A Guide To Knowing About Top Level Domains And Other Info

The Internet has become such a critical tool in modern life. However, its organization may be less well understood. On one level is the technology organization that lets the computers communicate with each other. However, there is another layer of organization for the humans. This layers uses domain names to identify each unique website. These are the text addresses that help you remember how to find any given site.

As part of its plain language address is the top level domain (TLD) that indicates in which basic category any given domain names is placed. As the most generic identifier, the TLD is the text after the final period to the right. So the website Yahoo.com where ". Com" is the site's TLD.

You can't just make up your own. The list of acceptable choices is approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). It manages TLD assignments through a variety of smaller groups that operate all over the world. You can buy domain names for any number of companies. However, it's these TLD management organizations authorized by ICANN that work with those companies to ensure that no domain names are sold more than once.

When the first selection list was created, there were three basic classifications: categories, countries, and multi-organizations. Most sites used a category ending, of which there were six choices. The first category choices were ORG, COM, NET, MIL, EDU, and GOV. These indicated general categorization of site types. Most sites selected to use the COM option, even though it was initially intended only for commercial entities.

Others were more specific and was restricted for use only for sites that actually fell within that type. For example GOV, which represents government sites, can only be used by a site that is actually operated by a government agency. Currently, the category types are now called generic top level domains (gTLD). The range of available gTLDs that you can use in domain names has grown considerably. Some of the newer category TLDs includes NAME (for private individuals), INFO, and BIZ (specifically for businesses). Others have been created for specific industries, like AERO and TEL.

Geographic code options have also increased in number. When this type was first created, they were primarily two letter combinations, such as MX (Mexico) or EU (European Union). The geographic codes are now formally known as country code TLDs (ccTLD). Countries speaking languages that aren't written in Latin letters have started getting ones in their own alphabets approved. This has paved the way for domains written in such languages like Mandarin, Russian, Greek, and Arabic.

New types are being proposed. Some have suggested that city names, like NYC, Berlin, or London, join the ranks of geographic endings. There are also new categories under discussion. Some of these suggested new ones are Music, Free, and Shop. These new ones get proposed because users want more precise ways to organize their website addresses. Furthermore, the more precise the TLD, the better guidance it can give as to what type of website it represents.