dot info

The domain name info is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) in the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet, The name is derived from information indicating that the domain is intended for informative Internet resources, although registration requirements do not prescribe any theme orientation.

The info TLD was a response to ICANN's highly publicized announcement, in late 2000, of a phased release of seven new generic top-level domains. The event was the first addition of major gTLDs since the Domain Name System was developed in the 1980s. The seven new gTLDs, selected from over 180 proposals, were meant in part to take the pressure off the com domain.

The info domain has been the most successful of the seven new domain names, with over 5.2 million domain names in the registry as of April 2008. In addition, over 1.6 million info websites are in active use with unique content.^{[citation needed]} After the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York switched to the easier to remember mta.info website to lead users to latest information on schedules and route changes on the area's transportation services. ICANN and Afilias have also sealed an agreement for country names to be reserved by ICANN under resolution 01.92.

Info is an unrestricted domain, meaning that anyone can obtain a second-level domain under info for any purpose, similar to the com, net or org domains. This is in contrast to TLDs such as edu or coop. Info is the only top-level domain that was explicitly created and chartered for unrestricted use, though various other TLDs became that way as a de facto situation. Info stands for information in about 37 languages, and is a neutral name.

The registry operator of both the info and aero top-level domains, has been aggressive in its marketing of the domain, with significant registrar incentives and outreach events.

BASICS

Looking to get up to speed regarding the new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) program? This page is an excellent place to start.

At present the Internet has just 21 gTLDs, from the most famous—dot-com—to lesser-known extensions like dot-name and dot-pro.

That’s going to change. In June 2008, ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) launched a project to introduce up to 1,000 new gTLDs. The project has attracted a lot of attention, and no wonder. A slew of innovative new investment opportunities, new ground rules for corporate branding and protection—a transformation is on the way, and the time to get ready is now.

ICANN’s offficial launch date is May 30, 2011.

Second-level domains

Domain name registries may also impose a system of second-level domains on users. DENIC, the registry for Germany (.de), does not impose second level domains. AFNIC, the registry for France (.fr), has some second level domains, but not all registrants have to use them, and Nominet UK, the registry for the United Kingdom (.uk), requires all names to have a second level domain (e.g. .co.uk or .org.uk)

Registrants of second-level domains sometimes act as a registry by offering sub-registrations to their registration. For example, registrations to .fami.ly are offered by the registrant of fami.ly and not by GPTC, the registry for Libya (.ly).

Policies

Allocation policies

Generally, domain name registries operate a first-come-first-served system of allocation but may reject the allocation of specific domains on the basis of political, religious, historical, legal or cultural reasons.

For example, in the United States, between 1996 and 1998, automatically rejected domain name applications based on a list of perceived obscenities.

Registries may also control matters of interest to their local communities: for example, the German, Japanese and Polish registries have introduced internationalized domain names to allow use of local non-ASCII characters.

Dispute policies:

Domains which are registered with ICANN registrars, generally have to use the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP), however, Germany's DENIC requires people to use the German civil courts, and Nominet UK deals with Intellectual Property and other disputes through its own dispute resolution service.

Operation

Some name registries are government departments (e.g., the registry for Sri Lanka nic.lk). Some are co-operatives of internet service providers (such as DENIC) or not-for profit companies (such as Nominet UK). Others operate as commercial organizations, such as the US registry (nic.us).

The allocated and assigned domain names are made available by registries by use of the WHOIS system and via their Domain name servers.

Some registries sell the names directly (like SWITCH in Switzerland) and others rely on separate entities to sell them. For example, names in the .com TLD are in some sense sold "wholesale" at a regulated price by VeriSign, and individual domain name registrar sell names "retail" to businesses and consumers.

Domain name registry

A domain name registry, is a database of all domain names registered in a top-level domain. A registry operator, also called a Network Information Center (NIC), is the part of the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet that keeps the database of domain names, and generates the zone files which convert domain names to IP addresses. Each NIC is an organisation that manages the registration of Domain names within the top-level domains for which it is responsible, controls the policies of domain name allocation, and technically operates its top-level domain. It is potentially distinct from a domain name registrar. ^[1]

Domain names are managed under a hierarchy headed by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which manages the top of the DNS tree by administrating the data in the root nameservers.

IANA also operates the .int registry for intergovernmental organisations, the .arpa zone for protocol administration purposes, and other critical zones such as root-servers.net.

IANA delegates all other domain name authority to other domain name registries such as VeriSign.

Country code top-level domains (ccTLD) are delegated by IANA to national registries such as DENIC in Germany, or Nominet in the United Kingdom.