[governance] privatising ccTLDs
Rui Correia
correia.rui at gmail.com
Wed Apr 7 07:33:54 EDT 2010
From the Wikipedia
Commercial and vanity use
A number of the world's smallest countries have licensed their TLDs for
worldwide commercial use. For example,
Tuvalu<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuvalu>and the Federated
States of Micronesia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federated_States_of_Micronesia>,
small island-states in the Pacific, have partnered with
VeriSign<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VeriSign>and FSM
Telecommunications<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=FSM_Telecommunications&action=edit&redlink=1>respectively,
to sell domain names using the
.tv <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.tv> and
.fm<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.fm>TLDs to television and radio
stations.
Vanity ccTLDs are TLDs <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TLDs> which are used
for various purposes outside their home countries, because of their name.
For example,
- *.ac <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.ac>* is a ccTLD for Ascension
Island <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascension_Island>, but is sometimes
used in Sweden, as "AC" is the abbreviation for the Västerbotten
County<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A4sterbotten_County>
.[8]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_code_top-level_domain#cite_note-7>
- *.ad <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.ad>* is a ccTLD for
Andorra<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorra>,
but has recently been increasingly used by advertising agencies or
classified
advertising <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classified_advertising>.
- *.ag <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.ag>* is a ccTLD for Antigua and
Barbuda <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigua_and_Barbuda> and is
sometimes used for agricultural sites. In
Germany<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany>,
AG (short for
Aktiengesellschaft<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aktiengesellschaft>)
is appended to the name of a stock-based company, similar to
Inc.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incorporation_%28business%29>in
USA <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States>.
- *.am <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.am>* is a ccTLD for
Armenia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia>,
but is often used for AM
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AM_broadcasting>radio stations, or for
domain
hacks <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_hack> (such as .i.am).
- *.as <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.as>* is a ccTLD for American
Samoa<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Samoa>.
In Denmark and Norway, AS <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aksjeselskap> is
appended to the name of a stock-based company, similar to Inc. in USA. In
Czech Republic, the joint stock corporation a.s. abbreviation
stands for Akciová
společnost <http://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akciov%C3%A1_spole%C4%8Dnost>.
- *.at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.at>* is a ccTLD for
Austria<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austria>but is used for English
words ending in at (
e.at).
- *.be <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.be>* is a ccTLD for
Belgium<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium>,
but is sometimes used for the literal term "be" and the
Swiss<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss>
Canton <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantons_of_Switzerland> of
Bern<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_of_Bern>
.
- *.by <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.by>* is a ccTLD for
Belarus<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus>,
but is sometimes used in Germany, as "BY" is the official abbreviation of
the state Bayern <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavaria>.
- *.ca <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.ca>* is a ccTLD for
Canada<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada>,
and is occasionally used to create domain hacks like histori.ca, the web
domain of the Historica/Dominion
Institute<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Historica/Dominion_Institute&action=edit&redlink=1>.
This type of use is limited by the .ca domain's Canadian residence
requirements.
- *.cc <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.cc>* is a ccTLD for Cocos (Keeling)
Islands <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocos_%28Keeling%29_Islands> but is
used for a wide variety of sites such as community colleges, especially
before such institutions were allowed to use .edu.
- *.cd <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.cd>* is a ccTLD for Democratic
Republic of Congo<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_Congo>but
is used for CD merchants and file sharing sites.
- *.ch <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.ch>* is a ccTLD for
Switzerland<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland>but there are
also a few church websites.
[9]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_code_top-level_domain#cite_note-8>
- *.ck <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.ck>* is a ccTLD for Cook
Islands<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_Islands>was notably abused
in Chris
Morris's <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Morris_%28satirist%29> Nathan
Barley <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Barley> by preceding it with
".co" in order to spell out the word "cock" (.co.ck as in
trashbat.co.ck<http://www.trashbat.co.ck/>
).
- *.co <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.co>* is a ccTLD for
Colombia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombia>but is marketed as
commercial, corporation or company.
[10]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_code_top-level_domain#cite_note-unique-9>
- *.dj <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.dj>* is a ccTLD for
Djibouti<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djibouti>but is used for CD
merchants and disc jockeys.
- *.fm <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.fm>* is a ccTLD for the Federated
States of Micronesia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federated_States_of_Micronesia>but
it is often used for
FM <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FM> radio stations (and even non-FM
stations, such as internet
radio<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_radio>stations).
- *.gg <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.gg>* is a ccTLD for
Guernsey<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guernsey>but it is often used by
the gaming and gambling industry, particularly in
relation to horse racing and online poker.
- *.im <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.im>* is a ccTLD for the Isle
of Man<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Man>but is often used by
instant messaging programs and services.
- *.in <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.in>* is a ccTLD for
India<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India>but is widely used in the
internet industry.
- *.io <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.io>* is a ccTLD for the British
Indian Ocean
Territory<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Indian_Ocean_Territory>.
Notable examples are online storage site
Drop.io<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop.io>and task list site
Done.io.
- *.is <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.is>* is a ccTLD for
Iceland<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland>but is used as the
English verb, "to be" in conjunction with a directory
name suffix to complete a linguistically correct sentence (e.g.
"<noun>.is/<verb/adjective>").
- *.it <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.it>* is a ccTLD for
Italy<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy>but is used in domain hacks
(e.g. .
has.it).
- *.je <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.je>* is a ccTLD for
Jersey<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey>but is often used as a
diminutive in Dutch (e.g. "
huis.je"), as "you" ("zoek.je" = "search you!"), or as "I" in French
(e.g. "moi.je")
- *.la <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.la>* is a ccTLD for
Laos<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laos>but is marketed as the TLD for
Los
Angeles <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles>.
- *.li <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.li>* is a ccTLD for
Liechtenstein<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liechtenstein>but is
marketed as the TLD for Long
Island <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island>.
- *.lv <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.lv>* is a ccTLD for
Latvia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvia>but is also used to
abbreviate Las
Vegas <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas,_Nevada> or less
frequently, love <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love>.
- *.ly <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.ly>* is a ccTLD for
Libya<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libya>but is also used for words
ending with
suffix <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffix> "ly".
- *.md <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.md>* is a ccTLD for
Moldova<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldova>,
but is marketed to the medical industry (as in "medical domain" or "medical
doctor").
- *.me <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.me>* is a ccTLD for
Montenegro<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montenegro>,
and is recently opened to individuals.
- *.mn <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.mn>* is a ccTLD for
Mongolia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolia>,
but is used to abbreviate Minnesota<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota>
.
- *.ms <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.ms>* is a ccTLD for
Montserrat<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat>,
but is also used by Microsoft for such projects as popfly.ms.
- *.mu <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.mu>* is a ccTLD for
Mauritius<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritius>,
but is used within the music industry.
- *.ni <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.ni>* is a ccTLD for
Nicaragua<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaragua>,
but is occasionally adopted by companies from Northern
Ireland<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Ireland>,
particularly to distinguish from the more usual
.uk<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.uk>within all parts of the United
Kingdom <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom>
- *.nu <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.nu>* is a ccTLD for
Niue<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niue>but marketed as resembling
"new" in English and "now" in Scandinavian/Dutch.
Also meaning "nude" in French/Portuguese.
- *.pr <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.pr>* is a ccTLD for Puerto
Rico<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico>,
but can be used in the meaning of "Public Relations"
- *.sc <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.sc>* is a ccTLD for
Seychelles<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seychelles>but is often used
as .Source
- *.sh <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.sh>* is a ccTLD for Saint
Helena<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Helena>,
but is also sometimes used for entities connected to the
German<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany>
*Bundesland <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_Germany>* of
Schleswig-Holstein <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleswig-Holstein> or
the Swiss <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss>
Canton<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantons_of_Switzerland>of
Schaffhausen <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_of_Schaffhausen>, or to
Shanghai <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai> or
Shenzen<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenzen>in China.
- *.si <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.si>* is a ccTLD for
Slovenia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovenia>,
but is also used by Hispanic sites as "yes" ("sí"). Mexican mayor candidate
Jorge Arana, for example, had his web site registered as
http://www.jorgearana.si (i.e. "Jorge Arana, sí", meaning "Jorge Arana,
yes").
- *.sr <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.sr>* is a ccTLD for
Suriname<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suriname>but is marketed as
being for "seniors".
- *.st <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.st>* is a ccTLD for São Tomé and
Príncipe<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A3o_Tom%C3%A9_and_Pr%C3%ADncipe>but
is being marketed worldwide as an abbreviation for various things
including "street".
- *.tk <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.tk>* is a ccTLD for
Tokelau<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokelau>but is bought by someone
and given away at dot.tk
page <http://dot.tk/>
- *.tm <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.tm>* is a ccTLD for
Turkmenistan<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkmenistan>but it can be
used as "Trade Mark"
- *.to <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.to>* is a ccTLD for
Tonga<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonga>but is often used as the
English word "to", like "
go.to"; also is marketed as the TLD for
Toronto<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto>and for the italian city
and province of
Turin <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turin> (Torino in italian).
- *.tv <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.tv>* is a ccTLD for
Tuvalu<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuvalu>but it is used for the
television ("TV") / entertainment industry purposes.
It is also used for local businesses in the province of Treviso (Italy).
- *.vg <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.vg>* is a ccTLD for British Virgin
Islands <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Virgin_Islands> but is
sometimes used to abbreviate Video
games<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game>
- *.vu <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.vu>* is a ccTLD for
Vanuatu<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanuatu>but means "seen" in
French as well as an abbreviation for the English
language word "view".
- *.ws <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.ws>* is a ccTLD for
Samoa<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samoa>(earlier Western Samoa), but
is marketed as .Website
On 7 April 2010 13:11, Carlos A. Afonso <ca at cafonso.ca> wrote:
> Hi McTim, I can start by saying: cheap and quick way to get a gTLD... :)
> There is a business group which convinces a community (or their
> government, as I think Colombians have not had the opportunity to
> properly and widely debate this) that their national identity on the
> Internet is no longer relevant and let you take over and convert their
> ccTLD into a commodity for the international domain market.
>
> In the case of Colombia, it is quite strange. It is a country with 44
> million people, relatively high HDI and the third largest South American
> economy -- hard to see how this is going to generate any significant
> amount of money to benefit Colombia -- this is far from being Tuvalu. On
> the other hand, given the size of the economy and Internet penetration
> in the country, it is hard to see how a non-profit self-sustainable
> operation to keep their ccTLD in the national commons would not succeed.
>
> But this is my view and I am not a Colombian (just a Latin American),
> so... But it makes me sad to know that xyz.co no longer points to a
> Colombian Internet space.
>
> frt rgds
>
> --c.a.
>
> McTim wrote:
> > http://www.cointernet.co/
> >
> > Do we have any thing to say on this?
> >
> > This type of thing would be a fruitful workshop topic IMO.
> >
>
> --
>
> Carlos A. Afonso
> CGI.br (www.cgi.br)
> Nupef (www.nupef.org.br)
> ====================================
> new/nuevo/novo e-mail: ca at cafonso.ca
> ====================================
> ____________________________________________________________
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--
________________________________________________
Rui Correia
Advocacy, Human Rights, Media and Language Consultant
Angola Liaison Consultant
2 Cutten St
Horison
Roodepoort-Johannesburg,
South Africa
Tel/ Fax (+27-11) 766-4336
Mobile (+27) (0) 84-498-6838
_______________
áâãçéêíóôõúç
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