Is That Domain What You Think It is?

Apart from the standard domains such as .com, .org, and .net, a number of other domains appear to be advertised world wide or in select localities that are not always what they seem to be.

Of course there are all of the standard country code domains that have been allocated to each country of the world for their own exclusive use. Some of the smaller countries have decided to raise money by selling the use of their domain for more general purposes or for specific purposes other than what was intended when the domain was allocated to them. The original purpose of the domain was to provide country specific sub-domains to residents of the country concerned. As the domain has been sold for other purposes, it is of course not available for its original purpose. There is however nothing to stop a new government in any of those countries from deciding to recover the domain for its original purpose and anyone who has purchased a sub-domain in one of these domains would then find themselves having to change the address of their web site.

Examples of domains where this applies include .cc (Cocos Keeling Islands), .cx (Christmas Island), .la (Laos), and .tv (Tuvala). Should you aquire a sub-domain in these or any of the other country domains that have been made available for a different use than originally intended then you need to be aware that you may lose the sub-domain should the country concerned change their mind about how their domain will be used.

Even worse than the above are "domains" issued by private companies. The official list of domains including the .com, .edu, .net, .org, etc. the country specific domains, and a number of new domains that are just starting up (eg. .biz and .info) are issued by an international body responsible for control of naming on the internet. These domains are registered with the master address tables on the net and are therefore accessible to everyone with internet access. "Domains" issued by private companies are not loaded in these master lookup tables and require the addition of a plug-in module usually at each ISP (or on each individual computer where the ISP hasn't installed the plug-in) in order that such domains be able to be translated into addresses. This means that only those internet users using such ISPs as have installed the appropriate plug-in have access to these "domains". Also, as these are issued by a private company, you are relying on the continued operation of that company for the continued existance of your domain name. One example of a company selling such "domains" is New.net who have issued many such domains eg. .shop, .xxx

I am not by any means suggesting that you should not go ahead and purchase a sub-domain of any of the domains that I have mentioned (or any of the many othe similar ones). All that I am suggesting is that you do a little research prior to your sub-domain purchase so that you know exactly where you stand. The benefits to you of having one of these domains rather than one of the more usual ones may by far outway the possible future problems that such a choice may have. The final decision is up to you.

Stephen Chapman runs a computer help website at http://www.felgall.com/

Internet design/development ebooks and software at http://members.felgall.com/

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