.info

Introduced	2001
TLD type	Generic top-level domain
Status	Active
Registry	Afilias
Sponsoring organization	None
Intended use	Informational sites
Actual use	A variety of uses, many information, some held by speculators
Registration restrictions	None
Structure	Registrations at second level permitted
Documents	ICANN registry agreement
Dispute policies	UDRP, Sunrise Challenge Policy (SCP), Challenges of Last Resort (CLR)
Web site	afilias.info

.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. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 169 × 73 pixelsFull resolution (169 × 73 pixel, file size: 4 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This is a logo of an organization, item, or event, and is protected by copyright and/or trademark. ... 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A generic top-level domain (gTLD) is a top-level domain used (at least in theory) by a particular class of organization. ... Afilias Limited is the operator of the . ... UDRP - Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy A document used by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for the purpose of creating guidelines for use when disputes arise regarding the registration of internet names (domain names). ... A generic top-level domain (gTLD) is a top-level domain used (at least in theory) by a particular class of organization. ... A website (or Web site) is a collection of web pages, images, videos and other digital assets and hosted on a particular domain or subdomain on the World Wide Web. ... ICANN (pronounced I can) is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. ... A top-level domain (TLD) is the last part of an Internet domain name; that is, the letters which follow the final dot of any domain name. ... “DNS” redirects here. ... For dot-com companies, see dot-com company. ...

.info has been the most successful of the seven new domain names, with over 3 million domain names registered up to mid-2006. In addition, over 1.6 million .info websites are in active and dedicated use. In the immediate aftermath of September 11th, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority switched to the easier to remember mta.info website to lead users to latest information on schedules and route changes on the area's transportation services. Spain.info is used by Spain's tourism board to promote visitors to come to Spain. A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly... The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the State of New York. ...

.info is an unrestricted domain, meaning that anyone can obtain a second-level domain under .info. 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. .info means information in about 37 languages around the world, and is a neutral name. Afilias has been aggressive in its marketing of .info, with significant registrar incentives and outreach events. .edu (education) is the generic top-level domain for educational institutions, primarily those in the United States. ... .coop is a generic top-level domain intended for the use of cooperatives. ...

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). Afilias Limited is the operator of the . ... Example of Arabic IDN Example of Chinese IDN An internationalized domain name (IDN) is an Internet domain name that (potentially) contains non_ASCII characters. ... Example of Arabic IDN Example of Chinese IDN An internationalized domain name (IDN) is an Internet domain name that (potentially) contains non-ASCII characters. ...

Startup history (2001)

The launching of .info involved a "Sunrise Period" for trademark owners followed by a "landrush" open to all, the first time such a process had ever been done for a new gTLD. 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. The term Sunrise Period refers to the period of time at the launch of a new top-level domain or second-level domain during which owners of intellectual property, such as trademarks, may register a domain name containing the owned mark. ...

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.[1] Some fraudulent registrations remain in the control of bad faith registrants, and some feel that Afilias needs to mount a final clean-up effort.^{[citation needed]}

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. ICANN (pronounced I can) is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. ... ICANN (pronounced I can) is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. ...

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 and for domain parking, although the .biz domain name is most popular for spam.^{[citation needed]} E-mail spam is a subset of spam that involves sending nearly identical messages to numerous recipients by e-mail. ... Domain parking is an advertising practice used primarily by domain name registrars and internet advertising publishers to monetize type-in traffic visiting an under-developed domain name. ... .biz is a generic top-level domain (TLD) intended for domains to be used by businesses; the name is a phonetic spelling of the first syllable of business. ...