New.Net
| Category: Domain Names | Date: 2003-01-08 |
Sometimes companies and people just do silly things, wasting people's time and money trying to get their attention. One such company is called new.net and what they are doing is attempting to change the way you get to web sites.
You see, currently virtually all domain names (those funny two and three characters at the end of the URL, like .COM and .NET) are under the control of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). It's the job of ICANN to make sure that internet naming grows at a rational pace and does not put undo stress on the structure.
One important fact to remember is until recently it was virtually inconceivable that more domains would ever be added. The domain structure was pretty much considered cast in concrete, with no additions and subtractions.
Another important but little known detail is ICANN is not a legal body - it is simply the "owner" of the internet naming scheme. If you've got a network you can feel free to create your own naming scheme which has nothing to do with the internet scheme. Just don't except your names to work on the internet.
A company called new.net was created a few years ago to take advantage of the perceived slowness of ICANN to create new domains. ICANN had good reason to go slowly - the internet was not designed to easily allow for more domains. ICANN had concerns that there would be damage to the structure or the routers would go haywire or something to that effect. Also, in spite of all of the hype, there really isn't a need to go fast.
You see, the popular media would have us believe that "we are running out of domain names". This is, of course, a complete lie. Think about it - if you assume a domain name can be 32 characters long, then there are 32 to the 32nd power possible names. That's one heck of a lot of names.
The shortage myth came about because the "best" names were all bought up by the big companies. Thus, the idea of expanding the number of domains was born - to make it possible to get more "good" names. Of course, this totally ignores the fact that the same big companies will probably purchase the good names right away.
New.net decided to create it's own system of domain names to overlap the internet naming scheme. They did this by installing their own domain name translators and routers, and requiring anyone who wants to access the domain names to install a special plug in.
Some Of New.Net's Domain Names
.agent .gmbh .mp3
.arts .golf .school
.auction .inc .scifi
.chat .kids .shop
.church .law .soc
.club .llc .sport
.family .llp .video
.free .love .tech
.game .ltd .travel
.med .xxx
The way this plug in works is very simple. Every request for a domain name translation is first sent to new.net's domain name translators. If the name is found, new.net's name is used. If it is not found, the standard internet name is used.
What is the problem with this scheme?
It undermines the authority of ICANN - This is a big problem, because the internet is actually a series of agreements. It's not common knowledge, but there are virtually no laws governing how the internet works. It is simply that everyone has agreed that HTML is the standard language for browsers. If enough people stop agreeing, then the entire structure is in danger of falling apart.
It has limited value - Because virtually all internet users will never install the plug in, it means that web sites which use new.net's scheme may not be visited. Thus, companies are spending large amounts of money to buy names which do not do much for their bottom line.
A plug in is required - This adds the potential for bugs to a user's system. Since this plug in operates at a very low level it has an extreme potential for causing strange system behavior.
New.net's plug in is Foistware - This means it is covertly installed by a number of programs without the explicit agreement of the user of the personal computer. Thus, someone purchasing a product or installing a browser and taking the defaults may get new.net's plug in installed for them. Ethically, programs like this must always be done only at the request of the user (opt-in) instead of being included unless excluded (opt-out). All opt-out schemes are inherently anti-consumer and hostile to the purchaser and user of the product - these kinds of products and companies need to be avoided and fought.
It overlaps the ICANN namespace - This is a real problem. If ICANN releases the same domain names as new.net, then there will be a conflict of names.
It's not necessary - There is no shortage of domain names in spite of what the press and the large corporations would like us to believe. There is no real need to bypass the established procedures because there is no emergency.
My opinion is very simple. Avoid new.net's naming scheme like the plague. It's not good for the internet, it's not good for users, and the only thing it really does well is make a lot of money for a faceless corporation.
About the Author
Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge.
Web Site Address: internet-tips.net
Weekly newsletter: http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm
Daily Tips: internet-tips@GetResponse.com
Claudia Arevalo-Lowe is the webmistress of Internet Tips And Secrets and Surviving Asthma. Visit her site at http://survivingasthma.com
List of articles available for reprint: article-list@internet-tips.net
articles@internet-tips.net
http://www.internet-tips.net
You see, currently virtually all domain names (those funny two and three characters at the end of the URL, like .COM and .NET) are under the control of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). It's the job of ICANN to make sure that internet naming grows at a rational pace and does not put undo stress on the structure.
One important fact to remember is until recently it was virtually inconceivable that more domains would ever be added. The domain structure was pretty much considered cast in concrete, with no additions and subtractions.
Another important but little known detail is ICANN is not a legal body - it is simply the "owner" of the internet naming scheme. If you've got a network you can feel free to create your own naming scheme which has nothing to do with the internet scheme. Just don't except your names to work on the internet.
A company called new.net was created a few years ago to take advantage of the perceived slowness of ICANN to create new domains. ICANN had good reason to go slowly - the internet was not designed to easily allow for more domains. ICANN had concerns that there would be damage to the structure or the routers would go haywire or something to that effect. Also, in spite of all of the hype, there really isn't a need to go fast.
You see, the popular media would have us believe that "we are running out of domain names". This is, of course, a complete lie. Think about it - if you assume a domain name can be 32 characters long, then there are 32 to the 32nd power possible names. That's one heck of a lot of names.
The shortage myth came about because the "best" names were all bought up by the big companies. Thus, the idea of expanding the number of domains was born - to make it possible to get more "good" names. Of course, this totally ignores the fact that the same big companies will probably purchase the good names right away.
New.net decided to create it's own system of domain names to overlap the internet naming scheme. They did this by installing their own domain name translators and routers, and requiring anyone who wants to access the domain names to install a special plug in.
Some Of New.Net's Domain Names
.agent .gmbh .mp3
.arts .golf .school
.auction .inc .scifi
.chat .kids .shop
.church .law .soc
.club .llc .sport
.family .llp .video
.free .love .tech
.game .ltd .travel
.med .xxx
The way this plug in works is very simple. Every request for a domain name translation is first sent to new.net's domain name translators. If the name is found, new.net's name is used. If it is not found, the standard internet name is used.
What is the problem with this scheme?
It undermines the authority of ICANN - This is a big problem, because the internet is actually a series of agreements. It's not common knowledge, but there are virtually no laws governing how the internet works. It is simply that everyone has agreed that HTML is the standard language for browsers. If enough people stop agreeing, then the entire structure is in danger of falling apart.
It has limited value - Because virtually all internet users will never install the plug in, it means that web sites which use new.net's scheme may not be visited. Thus, companies are spending large amounts of money to buy names which do not do much for their bottom line.
A plug in is required - This adds the potential for bugs to a user's system. Since this plug in operates at a very low level it has an extreme potential for causing strange system behavior.
New.net's plug in is Foistware - This means it is covertly installed by a number of programs without the explicit agreement of the user of the personal computer. Thus, someone purchasing a product or installing a browser and taking the defaults may get new.net's plug in installed for them. Ethically, programs like this must always be done only at the request of the user (opt-in) instead of being included unless excluded (opt-out). All opt-out schemes are inherently anti-consumer and hostile to the purchaser and user of the product - these kinds of products and companies need to be avoided and fought.
It overlaps the ICANN namespace - This is a real problem. If ICANN releases the same domain names as new.net, then there will be a conflict of names.
It's not necessary - There is no shortage of domain names in spite of what the press and the large corporations would like us to believe. There is no real need to bypass the established procedures because there is no emergency.
My opinion is very simple. Avoid new.net's naming scheme like the plague. It's not good for the internet, it's not good for users, and the only thing it really does well is make a lot of money for a faceless corporation.
About the Author
Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge.
Web Site Address: internet-tips.net
Weekly newsletter: http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm
Daily Tips: internet-tips@GetResponse.com
Claudia Arevalo-Lowe is the webmistress of Internet Tips And Secrets and Surviving Asthma. Visit her site at http://survivingasthma.com
List of articles available for reprint: article-list@internet-tips.net
articles@internet-tips.net
http://www.internet-tips.net
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