The initial set of generic top-level domains, defined by RFC 920 in October 1984, was a set of "general purpose domains":
com,
edu,
gov,
mil,
org. The
net domain was added with the first implementation of these domains. The com, net, and org TLDs, despite their originally specified goals, are now open to use for any purpose. In November 1988, another TLD was introduced,
int. This TLD was introduced in response to
NATO's request for a domain name that adequately reflected its character as an international organization. It was also originally planned to be used for some Internet infrastructure databases, such as ip6.int, the
IPv6 equivalent of in-addr.arpa. However, in May 2000, the
Internet Architecture Board proposed to exclude infrastructure databases from the int domain. All new databases of this type would be created in
arpa (a legacy domain from the conversion of ARPANET), and existing usage would move to arpa wherever feasible, which led to the use of ip6.arpa for IPv6
reverse lookups. By the mid-1990s, there was discussion of the introduction of more TLDs.
Jon Postel, as head of
IANA, invited applications from interested parties. In early 1995, Postel created "Draft Postel", an Internet draft containing the procedures to create new
domain name registries and new TLDs. Draft Postel created a number of small committees to approve the new TLDs. Because of the increasing interest, a number of large organizations took over the process under the
Internet Society's umbrella. This second attempt involved setting up a temporary organization called the International Ad Hoc Committee (
IAHC). On February 4, 1997, the IAHC issued a report ignoring the Draft Postel recommendations and instead recommending the introduction of seven new TLDs (arts, firm, info, nom, rec, store, and web). In September 1998, the
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) was created to take over the task of managing domain names. After a call for proposals (August 15, 2000) and a brief period of public consultation, ICANN announced on November 16, 2000, its selection of seven new TLDs:
aero,
biz,
coop,
info,
museum,
name,
pro.
biz,
info, and
museum were activated in June 2001,
name and
coop in January 2002,
pro in May 2002, and
aero later in 2002.
pro became a gTLD in May 2002, but did not become fully operational until June 2004. ICANN added further TLDs, starting with a set of
sponsored top-level domains. The application period for these was from December 15, 2003, to March 16, 2004; it resulted in ten applications. Of these, ICANN approved .asia|,
cat,
jobs,
mobi,
tel and
travel. In March 2011,
xxx was approved (one year after an independent review found ICANN had broken its own bylaws by rejecting the application in 2007). Of the remaining applications (
post,
mail and an alternative tel proposal),
post was introduced in 2012. On June 26, 2008, during the 32nd International Public ICANN Meeting in Paris, Observers believed that the new rules could result in hundreds of new gTLDs being registered. In subsequent years, the expansion of the domain name system led to broader adoption of gTLDs across a wide range of websites and online services. Sites created within hosted website builders, including
Wix,
Weebly, and Duda, use gTLDs such as .com and .net in their integrated domain registration services.
New top-level domains The introduction of several generic top-level domains over the years had not stopped the demand for more gTLDs; ICANN received many proposals for the establishment of new top-level domains. Proponents argued for a variety of models, ranging from adoption of policies for unrestricted gTLDs (see above) to chartered gTLDs for specialized uses by specialized organizations. In 2008, a new initiative foresaw a stringent application process for new domains, adhering to a restricted naming policy for
open gTLDs,
community-based domains, and
internationalized domain names (IDNs). On June 20, 2011, ICANN's board voted to end most restrictions on the creation of generic top-level domain names (gTLDs) – at which time 22 gTLDs were available. Companies and organizations would be able to choose essentially arbitrary top-level Internet domains. The use of non-Latin characters (such as Cyrillic, Arabic, Chinese, etc.) would also be allowed in gTLDs. ICANN began accepting applications for new gTLDs on January 12, 2012. The initial price to apply for a new gTLD was $185,000. ICANN expected the new rules to significantly change the face of the internet. Peter Thrush, chairman of ICANN's board of directors, stated after the vote: "Today's decision will usher in a new internet age. We have provided a platform for the next generation of creativity and inspiration. Unless there is a good reason to restrain it, innovation should be allowed to run free." Industry analysts predicted 500–1000 new gTLDs, However, some companies, like Pepsi, ruled out a branded gTLD. ==Popularity==