Domain Names and Education

Ownership of the internet is a complicated issue. In theory, the internet is owned by everyone that uses it. Yet, in reality, certain entities exert more influence over the "mechanics" and regulation of the internet than others. To understand the notion of ownership, one must understand the backbone of the internet--Domain Name Systems. As the internet continues to become a larger component of education, teachers need to be aware of the political, commercial, and public influences affecting the internet. The internet opens the door to new horizons of curriculum development, communications, research, and resources to support education. As educators, the Domain Name System has the potential to provide direction and simplification of internet resources. The following issues will be examined in this discussion of ownership:


*    Domain Name Systems
*    Control of Domain Name Systems
*    Conflicts and Inequities in the Domain Name System
*    Relevance to Education



Domain Name Systems:

The Domain Name System(DNS) is the address system of the internet. It facilitates the users' ability to navigate with the aid of the domain name and a corresponding Internet Protocol (IP) number. Each domain name is linked to a unique IP address.

The DNS is divided into categories called top level domains. The top level domains are subdivided into generic top level domains (gTLD) and country-code top level domains(ccTLD).(WIPO Internet Domain Name Process) Within the gTLD there are presently seven domains. They are .com, .net, .org, .int, .gov, .edu, and .mil.

Country code top level domains are two letter designations assigned to individual countries. For example, Canada is given the domain .ca and Italy is given the domain .it. From a functional standpoint, ccTLDs and gTLDs are the same. They both provide the same connectivity. The ccTLDs are governed by the entity that owns the domain and can be restricted or open depending on the individual entity's rules.

The competition to register domain names is intense, with approximately 10,000 new names being registered each day, according to iDomains.com.  As of July 2000, DomainStats.com reported 13,072,946 registered InterNIC domains. Of this sum, .com accounted for 9,482,427 (72.5%), .net 2,265,298 (17.3%), .org 1,318,818 (10%), .edu 5,637 (.04%) and .gov 730 (.006%). During the same period, statistics showed 17,804,717 domains, worldwide.  (Mining the Internet with Domain Names)

By the end of 2000, there were approximately 14 TLDs in existence.  As of 2006, here are the complete list of Top Level Domain Names used in the names of interent pages today. 

Additional TLDs will likely be approved in the future. These are now being considered: .asia, .mail, and .post.  (Browser News)

Control of Domain Name Systems:

In the early stages of the development of the WWW, the National Science Foundation (NSF) was given the task of managing the major internet backbone-the NSFNET. NSF's original purpose was to promote research and education at the University level.(Webopedia) The NSF was quickly overwhelmed with this task and passed this job onto the private and commercial sector. In 1993, NSF granted exclusive rights to Network Solutions Incorporated (NSI) for the registration and management of the top level domains .com, .org, .net, and .edu.(NSF-InterNic)

In 1997, as part of the Clinton Administration's Framework for Global Electronic Commerce, the President directed the Secretary of Commerce to privatize the administration of the Domain Name System for the purpose of increasing competition and facilitating international participation in its management. Domain name assignments are now the responsibility of ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). Formed in October 1998, with a volunteer board of directors representing business, technical, academic, and user communities, ICANN is the non-profit corporation responsible for IP address space allocation, protocol parameter assignment, domain name system management, and root server system management functions previously performed by the US government.  (Introduction to Internet Research)

One of the major criticisms of the Domain Name System has been that the United States government and NSI have had too much control. Other nations have had to rely on country code domains or purchase generic top level domains through NSI. This attempt to open up the registry to competing organizations helps to decentralize some of the control that NSI and the United States have held for several years. Even though the U.S. has maintained this level of control, it by no means can be said that it owns the internet. The internet does not have a central point of authority or control and therefore cannot be said to be owned by any individual group. This autonomy offers great freedoms yet can also be a source of concern.


Conflicts and Inequities in the Domain Name System:

A major concern of many individuals is the limited number of open top level domains. Currently there are only three (.com, .org, .net). (Domain Name Registration) The criticism is that anyone should be allowed to create a top level domain. The success of these domains would be determined by the what the internet market dictates.(Green Paper) The addition of these top level domains could lead to a more descriptive system of classification. For example, the domain .arts would be a clear indication that the site located at this domain would include information pertaining to the arts. As the system stands today, it is difficult to tell what an individual might find at a given domain based on the domain name alone.

The counter argument is that allowing anyone to create a domain would lead to chaos that would lead to problems at the root server level. Furthermore, it would be more difficult for companies to protect their trademarks if there were a large number of top level domains. A trademark dilemma has already begun with only three domains. For example, the domain peta.org was originally registered to a parody organization known as People Eating Tasty Animals. In the real world peta is an acronym for the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. As a result of this controversy the Domain Name Rights Coalition was founded to provide protection to organizations wishing to protect trademarks.(Whose Internet Is It Anyway?) A great debate continues on whether a company that holds a trademark in the real world has exclusive rights to this trademark in cyberspace. The US Department of Commerce states "For cyberspace to function as effective commercial market, businesses must have confidence that their trademarks can be protected. On the other hand, management of the Internet must respond to the needs of the Internet community as a whole, and not trademark owners exclusively. The balance we strike is to provide trademark owners with the same rights they have in the physical world, to ensure transparency, to guarantee a dispute resolution mechanism with resort to a court system, and to add a new top-level domains carefully during the transition to private sector coordination of the domain name system."(Green Paper) Even with these reservations seven new domains are proposed to be added in the near future. (BBC News)

Cybersquatting

According to Wikipedia, cybersquatting is a term used to describe the practice of registering and claiming rights over Internet domain names that are, arguably, not for the taking. The cybersquatter then offers the domain to the person or company who owns a trademark contained within the name at an inflated price, an act which some deem to be extortion.

The term is derived from "squatting", which is the act of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use. Cybersquatters usually ask for prices far greater than that at which they purchased it. Some cybersquatters put up derogatory remarks about the person or company the domain is meant to represent in an effort to encourage the subject to buy the domain from them.

Recently, there have been lawsuits placed against other companies and individuals for the rights of their domain names.  The first lawsuit was filed by Quokka Sports, Inc. against Justin Nicholas and Arron Brett of New Zealand's Cup International Ltd. and Cup International Internet Ventures for control of AmericasCup.com.  For more information about the case, you can examine this link.  Many laws have came into effect to help curb the practice of cybersquatting, but as of yet, it is still a relatively new practice and no real precedents have been established. 

Relevance to Education:

Educators must be aware of domains and what may lie in each type of domain. As the Domain Name System stands today this is not always a clear issue. The .com, .net, and .org domains can be misleading in that any type of information can be found housed at these sites. Sites in these domains need to be examined carefully before they are used with students in a classroom setting. That is not to say that commercial sites are unworthy of educational use; they just need to be previewed carefully. Restricted domains such as .edu and .gov are less misleading in that certain restrictions apply to who may post information on these sites. However, even with these restrictions teachers must take time to carefully examine the site. In addition, teachers need to inform students about domains as well. For example, it is important for students to realize that .com is a commercial site and .edu is a higher education site if they are to evaluate the type and validity of information presented.

From an educator's standpoint, a more descriptive domain system would be a welcome addition to the internet community. New domains that accurately describe the nature of the site would greatly benefit teachers and students alike. For such a system to work, a rigorous organizational structure must be put into place to insure that sites are registered into their proper domains. Until such a system exists, however, teachers and students need to continue to search through numerous sites seeking information.

Domain Related Annotated WWW Resources For Domains