All About Internet Domain Names
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So you want to register a domain name?
 
Someday you may be assigned the task of establishing an Internet presence for yourself or your company, organization or institution. Check out the Ragu Home Page to see how the maker of Ragu Pasta Sauces, Chicken Tonight, and Pizza Quick has one of the most coveted domain names - eat.com!
eat.com
A coveted domain name
The graphic has been reproduced from the web-site at Ragu only for academic discussion, evaluation, research and complies
with the copyright law of the United States as defined and stipulated under Title 17 U. S. Code.
 
Step 1:  Make sure your name's not already taken
You need to make sure the domain name you want is not already taken.  First, you can type it into your browser to see if there is already a Web page with that URL.  Then, you can conduct a search using Whois in order to see if someone has registered that domain name but isn't using it as an actual URL.
 
Other coveted domain names, some of which are up for sale.
sleep.com
eggs.com
pizza.com
boys.com
women.com
mtv.com
news.com
 
If you already have a three letter domain name such as www.atv.com or www.sit.edu or www.cat.org in mind, you can check the a registration service to see if your first choice is available.  If somebody has registered the name you wanted, don't despair.   You can always sue.
 
 
Domain Name Disputes
"Cybersquatters."  Nude women at the "Candyland" site.  Read more about domain name disputes and why it's no longer "first come, first served" on the Net.
 
 
Step 2:  Make sure your domain name follows the rules
Domain names that end with .com, .net, or .org must follow these rules:
 
  • Use only letters, numbers or dashes ("-")
  • The domain name can't begin or end with a dash
  • You can't have more than 26 characters total
  • Domain names can't be case sensitive
  • Step 3:  Register your domain name

    Until recently, a company called Network Solutions (also known as InterNIC) had an exclusive arrangement with the U.S. government to register domain names in the United States; if you wanted a domain name, you had to go through them.  As of April 1999, the government is working to phase out Network Solutions' monopoly by allowing other companies to award domain names as well.  Five companies have been selected as domain registrars on a trial basis.  They will be evaluated to see how well they accomplish the job and the new arrangement will be evaluated to see whether it fosters competition.  When the trial period is up, about 50 more companies will be given the right to register domain names.

    The five additional companies approved by the government to award domain names during the initial trial basis are:
     

  • America Online
  • CORE (Internet Council of Registrars)
  • France Telecom/Oleane (in French)
  • Melbourne IT
  • Register.com
  •  
     
    Eventually the government will get out the domain-name business completely, turning over the responsibility to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a non-profit group chaired by Esther Dyson.
     
    New generic top level domain names
    Eventually there will also be more choices for domain names, because of the creation of new generic top level domain (gTLD) names.  The proposed gTLDs include:
     
    • .NOM - Individual or personal nomenclature
    • .INFO - Information services
    • .SHOP - Businesses offering goods to purchase
    • .FIRM - Businesses or firms
    • .WEB - Activities related to the World Wide Web
    • .ARTS - Cultural and entertainment activities
    • .REC - Recreational activities

    A final decision has not yet been made on which of these gTLDs will be made available.  These, along with .COM, .ORG, .EDU, .GOV and .MIL are "top level domain names."  (The descriptive part of a URL, for instance the "unc" in "www.unc.edu" or the "ragu" in "www.ragu.com," are called second level domain names.)
     
    The Registration Process
    The basic registration process, illustrated below, will not change with the addition of companies authorized to register domain names.
     
    Click on the graphic above to see a larger picture



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