Coming soon to the Internet: The .whatever address

[Buddahfan]

SINGAPORE (AP) -- A quarter-century after the creation of ".com," the agency that assigns Internet addresses is loosening its rules and allowing suffixes named after brands, hobbies, political causes and just about anything else.

Under guidelines approved Monday, Apple could register addresses ending in ".ipad," Citi and Chase could share ".bank" and environmental groups could go after ".eco." Japan could have ".com" in Japanese.

It's the biggest change to the system of Internet addresses since it was created in 1984.

More than 300 suffixes are available today, but only a handful, such as the familiar ".net" and ".com," are open for general use worldwide. Hundreds of new suffixes could be established by late next year, thousands in years to come.

"This is the start of a whole new phase for the Internet," said Peter Dengate Thrush, chairman of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the California nonprofit organization in charge of Internet addresses.

The novelty addresses will be costly -- $185,000 to apply and $25,000 a year to maintain one. A personal address with a common suffix such as ".com" usually costs less than $10 a year.

*.whatever

 

[vierasniper]

cool article. spit them out people, heres mine . poppycock

 

[smarteyeball]

.ffs

 

[Dwarf]

How about .piddlesticks or .wazzocks ? They're just phrases I use, although I don't know where I acquired them.

 

[Dwarf]

I can foresee problems with this. We will have to be dilligent when entering the suffixes, particularly for sites that currently end in .com, .org, .net, etc. It won't be too long before unscrupulous people take this to their advantage and use a legitimate name, together with a suffix that is only subtly different (.corn, .orrg, .nett) that at a quick glance looks, to all intent and purposes, as the genuine one, but which will, inevitably, take the user to a rogue site if followed.

 

[smarteyeball]

It won't be too long before unscrupulous people take this to their advantage and use a legitimate name, together with a suffix that is only subtly different (.corn, .orrg, .nett) that at a quick glance looks, to all intent and purposes, as the genuine one, but which will, inevitably, take the user to a rogue site if followed.

I can foresee that being a big issue too.

 

[Golden]

.pillock

Can only be applied to domains registered in Lancashire.

Good insight Dwarf : lots of rogue site re-routing possibilities unfortunately.

 

[MultiCat]

SINGAPORE (AP) -- A quarter-century after the creation of ".com," the agency that assigns Internet addresses is loosening its rules and allowing suffixes named after brands, hobbies, political causes and just about anything else.

Under guidelines approved Monday, Apple could register addresses ending in ".ipad," Citi and Chase could share ".bank" and environmental groups could go after ".eco." Japan could have ".com" in Japanese.

It's the biggest change to the system of Internet addresses since it was created in 1984.

More than 300 suffixes are available today, but only a handful, such as the familiar ".net" and ".com," are open for general use worldwide. Hundreds of new suffixes could be established by late next year, thousands in years to come.

"This is the start of a whole new phase for the Internet," said Peter Dengate Thrush, chairman of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the California nonprofit organization in charge of Internet addresses.

The novelty addresses will be costly -- $185,000 to apply and $25,000 a year to maintain one. A personal address with a common suffix such as ".com" usually costs less than $10 a year.

*.whatever

That's a lot for .crap.

I was thinking about this the other day actually. Imagine having the address www.multi.cat, doesn't seem right without the usual .com/.co.uk/etc.

 

[Dwarf]

.pillock

Can only be applied to domains registered in Lancashire.

Good insight Dwarf : lots of rogue site re-routing possibilities unfortunately.

That's another of my phrases.

 

[Dwarf]

Imagine having the address www.multi.cat, doesn't seem right without the usual .com/.co.uk/etc.

I agree. You could have www.multicat.meow though.

 

[noobvious]

How's about .bollocks?

 

[hybridfan]

.gobbledygook

 

[Dwarf]

How's about .bollocks?

Just so long as you don't call your site thedogs

 

[jfar]

.youreyesandcrossyourts

 

[fimble]

.youreyesandcrossyourts

Clever Bugger!!

 

[DocBrown]

.outatime

 

[Borg 386]

I can foresee problems with this. We will have to be dilligent when entering the suffixes, particularly for sites that currently end in .com, .org, .net, etc. It won't be too long before unscrupulous people take this to their advantage and use a legitimate name, together with a suffix that is only subtly different (.corn, .orrg, .nett) that at a quick glance looks, to all intent and purposes, as the genuine one, but which will, inevitably, take the user to a rogue site if followed.

Yeah, I see that as a problem too, being that the way it sits nowadays, if you mistype one letter trying to go to a legitimate company's website, you end up somewhere that's usually laced with viruses/malware.

Another chink in the armour...