Next week, we should get the first look at the proposed list of new Web domains in the largest-ever expansion of the Internet’s naming system.
A major expansion of “generic top-level domains,” will eventually clear the way for new offerings like .law, .coke or .nyc, says CNNMoneyTechm, but don’t expect to be clicking on then anytime soon.
There were huge delays launching the adult-themed .xxx domain in December and the expectations are the timeline will slip again. Expanding the Internet’s domains is a slow, wildly complicated process.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the nonprofit organization that manages this piece of the Internet’s infrastructure, has been preparing for this almost-anything-goes domain name expansion for nearly a decade.
Last June, it formally approved the expansion and started planning the application process for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) — the “.com” part of website addresses.
The current system has 22 gTLDs — not including geographic domains — like .com, .net and .org. ICANN has added a handful over the past decade, sprinkling in additions like .biz, .info and .xxx. This new expansion is by far the organization’s biggest move.
But the process quickly devolved into a bug-plagued mess.
I have done transcriptions for ICANN this year. I should contact them for a job. They are in Los Angeles, right?
I believe they are based in Marina del Rey.