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Open domains

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Open domains are internet names that anyone can register, run, or help govern under clear public rules. The topic covers how the domain name system works, who controls it, and newer systems that share that control. This page is general education, not legal or financial advice.

How the domain name system works

A domain name is a human friendly address, such as example.org. The domain name system, or DNS, turns it into the numbers that computers use. The part after the last dot is the top level domain, or TLD. Each TLD has one registry, which holds the master list of its names. People buy names from registrars, which set their own prices but pay the registry a set fee.[1]

At the top sits the root zone, which lists where to find each TLD. It is served from 13 root server addresses run by 12 independent organizations.[2] Your device asks a resolver, a server that looks up answers for you. The resolver asks the root, then the TLD, then the name server for the domain.

ICANN is a nonprofit formed in 1998. It signs contracts with registries and accredits registrars. It does not control content on the internet.[1]

What open can mean

A naming system can be open in several ways.

  • Open registration. Anyone may register, with few conditions.
  • Open governance. ICANN works through supporting organizations and advisory committees, including one for ordinary users.[1]
  • Open software. BIND began at the University of California, Berkeley, and is widely used.[3] Knot DNS comes from the .cz registry.[4] CoreDNS is a graduated project of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation.[5]
  • Open data and standards. RDAP is an IETF standard for registration data. Since 28 January 2025, ICANN no longer requires WHOIS for most generic TLDs.[6] Zone files, the lists of names in a TLD, can be requested through ICANN for many generic TLDs.[7]
  • Alternative roots. Some groups run their own root and add names that ICANN does not.[8]

Kinds of top level domains

The IANA root zone database sorts TLDs by type.[9]

  • Generic. Examples are .com, run by Verisign, and .org, run by Public Interest Registry. ICANN keeps adding new ones, and its 2026 round drew more than 1,600 applications.[10]
  • Country code. Examples are .uk, run by Nominet, and .nz, run by InternetNZ.
  • Sponsored. Examples are .edu and .museum. A sponsor limits registration to a community.

Free names carry risk, because someone must pay to run a registry. The best known free program was Freenom, with country code names such as .tk, .cf, and .gq. A free .tk name could go offline with no warning. Meta sued Freenom in 2023, and in February 2024 Freenom said it would leave the business. By March 2024 about 99 percent of its domains were unreachable.[11] A free name is a loan, not an asset.

The older project page Open top level domains imagines free TLDs with community rules. Related titles are Free top level domains and Free and open top level domains.

Decentralized naming

These systems record ownership on a blockchain instead of a registry database.

  • ENS. The Ethereum Name Service maps names such as alice.eth to addresses and content hashes. Smart contracts own .eth, and names are tokens.[12] Names are rented by the year, and at the time of writing a lapsed name has a 90 day grace period.[13]
  • Handshake. This blockchain manages the root zone itself. It aims to replace the root zone file, not DNS.[14] Its names do not resolve by default without a Handshake aware resolver.[15]
  • Namecoin. It was forked from Bitcoin software. Its .bit TLD is independent of ICANN and is used by few sites.[16]
  • Unstoppable Domains. This company issues names as blockchain tokens. Its documentation says they need no renewal and the company cannot reclaim them, but the company runs the minting service.[17]

The limits are practical. Most devices use the ICANN root, so a blockchain name usually needs an extension, a gateway, or a custom resolver. If you lose the private key, you lose the name. Look alike names invite phishing, so check each spelling.

Choosing a domain

Write down your answers first.

  1. Renewal price. Compare the first year with later years.
  2. Transfer policy. A registrar may refuse a transfer within 60 days of registration or an earlier transfer.[18]
  3. Privacy. See what the public record shows.
  4. Registry control. Find the TLD manager in the root zone database.
  5. Lock-in risk. Keep your own copy of your DNS records.
  6. Backup contact. Add a second email address on a different domain.

Keeping a domain safe

  • Turn on two factor sign in for the registrar account.
  • Enable the registrar lock. It blocks transfers, deletion, and contact changes until you unlock it.[19]
  • Turn on auto renew.
  • Consider DNSSEC, an IETF standard. It adds signatures so resolvers can spot forged answers, but it does not hide data.[20] Enable it only if your registrar and DNS host both support it.
  • Keep contact details current, since notices go there.

Decentralized names for wikis and small projects

For most projects, a normal DNS name is the main address. A decentralized name can be an extra. It fits when readers use crypto wallets or when your site lives on permanent storage. The History of decentralized wikis shows the risk of one central host. Permaweb Basics explains permanent storage, and Permanent wiki and Git forges on AO sketches a permanent wiki. A lapsed renewal can still break links to permanent files. Open design projects, as in Open design, also need stable addresses.

Discussion questions

  • Should a free domain program host a project that must last for years?
  • Which matters more, a memorable name or a name nobody can take away?

Essay ideas

  • Argue whether alternative roots help or harm a single global internet.

AI prompt ideas

  • Explain how a browser finds a website from a domain name, then quiz me with five questions.
  • Help me build a checklist for choosing a domain for a small wiki, and ask me about my needs.

Readings from Wikipedia

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 What Does ICANN Do?, ICANN
  2. ↑ Root Server Technical Operations Association
  3. ↑ BIND, Wikipedia
  4. ↑ Knot DNS, Wikipedia
  5. ↑ CoreDNS graduation, CNCF
  6. ↑ ICANN Update: Launching RDAP; Sunsetting WHOIS, ICANN
  7. ↑ Centralized Zone Data Service, ICANN
  8. ↑ Alternative DNS root, Wikipedia
  9. ↑ Root Zone Database, IANA
  10. ↑ ICANN 2026 Round Closes with More Than 1,600 New gTLD Applications, ICANN
  11. ↑ .tk, Wikipedia
  12. ↑ What is the Ethereum Name Service?, ENS documentation
  13. ↑ FAQ, ENS documentation
  14. ↑ Handshake Developer Documentation
  15. ↑ Hosting Handshake domains with DNSimple, DNSimple Blog
  16. ↑ Namecoin, Wikipedia
  17. ↑ CNS architecture overview, Unstoppable Domains documentation
  18. ↑ Transfer Policy, ICANN
  19. ↑ Registrar-Lock, Wikipedia
  20. ↑ Domain Name System Security Extensions, Wikipedia
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