Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
Bob Keyes (N1YRK)
on
June 18, 2008
View comments about this article!
There has been talk of a .ham top-level-domain (dot ham) for a long
time now. It was last discussed on eHam back in 2005. Yet, it has not come into
being. This is in part because it is not clear who would have the right
to run it, and potentially make lots of money selling names. Disagreeing
parties have succeeded in blocking each other. I suggest that we do
away with the commercial aspect entirely. It is to be run simply, and
in a way not to confer or trespass on intellectual property. There will
be no domain squatting, or domain speculation, or lawsuits.
Occam's Razor: "All other things being equal, the simplest solution is
the best."
dot ham is not:
- It is not for profit. It will be chartered as a 501(c)3, 501(c)9, or
similar entity in whichever country or countries it is organized in.
- Only callsigns are allowed *. This includes ham organizations. While
arrl.ham or rsgb.ham might not cause a stir, there would be many
contenders for domains like barc.ham. Why not do away with all the
competing claims? All groups are to be treated equally, by
callsign.
- It is not expensive. A .ham domain should not cost more than a couple of
dollars/euros/quid per year.
- Politics is eschewed. Unless there is a clear and compelling reason for
the organization to have a preference in guiding some policy, it
will not do so.
dot ham is:
- It is international. This means it must include countries which are in
disfavor, such as North Korea and Cuba.
- It is multilingual. Instructions for domain registration will be
provided in all languages within the resources of the dotham
organization. Yet, the operational language within the
organization will be English, due to its widespread use and
great convenience in computer systems.
- It is inclusive. In order to be so, operators in poorer countries may be
charged significantly less than than those in richer ones. But
dotham will not go to the extent of fee differentiation based
upon the relative wealth of individuals within a given country.
- It is secure. Systems to ensure only the proper people control the
domain will be implemented.
- It is extensible, i.e. it can be extended by the use of additional data
elements associated with a a callsign to provide additional
information.
- It is independently run, not part of ARRL or any other national group.
It has a relatively stable, yet elected, board. The board
appoints the president, who oversees operations.
- It is minimally standardized. That is to say, there are many 'best
practices', which should be followed, but there are a very few,
simple rules. To quote Thomas Paine: "That government is best
which governs least."
- It is professional. It will act with technical competence,
organizational transparency, and swift response to critical issues.
* Four exceptions: 1) info.ham which is a very introductory page for
non-hams interested in ham radio. It would be primarily links to more
detailed explanations in local languages. 2) nic.ham
- network information center - for management of .ham domains. 3)
technical hostnames for the .ham operational structure, i.e. dns1.ham
and router1.ham 4) an easter egg ;)
I have many more ideas on what is possible, and the way things should be
run. There are many ways to achieve some of these goals, which I have
worked out. I have created the yahoo group 'dotham' where these
technical details can be discussed. I have also registered the domain
dotham.org, which will be the focus of my attempts to get
this project started.
What needs to be done?
- Get a good group of committed people to make proposals, come up with
new ideas, try to smooth out disputes, and generally get things in good
order.
- Establish an executive group which respresents the amateur community,
which is also competent in technical execution, who can dedicate
time towards making dotham a reality.
- Obtain support from Amateur Radio organizations and the Amateur Radio
community as a whole.
- Draft a proposal to the IETF, who is in charge of new TLDs.
- Obtain resources and money to start the project.
- Technical design
- Start it up!
73,
Bob Keyes,
N1YRK
This article has expired. No more comments may be added.
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Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by KB3REV on June 18, 2008
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Interesting idea. Might have very useful tie-ins for echo link and other internet - ham mash ups.
We would need a way to enforce/require transfer of domain to *CURRENT* callsign holder. Would IANA allow this requirement?
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by WX1F on June 18, 2008
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I'm not an internet wiz by any stretch...but why not have each country do their own? Like XXXX.Ham.US, XXXXXX.Ham.CN or XXXX.Ham.GB ???
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by WB9JTK on June 18, 2008
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How many languages use the word "ham" to refer to licensed amateur radio operator?
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by KT8K on June 18, 2008
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I like your thinking a lot, Bob. I look forward to seeing what results.
- Tim, KT8K
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by K0BG on June 18, 2008
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Speaking only for myself, I wouldn't use it. I don't like the terms HAM, ham, hamming, getting into ham, etc. I prefer the term Amateur.
As my ex wife once said, when asked why she didn't have a license, "a ham is half a pigs ass, and one half ass in the family is enough."
On a more serious side, there are many different suffixes which have been with us for several years, yet they are very rare. The .tv comes to mind. Here's a more complete list: http://www1.ccs.k12.in.us/chs/media-center/url-suffixes
Further, if a site did use the .ham suffix, would that mean he/she couldn't do business-for-profit while using it?
While I do see the reasoning behind the idea, it is a can of worms.
Alan, KØBG
www.k0bg.com
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by N8KOM on June 18, 2008
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I don't want to sound negative, because there has obviously been a lot of thought put forth on this idea, but I don't see the point of ".ham". Is there some inherent benefit to having a separate domain name? What benefits would be received for this type of effort? Are there really that many “hams” salivating at a chance to have a *.ham domain name?
Steve
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Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by KA3JLW on June 18, 2008
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excellent idea, I only wonder about how to resolve the core conflicts. The first paragraph talks about the competing factions and how it should not be about money. But the first set of bullets says that the fees should be conmeasurate with the ability to pay - implying that fees will be collected.
In short, running a domain costs money. So someone has to run it. I don't see a way to prevent squatters and such - for instance, I'd love to do a site KI2T.ham about my grandfather - but I'm guessing the current KI2T might take issue with that.
And how about the commercial enterprises? There are plenty of valuable websites that are ham related and that either charge or ask for money. This is one of them! Would they be allowed .ham addresses? And if not, why not? For the most part, you can't really do anything in this hobby without buying products or parts to start.
I also wonder if the window of opportunity has passed. Dot coms have "settled down" and squatting isn't as much of an issue. Dot TV has shown us that there isn't a strong need for a new suffix. And to someone elses point, is .ham the right choice? How about .ars? Or, is that too close to arse? :)
I don't know if internic is still the big dog in domain control but I imagine they may not want such a thing. Then again, maybe they would like companies like AES and HRO to have to pay for two different urls, one of which simply redirects to the other. But would they? Internic probably knows the answer better than anyone and is a good indicator if a new dot ham would work.
I support the idea. I'm just sure if it is possible.
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Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by N0RZT on June 18, 2008
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Too bad I couldn't register greeneggsand.ham ;-)
(I suppose it's just as well, as I wouldn't want a nasty letter from Random House)
Seriously, though, I think the biggest obstacle will be convincing IETF that there's a compelling reason to create a new TLD.
73,
Chris N0RZT/8
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by W3LK on June 18, 2008
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Another "solution" in search of a problem, IMHO.
73,
Lon - W3LK
Naugatuck, Connecticut
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by K0BG on June 18, 2008
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Hey Chris? How about greenhamandeggs dot whatever? Seems to be a lot of those!
Alan, KØBG
www.k0bg.com
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by K6CRC on June 18, 2008
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Interesting idea, but I fear it will end up as yet another political controversy and another tool for looneys out to play off of 'rich westerners'. Given your requirements, you might as well use .UN, as it will suck up as much money and yield the same (lack of) success.
I can just see the spam load hams will deal with. My inbox will get "help Nigerian Hams" "beautiful Russian female hams want to meet you" and "You should feel guilty...." messages at the rate of a thousand a day!
I prefer keeping the whole thing, domain names, politics -internet or international - out of it. There are plenty of other ways to save the world. Get on the air and enjoy this HOBBY.
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Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by WS6Z on June 18, 2008
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I think you need to write ICANN not the IETF. The IETF designs the protocol, not goes what's in it (which is ICANN's job).
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by W4DL on June 18, 2008
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K0BG's XYL is the only one with the correct answer to this "conundrum".
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by AB7E on June 18, 2008
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I totally fail to see the need for anything like this, and if fact it's pretty silly. There are VERY few amateur radio callsign domain names that are not available to the hams who own those callsigns. For example, N1YRK.com, N1YRK.net, N1YRK.org, N1YRK.info, N1YRK.biz, and N1YRK.us are all completely available as I write this. Top level domain names get created in response to the need for domain space, not whim. If ICAHN were to create a .ham domain this frivolously, they'd be open to similar requests from golfers, fishermen, hunters, hikers, bikers, quilters, and pet owners ... among hundreds of others, most of whom probably have more participants than ham radio.
Dave AB7E
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by VA3SAX on June 18, 2008
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I'm perfectly happy with being able to register va3sax.ca works just as well as the .ham version of it would
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Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by KI4WAF on June 18, 2008
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Even if we did convince ICANN to create the TLD, I doubt it would get much adoption. If ARRL were to suggest hams move their sites there, then it would instantly be touted as an evil government plot to get hams off the regular internet so it can be sold at an auction to Verizon who will use their newfound power to outlaw CW.
Like many others, I don't see the problem it solves. Between Google and QRZ.COM, I can find any ham's website or email address that wants to be found.
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Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by AI4EP on June 18, 2008
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why not call all hams " hamsters "...?
We have TEAMsters from the auto making folks, and why cant we call other amateur radio enthusiasts " hamsters " ?
just a simple idea :)
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by W4PC on June 18, 2008
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I want mine to be found lol.
http://www.cssincorp.com
and what about the others in the biz? a css.ham might be a good thing for my company.
hro.ham
aes.ham
eham.ham
inrad.ham
etc etc
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Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by N9NFB on June 18, 2008
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Why not .callsign ?
If AM and FM radio stations want one, thats fine.
The rule would have to be you can only register if
you currently hold a license.
The problem, is there are multiple WTMJs for AM and TV.
Also there might be multiple WTMJs in different countries.
Overall the bigger question is what good is it?
For many years, if I want to find something I google for it.
Due to the domain spammers, I have not gone fishing by randomly entering words followed by .com since perhaps the mid 90s.
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by WI7B on June 18, 2008
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"Entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity".
Actually, this statement above more closely reflects the concept of parsimony enshrined in Occam's Razor.
In this regard, why do we need yet another underused and DNS server unrecognized domain name?
73,
---* Ken
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Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by N1YRK on June 18, 2008
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Thanks for your comments - even the negative ones. They let me know what I need to address. This message will not address all of your concerns because I only have a few minutes to write it, but expect that I will tackle all reasonable objections.
Firstly, the reason for .ham instead of anything else is that it is short and rather recognizable. Yes, the term has come out of English, maybe not fair to other languages, but so has most of the terminology on both amateur radio and the Internet.
Regarding .tv - it was not created for television, neither was .am created for radio. They were created for countries - Tuvalu and Armenia respectively. Yes, there are a new crop of domains out there of dubious value, such as .co-op, .aero, .museum, so there's no reason not to put in one that makes more sense because it's already an organized namespace (callsigns).
As far as preventing squatting, I have an idea in mind. The registers online, and sets a password. pay at that point, or mail in payment later. Upon receipt of payment, a letter or post-card is sent with a confirmation code, to the registered (i.e. callbook) address only. This code would need to be entered online for the .ham domain to be registered. Yes, it might still be possible to register for someone else's callsign, and then watch their mail and steal the confirmation mail. But we're dealing with corner cases here, and fraud, and I doubt there will be a serious number of problems. I am more worried about mail delivery in underdeveloped countries.
as far as greeneggsand.ham, and so forth, imagine if you were able to register it. And then the legal heir of Dr. Seuss decides that you have infringed upon a copyright, or some such nonsense, and decides to sue you, and would probably try to involve the dot.ham registry in the legal battle. Something which would cost a lot of money, which would cause the fees to have to be high to pay for it. Not worth it. Just stay away from the lawyers totally. I am sure that AES might want aes.ham. But what if there's another person who registers it first and domain-squats? would AES try to sue to get the name? Not worth the hassle!
Could one run a commercial operation under the callsign? Yes and no. Additional data can be sent via DNS, such as a flag as to whether the site is commercial or not. A commercial site would be required to identify itself as one. But, consider that someone could have a commercial and non-commercial site under their callsign. If I want to sell my 2.4 ghz gear, I could have store.n1yrk.ham, which would identify itself as a commercial entity, whereas my 2.4 ghz mesh network gateway would be mesh-gw.n1yrk.ham and be identified as non-commercial.
ok i have to go but I know there are plenty of questions I still have to answer. Anyone with a serious interest in getting this running ought to join the yahoo group mentioned in the article. I'll also be posting the article to the http://www.dotham.org web site shortly. (I just wanted to follow eham policy and make sure that my article was original upon submission).
73,
N1YRK
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by KF4HR on June 18, 2008
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I didn't think there was a subject more boring than Contesting... I stand corrected.
KF4HR
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by KG4RUL on June 18, 2008
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If the domain ownership is restricted to the current licensee for call signs then, I am all for it!
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by K0BG on June 18, 2008
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I do not believe the .TV and .AM were formed for countries, per se. While they may indeed be country identifiers, they were in fact lobbied for by the broadcast industry. And for naught, or so it appears.
As for the commercial "flag" issue, that isn't ever going to happen. In fact, the reasoning behind the original suffixes was so their commercialism, or what have you, could be determined without such nonsense.
As a result, more by accident than design, folks (me included) who wanted traffic to their site chose the .com suffix, as this is the one that was getting crawled more than the other suffixes. That's not true today, however. (Interestingly, my web site gets crawled almost as often as it is visited. A fact one can read a lot into if you believe in commercialism.)
Lastly, the whole scope of the WWW has changed drastically from its original conceptualization, into almost a monster, and one which makes its own rules, regardless of need or want; Al Gore's comments notwithstanding.
Alan, KØBG
www.k0bg.com
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by AA4Q on June 18, 2008
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"We have TEAMsters from the auto making folks, and why cant we call other amateur radio enthusiasts " hamsters " ? "
Teamsters are freight haulers: truckers. UAW is auto making folks.
the word "Teamster" comes from the word "team", as in team of horses or mules that pulled the freight wagon before the internal combustion engine rendered them obsolete. The Teamster in the 1800's ran the team of draft animals. The teamster in the 1900's ran the truck.
AA4Q
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Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by W7NWH on June 18, 2008
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I thought of the same thing a few years back, like an "undernet" for hams only - using call signs as authentication! Good idea, one reason is getting ICANN to recoginize it and impliment. Any hams members of ICANN?
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by K7PEH on June 18, 2008
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I think .ham is totally unnecessary. In fact, I think that just about all top-level domains are quickly becoming moot as the original meaning is certainly lost as many registered names do not fit the intent of the domain. In particular, .com, .net, and .org.
I have registered a number of domains but if I had to do it again, I think I would register them using the .us top-level domain. It is nice and short.
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by AC6IJ on June 18, 2008
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Just remember guys and gals, HAM Radio, is not Kosher. Bill
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Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by N1YRK on June 18, 2008
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K0BG - Alan, it matters not if you believe that .TV was not created for television and .AM for AM radio, or .FM for FM stations. History clearly shows that these TLDs existed, assigned to the countries I have indicated (.FM is Micronesia) before these "new uses" for them were found. See http://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/index.html
I was there, back in the early 90s, when many of these new countries came on line for the first time. I even recall that, at first, .AM domains were free for the asking and I had one for some years.
It seems as though I haven't made clear exactly what the purpose of .ham is, as opposed to other TLDs. The very fact that they are only issued to the amateur station with the callsign indicated shows that when is connecting to N1YRK.ham, one would clearly be dealing with me. It is all too easy for someone to register a domain and pretend to be a specific station - there is no control over what goes into .com up front, the only recourse is the courts. This is not a good way of existing. At least applicants for .edu domains are vetted so one can be reasonably sure one is dealing with a real university/college/whatever.
Some countries, France comes to mind, have very tight restrictions on who gets what domain in .FR. This is sort of a pain if you just want to register a domain for your own fun, but that's what the 'generic' top level domains are for.
One of the amazing thing about DNS is the technical structure of it. It is a caching, distributed database. It can contain a great deal of information, and this information can have various levels of security. While DNS implementations (most notably BIND) have had severe security problems in the past, many mechanisms have been proposed, with varying degrees of implementation, to address these security problems (DNSSEC). It would be most advantageous to use these features in order to prevent identity theft (of callsign) in amateur data networks. Some networks may refuse to carry traffic that they cannot certify as coming from an amateur radio operator with a verifiable callsign.
Now this is boring some of you. It amazes me those that complain that this topic is boring. If it bores you, go visit another web site or read another article. No need for you to bother yourself with that which bores you. Except when, it may involve survival of the amateur radio service in the long term.
Oh yes, that sounds grandiose, and I may take a beating for it, but in my opinion the future of amateur radio is digital. It simply works well, and efficiently (so does cw). If you think that the invasion of ten meters by 'freebanders' back in the 80s and 2m/70cm by gypsy cab drivers and the like is bad, that's NOTHING compared to what's going to happen when spectrum becomes even more scarce than it is. The 700 Mhz spectrum auctions, and many prior, show that there is a great LAND GRAB and that soon we'll be pushed off our reservations if we don't use the space. And there will be no shortage of people wanting to use the space - for commercial purposes! We have to keep order in amateur radio, in order to keep amateur radio. I believe that station certain identification, done via DNS and digital signatures, is the ONLY way this can be done.
It may take some time for what I've predicted comes to pass. But that does not mean that we should not prepare for it, but making ourselves a coherent, law abiding group, and giving hams the TOOLS to abide by the law. This is one of the tools - DNS and cryptographic certification -public-key crypto done via DNS.
Now I am sure I have gone way over the heads of some of you. Don't worry about it. You don't need to understand all of this right now. But those of you who have at least a glimmer of understanding and care about the hobby are invited to try to build this system, so that when the bands are invaded, we'll be able to sort & report. Let's just hope that the authorities can do their jobs. Let's help them, by being organized, and thinking ahead.
73,
N1YRK
p.s. I think that we can provide this service for a dollar or a euro or a pound per year. Does that sound reasonable? It's not a guarantee, just a guesstimate.
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by KI6JUU on June 18, 2008
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"Teamsters" refers to people that drove wagon teams and later trucks. People that make cars are called "Autoworkers", a term extinct in the US.
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by K0BG on June 19, 2008
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Bob, as you alluded to, there is a lot more to this than just another TLD. It ends up effecting every single DNS, ISP, and hosting company, world-wide. Getting a consensus of opinion is getting more difficult as time goes by.
Another issue is squatting. Nowadays, if you mistype a URL, you typically get a page asking you if you want to buy the domain, rather than a page not found error of some sort. This facet is getting worse. Nearly five years ago, when I registered my domain, two of the three TLD available to me were already spoken for. Only one of those was owner listed. The squatter wanted $2,000 for it. There was no possible way he could legally use my call sign for a web page.
I could carry this further, but I'm of the opinion that another TLD will only increase the squatting. Making matters worse, it is the domain registering companies who are doing most of it.
Sometimes, I believe, status quo is the way to go.
Alan, KØBG
www.k0bg.com
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Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by W2DAB on June 19, 2008
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I don't see any compelling reason for this idea. Other than the coincidence that ham is three letters and therefore a cute idea.
The idea of domains is that they are essentially name spaces to identify a subset of a system. Hams already have a unique name-space identifiable to others... our call sign.
If I wanted a domain that called out to my involvement in amateur radio I could simply reserve:
W0DAB.com, org, net etc.
in most cases they are all probably available. The closest appropriate domain would be "net" as amateur radio involves a network of sorts.
My 2 cents, use brainpower and resources to solve other problems.
Respectfully,
David
W0DAB
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by N1YRK on June 19, 2008
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Alan, David, others:
There will be no possibility for people to domain-squat, as only the actual callsign holder in question will be able to get the domain. This is part of why dotham is needed.
I am starting to appreciate that people use DNS without understanding much about it. This is a shortcoming I will have to address in my documentation on www.dotham.org. The additions and expansions to DNS, which I spoke of, are transparent to the 'middleman' portion of the DNS infrastructure. Only the originator (dotham DNS servers) and the consumers (ham software) needs to be aware of them and use them.
It seems that some people are commenting on the uselessness of this idea after having read the article without having fully read all the comments and my explanations for them. This is sad, but not unexpected.
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by W2DAB on June 19, 2008
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Bob: You are saying that combating squatting is one of the reasons for your initiative. It might be interesting to look at two factors to pursue this line of reasoning.
1. Demand - How many "hams" actually want to reserve their domain but haven't been able to get one.
2. Supply - How many vacant domains have actually been taken by squatters(?) Is this really a problem?
For example, your call (N1YRK)is available in these domains:
.com, .tv, .info, .org, .net, .mobi
Amateur radio is special and most hams are identified on the air by their call so feel identified with them, are there any other reasons to do this. I read your document and don't see a clear "mission statement". What is the compelling reason to do this. Is it to honor hams? To protect from squatting? To make it easy to associate someone's call with more information on the internet? To save about 5 bucks a year?
You don't seem to answer the "why" question. If you clarify this further you might gain support, I am sorry , I work in interaction design and don't see what you hope to gain here. It is sometimes easier to answer the "how" before the "why" in technology issues.
Best wishes,
David
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by WI7B on June 19, 2008
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I agree with Dave, W0DAB.
"For nothing ought to be posited without a reason given, unless it is self-evident (literally, known through itself) or known by experience or proved by the authority of Sacred Scripture."
- William of OckHAM
73,
---* Ken
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ampr.org anyone?
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by KB7PST on June 19, 2008
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For purely amateur radio use, ampr.org has been available for years (pre-WWW actually), and there are several non-commercial amateur radio websites that use an ampr.org domain name.
This seems like reinventing the wheel to me.
Alex,
KB7PST
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by AB7E on June 19, 2008
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N1YRK: "It seems that some people are commenting on the uselessness of this idea after having read the article without having fully read all the comments and my explanations for them. This is sad, but not unexpected."
It seems that N1YRK plans to continue this quest in the face of overwhelming apathy from the rest of the amateur radio world, having ignored most of the comments on why it is neither needed nor viable. This is sad, but not unexpected.
You never addressed the issue of why you think ICAHN would ever agree to something like this. That organization simply cannot afford to grant a TLD to every hobby or faction that thinks it would be cute to have special recognition. Can you possibly imagine what a bag of worms for them that would be?
It isn't justified even for amateur radio ... the number of hams who would likely take advantage of it is trivial. I checked the callsigns of every single respondent thus far to your article. Only 6 out of those 33 hams have bothered to register their callsign as a TLD. I'm one of the 6 hams who have registered my callsign and you (N1YRK) are one of the 27 who have not, even though all significant TLD's are available for your callsign. The cost to register a domain is very low (about $10 per year) so that isn't any major hurdle for anyone. The cost of a hosting service can be more significant, but that would be the case whether the domain fee was $10 or $1.
You've simply latched onto a "cause", and like most zealots you're going to pursue it whether it actually makes sense or not.
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Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by AB7E on June 19, 2008
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N1YRK: Occam's Razor: "All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best."
You mean like one of the following?
www.n1yrk.com
www.n1yrk.org
www.n1yrk.net
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by N1YRK on June 19, 2008
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AB7E, your response seems resemble a flame to me. But nonetheless, I will not flame in response.
Firstly, though I did not demonstrate the need in the article, I did in one of my lengthly replies. I'd be most appreciative if people can address, pro or con, my defenses in that response.
Additionally, the organization's name is ICANN, not ICAHN. ICAHN generally refers to Carl Icahn, famous corporate raider/ financier, who has nothing to do with this argument.
I have been doing research on what it takes to get ICANN to register a new GTLD. Considering the tedium of the qualifications and documents which need to be processed, I have not detailed that here. This topic is more appropriate for the mailing list I have created. ICANN creates new GTLDs out of a financial incentive (i.e. golden rule, cash talks, etc.) or some perceived need. While it might be possible to raise enough cash to pay such fees, I do not believe that is the way that the project should proceed. We hope to convince based upon need, stability, and non-interference to Internet operations. I believe this can be done. I have already checked some of the early disqualification methodology and the dotham tld passes.
Quoting AB7E "It seems that N1YRK plans to continue this quest in the face of overwhelming apathy from the rest of the amateur radio world, having ignored most of the comments on why it is neither needed nor viable.". I do not see apathy. I see a spectrum of opinions, from ready support, to guarded support, to boredom, to opposition such as AB7E. I have learned from some of these comments, which is why I posted the article in the first place. However, other responses have been most ungentlemanly. I've got a thick skin and I can take it without the need to dish it out in response.
AB7E seems to misunderstand that I do not need n1yrk.org, as it serves very little other than a vanity domain. I have enough domains, thank you. Read my post about how .ham would be validated. validation is what is needed. Yes, this could be provided by another domain, such as ampr.org, or any other domain with the appropriate procedures and server software. What dotham provides is a certain, definitive, source which is bound by its own laws to act appropriately and professionally. I have no doubts that ampr.org is full of competent, reasonable, and honest people. But is running the verified ham DNS their mission? Does AMPR want this responsibility?
The only valid complaint which I have no immediate answer to, nor have I addressed so far, is the one of spam. It's certainly something that I've been pondering, but no 'Eureka' has come to me. I see several solutions but they are no more than current Internet solutions applied to the .ham domain. one very restrictive idea would be that no email from other than a verified sender in the .ham domain, or from a domain or email address on one's "whitelist' would be accepted. This would certainly stop a vast majority of the spam received, but would also result in 'false positives'. That is, rendering legitimate email undeliverable. These are some of the same problems I have in my day-to-day job as a systems administrator. From that experience, I know that you can catch most of the spam most of the time but the tighter you may the filters, the more likely it is that legitimate email will be dropped.
Now that I have bored you with details, I hope I have addressed some of the accusations of not having answered questions. It's obvious to me that my article needs a re-write, explaining the need, as pointed out in well written responses such as the one from David, W0DAB.
As to the quotation and spelling of William of Ockham, I am familiar with his biography, and the various spelling of his name, including the HAM pun. His 'razor' has been restated many times, and I chose the restatement which was most parseable and appropriate for the OCCasion.
73,
N1YRK
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by KE5UVL on June 19, 2008
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Why not allow BARC and ARRL have a domain name?
It would be simple. Top level domains would be limited to callsigns. E.G. ke5uvl.ham
Then for organizations you could have .arc.ham - e.g. bedford.arc.ham newyork.arc.ham houston.arc.ham. ARC domains could cost more to help with organizational overhead.
Then you could have organizational domains such as arrl.org.ham, w5yi.org.ham etc. These could cost the most since these organizations have the money.
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by W3LK on June 19, 2008
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After reading and re-reading all the posts and explanations and all the rest and understanding it all (even ignoring N1YRK's condescending attitude in many of his posts) , i still contend that ...
This is a solution in search of a problem.
73,
Lon - W3LK
Naugatuck, Connecticut
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by N1YRK on June 19, 2008
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"Why not allow BARC and ARRL have a domain name?"
While their are few who would have legitimate claim to supersede the American Radio Relay League for ARRL.HAM, Many would have legitimate claim for BARC (Boston Amateur Radio Club, Berkshire Amateur Radio Club).
"It would be simple. Top level domains would be limited to callsigns. E.G. ke5uvl.ham"
In my scheme, this would be the only way.
"Then for organizations you could have .arc.ham - e.g. bedford.arc.ham newyork.arc.ham houston.arc.ham. ARC domains could cost more to help with organizational overhead."
New York is large. There are no doubt many amateur radio clubs in the city, and more still within the state. Which one gets to claim newyork.arc.ham?
bedford.arc.ham is in a similar position, as there are many places named "Bedford", and some may have duplicate clubs with Bedford in their name, so you could have a large number of potential conflicts.
Just think of how many conflicts there would be with springfield.arc.ham! ouch. One solution might be to further subdivide into states and countries, such as springfield.ma.us.ham, or worcester.uk.ham, so as to differentiate. This might be easy in countries with well-developed place names, but still clumsy. dotham is supposed to be worldwide. It might take specialized knowledge to categorize the place names of Khazakstan or Zimbabwe/Rhodesia. In the end, I don't believe it's worth the confusion.
"Then you could have organizational domains such as arrl.org.ham, w5yi.org.ham etc. These could cost the most since these organizations have the money."
You could, and the fees from this could help pay for operation of dotham. But it seems a little bit too much of a 'land rush' and privilege for my tastes. It's not technically unfeasible, but simply elitist. We've had enough of that with the existing TLDs.
It's back to Occam's (OckHAM's) razor about simplicity. It's also a good way to keep the domain prices down.
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by KI6LO on June 19, 2008
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To paraphrase Mr. King (Rodney that is), "Can't we just go back to fighting about CODE vs NOCODE" :)
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by AB7E on June 19, 2008
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Yup, I fumbled the ICANN thing ... clumsy mistake on my part. And for sure I know who Carl Icahn is, as I have been following with interest his attempted shakeup of Motorola (my old employer).
But no, you still haven't addressed the ICANN issue, and that's my major reason for getting a bit frustrated with your continued public pursuit of a .ham TLD. ICANN has been EXTREMELY reluctant to add new domain names and it has generally taken intense industry pressure and a clearly demonstrated need to get them even to consider a new one. ICANN would look simply foolish if they created a unique TLD for a few members of a relatively fringe hobby compared with the hundreds of other more mainstream special interest groups that would also like to be "validated". How you can suggest that a .ham TLD would be anything more than pure vanity is beyond me, given that so few hams have even bothered to take advantage of the widely available .net TLDs already out there. Please tell me how N1YRK.ham is any more appropriate, or warranted, than would be N1YRK.net. More importantly, put yourself in ICANN's shoes and tell me how N1YRK.ham is any more justified than, for example, SPOT.dog or LANCE.cyc or TIGER.glf or KOBE.nba or HUNTER.gun or EARNHARDT.car or PREFONTAINE.run ... all of which activities represent a much larger number of participants than does amateur radio.
I'm not "opposed" to your proposal ... I'm dismissive of it. There is a difference. You did openly solicit financial support for your efforts at the end of your article, though, and in my mind that leaves you fair game for nonsupporting comments. In any case, I don't mean for my arguments to be taken as flames and I apologize if I crossed into that territory.
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by WI7B on June 19, 2008
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Since we've reach the realm beyond accountability, why not a domains based on the Q signs?
.QSO
.QRP
and my favorite
.QRM
That's all for now,
---* Ken at HAM.QRM
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by N1YRK on June 19, 2008
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Hello again all.
AB7E: you are correct you certainly have the right to dismiss it. I have the right to pursue it. I thank you for having made it clear that I have failed to make a convincing case. I also thank you for reply basically saying you didn't want to step over the line. Neither do I, and by your statement of this, I accept it.
I appreciate the fact that any adoption of my proposal may be years off, if ever. I've also started considering the idea that dotham might not be the most low-friction way to achieve what I desire. That is authenticated communication and discover to catch violators with commercial, profane, or otherwise illegal communications over amateur radio.
In regards to ICANN and acceptance of new GTLDs, it certainly would be an uphill battle. I am not ready to tackle this alone, so unless I get some stalwart allies it will not happen. I'd prefer to find a way to create a trusted public-key-crypto authority so that validation of cryptographic keys happens with maximum security and minimal expense. I had preferred to leave out organizations which might have a political agenda which might colour their judgment in the operation of such a DNS/Crypto organization, either in reality or perceived. This is the reason why I've left the ARRL on the sidelines, because people tend to love them or hate them, and I don't want to be involved in that fight. I should add that AMPR does not hand out DNS assignments within ampr.org on any regular basis - there is no mention of how to obtain on on the web site.
There is also the question of how much do amateur radio communication and Internet access overlap. I have been informed that in some areas, packet radio has become nothing more than an extended 'access point' for Internet access, and that the laws regarding content are fully ignored. I think this is bad. On the other hand, It can be pretty difficult to determine whether a web site is appropriate for amateur radio - Internet gateways. Certainly eHam is not, due to the advertisements on it. It is my intent that whatever is set up, dotham or other, be very careful in making it easy to follow the letter of the law. I'd really like to convert some WiFi equipment to run on 1.2 Ghz and take full advantage of that band. But if refugees from the WiFi, part 15 band, get there and start illegally using it, we're in for big trouble. 'Freebanders' all over again.
Maybe to you HF and analog/CW folks it doesn't matter, but I see chaos on the horizon and want to head it off.
73,
N1YRK
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by N7YA on June 20, 2008
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"The problem, is there are multiple WTMJs for AM and TV"
By 2009, TV stations will no longer be "stations", nor will they need callsigns at all. The FCC managed to pull off a coup...they (working with the cable and dish providers, of course), have managed to run broadcasting stations out of those freqs, auction them off and force everyone to convert to cable or dish. But most of us saw this coming 25 years ago.
Now, im all in favor of technology keeping with the times, and poor folks who rely on reception are getting plenty of warning...as well as the obvious improvement to the signal. It just goes to show that change keeps on rolling, and its a neccessary change at that. Of course, if there was no money in it, that change would lounge around the commissions lower offices for years...it is the FEDERAL Communications Commission, afterall. ;-)
But there wont be any rush for TV callsign websites in the future....everything will simply be "*****channel".
....And no matter what channel it is, they will have some damn "reality" show about a group of people doing a mundane line of work, who will spend more time arguing than working. A half hour of show dedicated to who ate the guys sandwich when he wasnt looking, then him sitting in a confessional booth pretending to be 'emotionally hurt by certain peoples insensitivity to my boundries', lots of dramatic incidental music and camera angles to capture every jerry-springer-ish buffer moment, then 3 cameras conveniently placed (with proper lighting) at the exact spot that 2 of the cast members get into a shouting/shoving match that normal people really never see on the job in real life....unless you do music for a living like i do....but i digress....
On that note, if you are the last band of the night in a strange city...dont eat the catering!! Get something before the show and put it in your hotel fridge when you get in. Just some friendly advice.
And for the love of Pete, dont poo on the bus!
73...Adam, N7YA
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by W4LGH on June 20, 2008
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It's an OK idea, and I would probably buy a .ham to complement my .com ... but for now I will just stick with my www.w4lgh.com address for now. Works good, everyone knows it.
73 de W4LGH - Alan
http://www.w4lgh.com
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by W2DAB on June 20, 2008
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Actually this brings up an helpful idea. Set up a survey and post the link to this thread, feedback to questions you pose could highlight areas of the proposal to work on.
I use this site:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/
73
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by N1YRK on June 20, 2008
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re: Online survey
That's a good idea. But I am going to get my 'ducks in order' with revision 2 of this proposal first.
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by STRAIGHTKEY on June 20, 2008
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>I should add that AMPR does not hand out DNS assignments within ampr.org on any regular basis - there is no mention of how to obtain on on the web site.
(Serious question) Does AMPR do anything on a regular basis?
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Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by W4CX on June 20, 2008
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Oh great. Let's all sell our rigs and get a .ham address. No more BPL problems, no more antennas, no more amateur radio. What a stupid idea.
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by WB4AEJ on June 21, 2008
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>Another issue is squatting. Nowadays, if you mistype a URL, you typically get a page asking you if you want to buy the domain, rather than a page not found error of some sort. This facet is getting worse. Nearly five years ago, when I registered my domain, two of the three TLD available to me were already spoken for. Only one of those was owner listed. The squatter wanted $2,000 for it. There was no possible way he could legally use my call sign for a web page.
That might be the beauty of it. I remember that there were several domains that got bought up because the ham forgot to renew them. Then they had to register the .net and move their material from their .com to their .net. Then their listings in the search engines were wrong.
That could be eliminated because the .ham domain could only be had by the amateur whose callsign reflects the name (wb4aej.ham could only be had by WB4AEJ and they would have to prove they held the license by submitting a photocopy of their license or reference their registration on the FCC or other country's Web site). Therefore, the speculators couldn't grab my domain when it expired and I could get it back anytime by paying the renewal fee.
Even if the ham didn't want to do a Web page, he/she might want to use the .ham as a vanity email address (fred@wb4aej.ham, for example).
Regards,
Fred, WB4AEJ
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by N8EMR on June 21, 2008
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If the ITEF cant agree on the XXX domain, what makes you think they would even consider a .ham domain, also who is going to host the top level domain root servers for the domain, how is it going to be funded.
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by K7PEH on June 21, 2008
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I really do believe that the TLD has become useless except for providing a namespace used for lookup. As an example, consider the ARRL whose domain is .org.
This could fit I suppose, arrl.org. That is, the ARRL is indeed an organization that works to achieve a particular goal in promoting ham radio.
But, the ARRL is also a business. They are a commercial organization so they could just as easily have chosen a .com TLD. We could have arrl.com and no one would question this domain.
And, the ARRL sponsors a number of nets or at least sponsors the idea that nets are good and should exist for passing traffic, handling emergencies, and other things of similar ilk. So, a .net TLD works too.
Doesn't the ARRL offer courses. I have been meaing to take that course on propagation. So, the ARRL is also an educational facility. Yes, I think .edu will work. I can't wait to get my BS from the ARRL.
But, where does this lead. The ARRL has certainly chosen to take over part of the FCCs job. The ARRL would like to be the decision body in questions such as BPL, band plan, spectrum defense, and so on. Therefore, the ARRL could also justify a .gov TLD. Then we would have the arrl.gov (has a nice look to it).
Of course, Riley would like his powers expanded too so the next step might be a kind of police action to clean up these amateur ham bands. I can easily see a growth in the need for a .mil TLD. Yes, I think I like this the best, arrl.mil.
If the ARRL can have so many different TLDs and yet remain the ARRL then the TLD itself is obviously redundant, arbitrary, meaningless, and moot. It is merely a data processing device for namespace lookup.
My two bits.
Phil, K7PEH
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by N6HCM on June 21, 2008
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actually, ICANN is in charge of new TLDs. here is how you get one: http://www.icann.org/tlds/stld-apps-19mar04/
There's no guarantee of success, either--some TLD proposals have been bumping around for years without any useful action.
i don't think there's enough money to be made on a .ham tld to attract sponsors.
i am well-served by existing domains--i can register n6hcm.{com,net,org} for less money than what a .ham would cost me.
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by AC5WO on June 21, 2008
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Looks like a solution in search of a problem to me too. The only situations where it would appear to add some value are:
1) If the cost of registering as <callsign>.ham was free or significantly less than <callsign>.org. For example, if cheap hams only had to register and pay for .ham every 10 years when they renew their licenses vs. every year for .org.
2) If a ham fails to continue to register his or her domain, rules for .ham could block a squatter from registering it and charging ransom.
3) The rules for .ham and oversight from the hobby could maintain a "safe for kids" environment.
4) The rules for .ham prevent accidental non-ham websites associated with a callsign. One broadcasting example is koam.com is registered to a fan of Howard Stern, king of all media, not KOAM television which is koamtv.com.
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by KI4ITV on June 23, 2008
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Bob,
You might find this very interesting, if you are not already aware of it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7468855.stm
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by K7PEH on June 23, 2008
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Regarding the previous post about ICANNs new proposals for opening up the Internet TLD space, another article I read suggests that the fee for such a domain may be on the order of $50,000 as a means of slowing down squatters.
However, these new rules which might be in force by 2009 allow something like the ARRL to be named with the domain .arrl. In fact, they could technically name their web domain as org.arrl. How about that for something different.
The article I read mentioned examples such as .ebay for Ebay and corporate names such as .intel for the Intel corporation or .ibm for you know what. This is where stock ticker symbols might come into play. Microsoft would be .msft maybe. Certainly, Apple Computer would spend the big bucks to get .apple ahead of Apple records (if they have not merged by then).
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Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by KG5VK on June 24, 2008
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I do NOT see a need for it
If you do you should have spelled it out
Albeit you may have latter in this lengthy thread
which will go unseen by many esp myself
what is wrong with dot com
how many people have registered YOUR callsign with .com
preventing you from doing so ?
I don't get it (the need for .ham)
steve
kg5vk.com
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by KB3LSR on June 24, 2008
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I just use .com, and .info when they are on sale. I think it would be fun to have .ham, but the administration costs of overseeing it and validating callsigns would be enormous, which would make the registration of a .ham more expensive than a .com. I saw in ICANN's website and how they rejected a .xxx TLD (I can't remember the reasoning, it was a few years ago). I think there is a way to petition ICANN to consider a new TLD, which is probably available on their website.
In short: validation = administration costs = more expensive than .com
73 de AB3HJ
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by KG4TKC on June 25, 2008
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Good Article Bob,I think the time to look at.ham is now. Very shortly ICANN may totally change the rules,they have a vote here soon on that very thing. As I understand it they are going to look at changing the languages used in a TLD,change the amount of characters that are used in a TLD,and perhaps open the door to registering hundreds more. If they vote to do what some are saying they may,then we can no longer depend on the present status quo as a guide to the future as to a TLD.
I am thinking that the small Pacific island that held the .TV TLD name either sold it,leased it,or somehow opened it up for dual use,and in any case raked in some cash. If ICANN opens the gates as it very well could,then squatting within the domain may move up to the domain itself. For all we know there may be a group of speculators that are watching and waiting right now to pounce on a list they have already prepared in case ICANN opens the gates,so they can do what a tiny Pacific island did. While it may seem unimportant to us right now,that little island was still some how able to market its TLD,so someone places some value on those little dot extensions,,:)
It is my opinion that a group of interested amateurs should be found that can work out every aspect of a TLD dedicated to the ARS,from top to bottom,every little detail. The group that formed to create,repair,distribute,and oversee the Debian linux distro would be a good template to follow. It is a very large group of volunteers,all with one little slice of the Debian pie that they take care of.
I think that sometimes planning for the future can often look like a case of a solution looking for a problem. Our services use of the internet to learn,exchange ideas,and exchange information makes that network very important to us,even when we have the rig on and the computer off,,:) Anyone who doesn't think it is important should go look at the very excellent web sites of some of those who have left posts on this thread!
There are some things at work that I think make it a good idea to start looking for a TLD for amateur radio. The shape of the internet may change more over the next five years than it has this last five. The value of a TLD itself may change in the context of networking. We have ICANN apparently mulling over the idea of creating hundreds more TLD names. (BTW,the reason for all the fight over the .xxx TLD was not the addition of another TLD,but ICANN not wanting to look like it was giving a nod to porn.) We will in the next few years have IPv6 fully in place,which will for sure affect DNS,will affect routing,and we hope will be an all around improvment. In the coming years the structure of the internet will change. Rather than a hodge-podge fabric woven around the 100 year old telephone system,it will more resemble 'The Grid',the fiber-optic network built to move the huge load of data that will be created in seconds by CERN's Hadron Collider. While we are mostly happy with our broadband connection that can download a movie file in an hour or more, on 'The Grid' it takes less than 5 seconds. I think all of these things are going to change things enough so that the way we look at a Top Level Domain now is not the way we will look at it in five years. That makes me think we should start now to prepare,and hope we are not too late already. If someone should pounce on the .ham domain as soon as ICANN opens the door,maybe we could go for the simple .ars?
Anyway,that is just my 2 cents worth,,:) On looking it over again,maybe I should re-valuate it a 1 cent,,:) Anyway it is time to turn off the computer and turn on the rig. So I will say GL,73,and may the spots soon be with us.KG4TKC
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Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by W1QA on June 29, 2008
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Personally I don't favour (yet) another TLD (top level domain). World around there is a number of ways "hams" can have their own domain name. Anything from W1QA.COM to country specific TLD's based on how each specific country allows registration. Why are domains like W1QA.HAM or HS0ZIF.HAM or ZL2GCQ.HAM more compelling?
Beyond selling hams on this idea - whomever brings forth this proposal is going to have to convince a body of non-hams that having a new TLD for this purpose serves the Internet as a whole.
There would have to be an organization who would be responsible for the management of the TLD and the associated name servers. Big responsibility; it would have to probably be an org that already does this for other TLD's. And there's a cost here as well. (This is not something you do out of your mom and pop ISP!) There would also have to be arrangements to allow domain registrars to register second level domains on behalf of registrants.
Regarding some of Bob N1YRK's specific comments:
- Interesting to see the comment "politics is eschewed" and immediately after that reference to countries that are in disfavour. Why did you pick those two - and not others? Such a view is really one of politics (and a view of only some countries) and really doesn't have place here IMHO.
- Setting an expectation that registrations should be very inexpensive (ca couple of US dollars a year) is unrealistic; I sincerely doubt at such a price point this could be attractive to any org that would manage the TLD ... or to any registrar that would handle registrations. This has to be funded - and the annual registration fees is probably the only way it would be handled.
- I understand and support the merit of a fee structure that support access for all but logistically that will be a nightmare to implement; I doubt such a plan would ever see the light of day.
- Although I agree such a TLD should be independently run - it would probably better survive a proposal for its instatement as a TLD if it were sponsored and run by an organization such as the IARU (International Amateur Radio Union).
- I think a LOT more thought would have to go into what can be registered as a second level domain. When registering a domain how does one prove to the registrar that you are the legit holder of a callsign? Not all countries release the license information. Having to MANUALLY verify a license will drive the registration cost up! (And such verification would have to be sent via post, or fax or scanned license?!) How do changes in callsigns get handled? What happens when a license expires but the domain still exists? For non-call second level domains ... who will decide whether an organisation or individual is eligible for the domain? Take any four or five character acronyms - and I bet there would be TONS of duplications world-wide. Is it first come, first serve? Do some research on how other (new) TLD's have handled it - look into what a sunrise period is. Although excluding domains to a very exclusive few (like .coop and .museum) may be the desired way to go - remember that other TLD's make a lot of money on allowing anyone to register in their domains. Case in point is .TV (Tuvalu) and there's quite a few others as well.
- By their instinct nature callsigns are unique ... and more importantly having embedded numbers makes them unlikely candidates for being already registered or squatted upon. Most people should be able to easily get a registration with their call in their country specific TLD or .COM .ORG .NET, etc.
- Although "ham" is known within the Amateur Radio community around the world it is probably a lesser known term to the general public. This is somewhat important in choosing a TLD. Names like .COOP and .MUSEUM are understood in many languages. Personally I wouldn't want a .HAM ... I can't imagine giving my email as BOB@PA3GCQ.HAM.
- Do you expect that all the existing Amateur Radio related sites will move into the .HAM domain? My gut feeling is that those who are well established won't be changing their identity. I don't see RSGB.ORG becoming RSGB.HAM or ARRL.ORG becoming ARRL.HAM. The fact that a lot of licensees and organizations already have established domains and presences on the Internet ... I see little motivation for them to change. How many people and orgs therefore would avail themselves of a .HAM second level domain registration? This may be important in the business plan for doing this.
Bottom line: for those who want to move forward with something like this ... get a sponsoring organization on board early on (IARU or something similar). Find out from some of the rarer (newer?!) TLD's how they were successful in their proposals (it is all on-line). Build a business case. Find someone who will handle the TLD services. And sit back and expect to wait - this is a slow process!
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RE: Revisiting a .HAM Internet Domain
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by KG4TKC on July 4, 2008
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Just a quick note.On June 26,2008,ICANN met in Paris and voted unanimously to increase the number of TLD's.A final version of the implementation plan must be approved before applications are accepted. They plan on having the final plan voted on and in place the first of 2009,and begin taking applications in the second quarter of 2009. The question of should there be more TLD's,is taken care of,not only will there be more,there will be lots more,and in the near future.This is what the President and CEO of ICANN had to say about it,,"The potential here is huge. It represents a whole new way for people to express themselves on the Net," said Dr Twomey. "It's a massive increase in the 'real estate' of the Internet."
Speculation is that the 21 common TLD's (.com .org etc) will have at least 1 thousand more added to them. Of course there will have to be money raised,administration formed,etc for the amateur radio community to get one. Other groups are already geared up to apply for names such as .nyc,.berlin,.paris,.hotel,.air and so forth.
As you consider how important a TLD is to you,even if you are happy with your present .com,think about the future. Do you have a child or grandchild showing an interest in amateur radio,or are you elmering a young person? What will the internet of tomorrow hold for them? Do you think that as every kind of commercial venture tries to carve out a piece of the internet for themselves,that we should stake claim on a small plot for our technological hobby,and for its future? Just a few questions to think about before this article slids off the page,,:) GL es 73 everyone,KG4TKC
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