ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 13, 1997 TAG: 9702130019
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
Just as Internet users got used to the difference between disney.com and redcross.org, seven new sets of endings may soon appear to identify the ever-increasing groups who want their own on-line names.
Demand for Internet addresses is going through the roof, with about 80,000 new names being registered a month. The need for on-line identity is so strong that some who find the name they want already taken end up in court, fighting over trademark infringement.
A plan announced last week would revamp the current system for assigning Internet addresses, or ``domain names.''
Right now, all Internet addresses in the United states end in one of six ways - .com, for commercial businesses, .org for nonprofit organizations, .net for networks, .edu for educational institutions, .gov for governmental bodies and .mil for the military.
Under the proposal put forward by the International Ad Hoc Committee, seven new possibilities would be added to that list. They include .store, for businesses offering goods for sale, .info for information services and .nom for personal sites.
The committee officially began work only two months ago, but the issues its proposal addresses have been long debated, said Dave Crocker, editor of the report and director of the Internet Mail Consortium.
``There was a very substantial amount of Internet community pressure to come up with a plan quickly. It had been discussed for two years and there were concerns that the situation had continued long enough,'' he said from his office in Sunnyvale, Calif.
The situation Crocker refers to is the way in which actual Internet addresses, which are numbers like 192.103.63.100, get assigned names like kraft.com that are easier to remember.
Network Solutions Inc., now registers and keeps track of all .com, .org and
Under the committee's plan, any applicants with disputes over Internet addresses would agree to mediation by a panel of experts with the World Intellectual Property Organization.
For individuals, the biggest effect of the new naming structure would be becoming familiar with a host of addresses appearing beginning in May or June.
Propsed endings
.firm for businesses
.store for businesses
.web for activities related to the World Wide Web
.arts for cultural and entertainment activities
.rec for recreational activities
.info for information services
.nom for individual or personal designation.
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