Sponsor's Message

I just don't get it. Why would anyone be so enamoured of something as simple as the humble stapler?

Time to recycle one of my absolute all-time favourite websites -- still worth a laugh or to. Yes, it's the infamous Ghetto Scooter!

If you think that's scary -- then check out this Fuzzy Sparrow that might just be an baby pterodactyl (or not).

Offal alert! Here's a little treat that will likely get your mouth watering eh? Remember that a mind is such a terrible thing to waste!

Dot-com-dot-nz?
Second-level domain names -- what are they?

Well in the case of NZ they're the .co, .net, .gen, .org, .mil, .school, .iwi, .ac, .school and most recently, .maori that comes before the .nz in a domain name.

In the case of the generic domain names .com, .net, .org, etc -- people are able to register second-level domains (2LDs) directly. That's how come we get names like CNN.com or wereabunchofevilspammers.com.

Here in NZ we can only register third-level domains -- the 2LDs being reserved and not directly available to mere mortals.

The idea is that by controlling the 2LD namespace, the NZ registry can carefully segment the various elements of the NZ namespace into sensibly clustered groups.

If you're registering a domain for a business then you're supposed to use a 3LD under .co.nz and if you're a school then obviously you'd register under .school.nz

This all sounds so sensible doesn't it?

The downside (of course) is that Kiwi domain names tend to have more dots than their generic equivalents.

Readers Say (updated irregularly) From Yesterday... Govt Website Not Updated... - David Have Your Say

There is currently some discussion as to whether the NZ namespace ought to follow the .com example and open up the 2LD to public registrations.

This would mean we'd see names like domain.nz, shopping.nz, etc.

Would this be a good idea?

What about the most prized of all 2LDs? .com.nz -- who would get that?

Well here's a thought...

InternetNZ (formerly ISOCNZ) seems to have all but vanished from the face of the planet in terms of having a public profile. (Hang on -- if it's an organisation shouldn't it be internetnz.ORG.nz -- or doesn't a restricted/structured 2LD work quite as well as planned?)

According to the society's own What are we doing? page, they're supposed to be "focusing on include e-commerce growth, consumer protection, Internet security, governance and privacy"

So why aren't they out there making lots of noise and fulfilling their goals?

When you see stories this still appearing in the media it becomes clear that InternetNZ is effectively contributing nothing to creating a public awareness of the risks and dangers of Net-use.

Why do we still have local Net users spamming out of ignorance of the rules?

Why do we have Kiwi poets (and the funding organisations that support them) falling foul of well-known scams out of the USA?

In a word: "ignorance"

But getting the message across to people takes money doesn't it?

Well here's an idea for you...

Let's open up .com.nz

By having a .com.nz 2LD we'd then fall into line with our nearest neighbour, Australia -- who use .com.au for business domains.

To be fair, give existing .co.nz nameholders a month to exercise their preferential rights over the equivalent .com.nz name -- and then open things up under the "first-come, first-served" policy.

If InternetNZ can't service its own agenda then maybe, with the extra dosh raised from .com.nz, Domainz could sponsor the creation of some really useful (and seemingly much needed) public information material that might be of benefit to all Net users.

There are now simply so many threats to the safety of Net-users that we do need an agnostic, coordinated resource that is constantly "in the face" of the public at large -- perhaps this is just one way to fund it.

Have your say.

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