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new gTLDs
This page looks proposals for new global or generic top
level domain (gTLD) spaces.
It covers -
introduction
The preceding page noted establishment of the dot-eu gTLD,
a name space covering Europe. ICANN has come under pressure
to add a range of other gTLDs.
Some proposals involve gTLDs that have a geographic or
linguistic/cultural basis that is independent of the nation
state.
Such a gTLD might encompass several nations, for example
.asia or .africa. It might instead centre on people within
a particular nation, for example those speaking a language
that has official recognition but is not the majority
language of that nation. One example is the dot-cat gTLD,
an innovation that presumably has Francisco Franco turning
in his grave like a rotisserie chicken.
Other proposals involve 'functional' gTLDs, such as the
contentious dot-xxx (a name space for adult content) and
calls for a dot-bank, dot-health or dot-finance.
ICANN's procedures for creating new gTLDs and reassigning
existing gTLDs were criticised in a 2004 OECD report on
Generic Top Level Domains: Market Development &
Allocation Issues (PDF)
and Alex Houston's 2002 thesis The Viability of Market-Based
Regulation of Internet Top-Level Domains (PDF).
an XXX-gTLD?
[under development]
'geo' TLDs
Proponents of new geographic (aka 'geo') gTLDs have typically
argued that -
- particular
regions have an identity that has (or deserves) international
recognition
- the
region has a population that is significantly larger
than many ccTLDs (unsurprising when some metropolitan
centres have a population of several million, in contrast
to small ccTLDs such as dot-nu where the entire population
of the corresponding nation is a few thousand and territorial
ccTLDs such as dot-hm that are uninhabited)
- institutional
and individual registrants in that region are "under-served"
in the national TLD.
Following
establishment of dot-eu the prototype geo gTLD is dot-asia.
Other proposals include -
- .berlin
- .nyc
(New York)
- .paris
- .baires
(Buenos Aires)
DotAsia Organisation, the registry operator for the dot-asia
gTLD, thus announced
that
Asia
has developed into a global force in the international
commercial, political and cultural network. The .ASIA
domain aspires to embrace this dynamism in the Asia
Century to become a nucleus, intersection and breeding
ground for Internet activity and development in the
region ...
While current gTLDs tend to focus on a vertical group
(e.g. commercial entities, network providers, organisations
, etc.) within the global Internet, .Asia will embrace
a horizontal perspective with a clear brand to reach
and enrich the broad global community. Unlike ccTLDs,
which provide for a local audience, .Asia will allow
the user to express membership in the larger Asian community.
Critics
have suggested that 'Asia' is an arbitrary geographic
construct that aggregates widely different cultures, languages
and political systems. There is little evidence that many
people currently recognise an "Asian community"
or will do so in future and it is questionable whether
many want to "express membership" in that community.
The operators of dot-asia promote the gTLD "as a
way to unify businesses and other users in the Asia-Pacific
region" (which includes Australia), with plans to
restrict registrations to those in the region.
language or culture gTLDs
If a metropolitan region can gain a gTLD - on the basis
of population size, business demand, cultural identity
or the sharp elbows of its government advocates - why
not a gTLD for a regional language or culture?
The first such gTLD is dot-cat -
established to serve the needs of the Catalan Linguistic
and Cultural Community on the Internet (the "Community").
The Community consists of those who use the Catalan
language for their online communications, and/or promote
the different aspects of Catalan culture online, and/or
want to specifically address their online communications
to that Community.
Proposals
include -
- dot-cym
(Wales)
- dot-gal
(Galicia)
and
it is conceivable that we will see calls for a Tibetan
gTLD
next page
(nations)
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