While the launch of the .gay top level domain may have been delayed due to COVID-19 the team over there has been working away behind the scenes. Several household names have either activated or are in the process of launching sites and other services using some of the first .gay domain names. But the one that caught my eye was Atari. They're a global brand, so it'll be … [Read more...] about Atari First Global Brand to Activate .gay
gtlds
Will .wed Get Divorced From ICANN?
The .wed TLD could end up getting divorced from ICANN. The .wed domain extension has always been a bit of an odd fish. The people behind it were convinced that their business model was viable and that people would want to register .wed domains in very high volumes. Because of this "demand" the registry's pricing model made it prohibitive to register a .wed domain name for … [Read more...] about Will .wed Get Divorced From ICANN?
3 Years of .Global
The .global TLD has been live for 3 years and to celebrate the registry has prepared a nice graphic showing some interesting data about the domain extension's usage (see below). At time of writing there are just over 34 thousand .global domains registered. While that number may not be as high as some registries the .global registry is claiming quite high usage rates, as well … [Read more...] about 3 Years of .Global
Universal Acceptance Still Has A Long Way To Go
"Universal Acceptance" is one of those terms you hear a lot when you attend ICANN meetings. In simple terms the idea is that all domain names, be they IDN or ASCII, no matter how long they are, should "work". When we say "work" what I mean is in relation to daily use. (There are people working on it) So, for example, you should be able to do things like: create an email … [Read more...] about Universal Acceptance Still Has A Long Way To Go
Closed Generics The Final Battle?
Over the past couple of years I've posted several times on the issue of "closed generics". In essence these are new TLD applications where the string is a "generic term" AND the applicant wanted to keep all domains in the registry for their own use. The baseline registry agreement with ICANN now contains language that resolves the issue, or at least it would appear to do … [Read more...] about Closed Generics The Final Battle?
String Confusion Explained
Dirk from dotBerlin has posted a very funny, but also scarily accurate, graphic that illustrates how inconsistent some of the decisions handed down have been. You can read about the review process here Hat tip to Kevin who spotted this … [Read more...] about String Confusion Explained
Google’s .App Under Fire
I've written about "closed generic" new TLD applications several times over the last year. I'm opposed to them, as I've said in the past and continue to say today. However I've generally been supportive of "restricted" TLDs. The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) has serious concerns about Google's application for .app and want ICANN's board of directors to … [Read more...] about Google’s .App Under Fire
Google Does The Right Thing Opening Several Closed Generic Applications
Over the last few months one of the areas of attention in the new TLD project has been "closed generics". I've written about this several times in the past and I've also raised the issue in as many fora as possible. Yesterday ICANN published a letter they'd received from Google with respect to several of their new TLD applications. Whereas Google had made it clear … [Read more...] about Google Does The Right Thing Opening Several Closed Generic Applications
Google Bows To Pressure On Closed Generics
The debate surrounding "closed generics", which we've covered several times in the past, has attracted a lot of attention in recent weeks. At the centre of the debate were a number of new TLD applications from large companies including Google, Amazon and others. Google had stated that they planned to establish a number of domain extensions and operate them as "walled … [Read more...] about Google Bows To Pressure On Closed Generics
5 Reasons Why Closed Generic New gTLDs Should Be Opposed
I'm on the record multiple times over the last few months for my opinions on "closed generics". I first posted about it here back in June of last year: Big Brands Trying To Corner Generic Namespaces? Since then I've sent several letters to ICANN (supported by many others) and have been quoted and referenced in several articles on the subject including Politico.com: … [Read more...] about 5 Reasons Why Closed Generic New gTLDs Should Be Opposed