
A: New.net is an alternate DNS system that is not attached to or affiliated
with ICANN, InterNIC or any Internet authority. New.net domain names can not be
accessed by most of the Internet. New.net registers domains in the false TLDs of
.SHOP, .SEX, .KIDS, .GOLF, and many more. We can’t all use New.net because
their infrastructure can’t handle it. They can’t integrate with the Root Zone
because it would overload the Root Zone, and possibly cause the Internet to come
to a halt. The Root Zone is very delicate and wasn’t meant to be changed. When
Jon Postel wrote the RFCs for defining the TLDs in 1985, he stated that “it is
unlikely that any others TLDs will be added.”
Q: It is taking forever to get the new TLDs online,
Why?
A: ICANN is trying to be very cautious, as to avoid causing harm to the
Root Zone or the Internet. The Internet is important to the commerce and
communication of millions of people; it is too risky to try to add new TLDs
without extensive testing. The DNS system wasn’t built with scalability in mind.
