.info

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Template:Infobox Top level domain

.info is a generic top-level domain intended for informative websites, although its use is not restricted. It was a part of ICANN's highly publicized announcement, in late 2000, of a phased release of seven new generic top-level domains (gTLDs). The event was billed as the first addition of major gTLDs to the Internet since the DNS was developed in the 1980s. The seven new gTLDs, selected from over 180 proposals, were meant in part to take the pressure off the overcrowded .com domain.

.info has been the most successful of the seven new domain names, with over 2.4 million domain names registered up to 2005. In addition, over 1 million .info websites are in active and dedicated use. In the aftermath of the airplane-attacks in New York and Washington on 11 September, 2001 (see 9/11), New York City's Metropolitan Transit Authority used the easy to remember mta.info website to lead users to latest information on schedules and tickets on the city's trains, buses and ferries. Chomsky.info is another noteworthy .info domain used by political activist Noam Chomsky.

.info is an unrestricted domain, meaning that anyone can obtain a second-level domain under .info. You don't have to be a library, for example. As a generic, unrestricted domain name, anyone can use .info for any purpose, similar to .com, .net or .org domains. This is in contrast to a TLD such as .edu or .coop, which comes with criteria. .info is the first and only top-level domain that was explicitly created and chartered for unrestricted use, though various other TLDs have ended up that way as a de facto situation.

The launching of .info involved a "sunrise period" for trademark owners followed by a "landrush" open to all. This process came under much criticism for giving trademarks precedence over words that are generic in other contexts; for instance, the Caterpillar construction equipment company was able to get cat.info before anybody else, such as a feline enthusiast, even had a chance.

Although a large number of fraudulent registrations were initially made by registrants who didn't actually own a valid trademark, a challenge procedure later weeded out most of these. Some fraudulent registrations remain in the control of bad faith registrants, and some feel that Afilias needs to mount a final clean-up effort.

In a controversial move, prior to registrations beginning, the names of countries were reserved from registration at the request of ICANN, to the consternation of those who had paid pre-registration fees to attempt to register these names in the landrush. ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee, comprised of representatives appointed by countries around the world applauded the move, the first by any major domain to protect the alleged national interests of sovereign nations. Many others, however, regard the names of countries (as well as cities and other geographical features) as generic terms which should not be monopolized by anybody, including the governments of the given places, since they may also validly be used for independent or critical sites about the places.

Many .info names have been registered (the most of any of the new TLDs), but some critics say that recognition by the general public is low, and many are hoarded speculatively or used for unsavory purposes such as sites advertised in e-mail spam, although the .biz domain name is most popular for spam.

The .info domain has been operated since its creation by Afilias. In 2003, .info was the first gTLD domain to support IETF standards-based internationalized domain names, as described at .info IDN. Registrations are processed via accredited registrars and internationalized domain names may also be registered (see details).

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External links

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