Tips: Alternatives to Traditional Domain Names (contd.)

Alternate Domain Name Registries

The number of top level domains is set to expand soon to include at least seven new top level domains. In anticipation of this, many companies have set themselves up to pre-register names in a wide variety of alternative top level domains. AlterNIC is the central organization coordinating the new top domains, and is offering itself up as an alternative to InterNIC. Their site is full of information about the alternative top level domains, including a list of over 40 new names, as well as instructions on how to sign up for new names, press clippings on the subject of new top domains, and much more. Well worth a visit.

Now, you are probably scratching your head and saying "Hey, why are there 40+ companies registering new types of domain name when the proposal calls for 7 new top level domains." It is called opportunism. Basically, the companies are betting that they will be one of the chosen few allowed to attain legal status. They are trading the cost of administering and processing the pre-registered domain names against the huge potential windfall of being a winner in the domain name expansion game.

The alternate top level domains are currently not a very viable alternative to .com and its ilk, because they require various work-arounds to access them. Speculators, investors and companies with a vested interest may wish to look closely at the choices on offer, and possibly pre-register some domain names in anticipation of the changes being finalised.

Here are just a few of the alternative top domains. A more complete list is available here. Note that some or all of the top domains on this page may never make it to legal status. Therefore, as is so often the case on the Internet, caveat emptor -- let the buyer beware! Note also that most, if not all the companies, are already charging their yearly fees, despite the fact that the domain names have no official standing at present.

The .Web Registry is already accepting registrations for domain names ending in .web. I feel that this is one of the likeliest top domains to be made official, so I would suggest that you get in here early. Domain names are $25 a year, with a $5 discount for names prepaid after the first year, so for instance 2 years paid in advance would cost $45. During a brief search of the registered names, I found that a lot of names have already been registered.

The American Global Network operates two alternate top domains, .earth and .usa. They will charge $40 per year for the registration, or $100 for 3 years paid up front. Both top domain names have been subdivided into 6 classifications, such as anything.usa, anything.state.usa etc. A complete list of all the classifications is available on their web site, together with a form for pre-registering names.

Bob and I have managed to get through this whole site without mentioning gender (hem! hem!) or more explicitly sex. Suffice to say that there are two top contenders for new adult top level domains, .sex and .xxx, administered by Skyscape Communications, Inc. and Alternic, respectively. Bob has just reminded me that this is a family site, so you will have to go and find out your own information about these domain names.

Finally, if you want to get in on the action and have very deep pockets, you can register yourself with AlterNIC and start supplying your own alternate top domains. However, I would expect that the IAHC are not going to consider any new alternative domains this late in the game when evaluating which new top domains to approve.

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