new top level domains

[Peter Murray]

On Wed, 11 Jun 1997 06:56:42 -0700 lou at argus-inc.com (Louis Rosenfeld) wrote:
> I bring this issue up because, after reviewing this list of top level
> domains, it seems that the IAHC's classification scheme could have
> extremely negative implications for the way the Internet works.  This
> scheme seems very ambiguous and very confusing, and this confusion could
> result in the collective head-scratching and bewilderment of a planetary
> community of millions of Internet users.  I wonder if any librarians or
> information scientists were able to play a role in creating this scheme,
> and if not, why not?

I followed the IAHC discussion list for a while before it degraded into
he-said/she-said and ego boosting/destroying messages, but for a while it was
interesting.  I think "extremely negative implications" is an overstatement,
but as with any new technology roll-out it will take a while for the
community to get used to the Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) Names.  On the
mailing list there was much speculation and suggestion on what the new TLD
names should be, and it looks like the IAHC acted in true committee fashion
by coming up with a solution that pleases no-one completely.  For the most
part, I am happy with the proposed names with the possible exception of "nom"
(put that is perhaps my American bias showing through...it was mentioned on
the IAHC mailing list that "nom" is more meaningful in languages other than
American English).

If you don't like these names, these first seven are only the start.  When
the foundation of the Council of Registrars (CORE) is complete and the
implementation of the new 7 gTLDs, CORE will begin the process of adding
additional gTLDs based on the recommendation of member registrars.  I'd
imagine input on additional gTLDs will be taken from anyone in the Internet
community at that time.

What does this mean for the rest of us.  The first thing that comes to mind
is Netscape's and IE's shortcut of assuming <company> is really
"www.<company>.com" will break; this behavior, IMHO, was a bad move to begin
with, especially in light of the coming new domain names, but also because it
is not standard Internet behavior (has anyone gotten the question, "I sent
mail to juser@<company>, but it never got there!"?).  

The second thing is this will finally bring the idea of directory services to
the front.  Services like Yahoo will become even more important, but there
needs to be a distributed white and yellow pages services, very much like the
existing DNS, where companies, organizations, and individuals can register
themselves on the network.  *THAT* is the place where the
classification/organization skills of librarians and/or information
scientists can have a real impact.

Third, as mentioned above, it *will* take a while for the Internet community
to get used to these new gTLDs, and this is a wonderful opportunity for
libraries to spearhead an educational and training effort...


Peter
--
Peter Murray, Library Systems Manager                      pem at po.cwru.edu
Digital Media Services                   http://www.cwru.edu/home/pem.html
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio            W:216-368-5888