Note only one "at" or "@" is
allowed, and that the domains form a hierarchy with the most general
in scope last. And note that the
choice of domain names must be administratively controlled and the highest
level domain names must be globally unique.
- J. Postel; Computer
Mail Meeting Notes, RFC
805; 8 Feb
1982.
|
The accredited
registrars provide Internet domain
name registration services.
In the fall of 1999, ICANN chose a
list of accredited domain registrars
as alternative suppliers to the original registrar Network
Solutions, and now
any of these registrars can register a domain name. The actual costs of administering
a domain name are very low, and getting lower as technology and bandwidth gets
cheaper, so domain registrars compete on cost and extra services. Many
support the non-profit group CoreNIC.
Network Solutions has implemented a central registry database that is shared
by all the accredited domain registrars, and so, because
of
their history, Network Solutions still retains a singular responsibility for
the
operation
of
the
Internet. A range of standards govern
this distributed registration system.
Countries. The
IANA
CCLTD Database maintains
a list of the domain registrars for countries.
For example, the following sites provide domain name registration services in
various country
top-level
domains.
Top-level domains. The following sites provide domain name registration
services in various other miscellaneous
top-level domains.
Dispute resolution. The WIPO
Arbitration
and Mediation Center handles disputes over the ownership and registration
of
domain
names.
