more on Content-specific TLDs, was "ex-ex-ex" domains

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "John S. Quarterman" <jsq () quarterman org>
Date: June 4, 2005 11:29:13 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Cc: "John S. Quarterman" <jsq () quarterman org>, ip () v2 listbox com
Subject: Re: [IP] Content-specific TLDs, was "ex-ex-ex" domains


> From: John R Levine <johnl () iecc com>
> Date: June 4, 2005 12:26:54 AM EDT
> Subject: Content-specific TLDs, was "ex-ex-ex" domains


> ...


> For better or worse, that train left the station several years ago.
> Half of the new domains that ICANN has approved have been content- 
> specific.


> ...

Um, didn't that train leave the station long before?  EDU, NET,
ORG, and COM were content-specific by being organization-specific.
And the ballooning of COM to be far bigger than the others may have
been an indication that the domain owners and the users didn't want
content-specific.

Didn't we also see this before on USENET?  There were a dozen
or so specific newsgroup categories, with approval processes for
new newsgroups.  Then the alt category started, with much easier
approval processes, and proceeded to produce most of the new newsgroups:
 http://www.livinginternet.com/u/ui_alt.htm

Note that the first really controversial alt newsgroup was alt.sex.

The above history article mentions the talk hierarchy.  I'd forgotten
about talk, but I guess Brad hadn't since his recent posting about
.polinc is basically the same thing.

The COM TLD was as old as the others I named, but some of the recent
posters here will remember the com-priv mailing list that endlessly
debated commercialization and privatization of the Internet.  And the
resistance on USENET to the alt category.  Yet the users eventually
voted by what they used.

Let ten thousand TLDs bloom.  Not only are they technically feasible,
but if we had them maybe people would realize that in an age of Yahoo!
and google and P2P filesharing top level domains don't really matter
anymore.

-jsq


-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org
To manage your subscription, go to
 http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip

Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/