I'm curious about how domains function beyond the technical aspects. Specifically, I'm interested in how domains are created and distributed. It seems like only a small number of companies own the majority of domains, so why can't anyone just create their own? Also, where and how are these domains stored?
3 Answers
A good starting point to understand domain governance is ICANN, the organization that decides who can register domains and what top-level domains (TLDs) are available. They manage the domain name system and play a crucial role in how domains are structured.
If you want total control, you could theoretically create your own browser and server to manage domain names, forcing everyone to use it. Although, this sounds a lot like reinventing the dark web!
You actually can register your own TLD, but it comes with a hefty price tag—around $227,000! Plus, you'd need to commit to managing it for at least 5 years and have the financial backing to support it.
That's a shocking amount! So if you manage to sell like 25,000 domains at $10 a year, you might just break even after the first year? But I bet many TLDs end up failing since not everyone uses them.
Exactly! It's a big risk, which is why not many people go that route.
Yeah, that's a wild idea! But good luck getting everyone on board with a new browser!