Revision [3457]
This is an old revision of FAQ made by CalumMcAlinden on 2014-12-23 10:15:47.
What is the OpenNIC?
OpenNIC is a user owned and controlled Network Information Center offering a democratic, non-national alternative to the traditional Top-Level Domain registries.
Users of the OpenNIC DNS servers, in addition to resolving host names in the Legacy ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) root, can resolve host names in OpenNIC operated namespaces as well as in the namespaces with which we have peering agreements.
Who makes up OpenNIC?
Membership in OpenNIC is open to every user of the Internet. All decisions are made either by a democratically elected administrator or through a direct ballot of the interested members. All decisions within OpenNIC, regardless of how they are made, are appealable to a vote of the general membership.
How did OpenNIC start?
An article was posted on kuro5hin.org on June 1, 2000, advocating the need for a democratically governed Domain Name System (DNS). Out of the resulting discussion, OpenNIC was born.
How can I contact OpenNIC and/or its members?
You have several options, depending on what sort of info you're looking for:
You may also subscribe to the OpenNIC email discussion list.
This list is for folks discussing the organization and operation of the OpenNIC project. While you do not need to be an experienced DNS administrator to subscribe, you might need to become one to be able to contribute to the technical discussions (or to that aspect of the project).
A project like OpenNIC, however, requires much more than technical expertise. The social and legal issues are at least as important as, and probably much more complicated than, the technical issues. This list is for those discussions as well. If traffic starts to be a problem with a single discussion list, this list will be broken into several separate lists by topic. Until then this is the appropriate venue for anything pertaining to OpenNIC.
Subscribe by sending 'subscribe discuss' in the body of an email to: discuss@lists.opennicproject.org
For questions regarding domain acceptable use, registration procedures, etc., for a specific OpenNIC Top Level Domain (TLD), you can contact the TLD operator directly.
See OpenNICNamespaces for contact info.
What is OpenNIC's relationship with the other alternative roots and ICANN?
OpenNIC currently recognizes and peers all of the existing ICANN TLDs (.com, .uk, etc.). Therefore, if you configure your computer to resolve OpenNIC domains, you'll also be able to resolve all of the ICANN TLDs automatically.
OpenNIC has not yet evaluated nor does it hold a formal position on the current/future ICANN TLDs.
What TLDs are operated by OpenNIC?
A detailed list of TLDs operated by OpenNIC can be found on the OpenNICNamespaces page.
How do I resolve OpenNIC domains?
For step-by-step instructions on resolving OpenNIC domains, please see ConfiguringYourComputer.
I run a name server. How do I set it to resolve OpenNIC domains?
Tier2ServerConfig has instructions for configuring BIND, djbdns, and Windows DNS Server to resolve OpenNIC domains.
How do I register a domain name using an OpenNIC TLD?
To register a domain under one of the OpenNIC Top Level Domains (TLDs) please visit the appropriate registration site listed on the OpenNICNamespaces page.
If you are looking to propose a new TLD under OpenNIC, please see "How do I register a new TLD?" on this page.
Can I register .com/.net/.org domain names through the OpenNIC?
No. The OpenNIC provides a democratically governed alternative to the traditional Top-Level Domain registries; we do not register non-OpenNIC Top Level Domains, such as .com, .net, and .org.
How do I register a new TLD?
The first thing you have to do is to make sure that no prior claim exists on the particular TLD in which you are interested. To do this, perform a quick search of the internet for it.
If the TLD is unclaimed, the next thing is to decide whether or not you want it to be an OpenNIC TLD. The OpenNIC has some very specific and strict rules which regulate the way OpenNIC TLDs may be operated. Most importantly is the universal requirement that all OpenNIC TLDs must be governed democratically, with each domain registrant receiving a single vote. A vote of the "membership" of a TLD is always binding. Therefore, an OpenNIC TLD does not belong to any one person or group, but rather to the community of its users. Also, the TLD manager must provide a dedicated always-on Tier 1 OpenNIC nameserver, as well as manage domain registration and maintenance.
If you are unable or unwilling to abide by these rules, then the OpenNIC is not for you.
If you are willing to...
- manage a TLD which will be governed by its users,
- manage a TLD which will always be subject to any binding vote of the entire OpenNIC membership,
- provide a Tier 1 nameserver,
- coordinate registry functions,
- make all zone data for your TLD freely available
then you may wish to propose your TLD for inclusion in the OpenNIC root.
To do so you must write a description of the TLD, and of its proposed use, and any restrictions on secondary domain ownership, use, transfer and content. It is probably a good idea to specifically address how disputes will be resolved, as well as the role of trademark/copyright in deciding disputes, since these issues are of concern to the OpenNIC membership. This document, which need be no more than a page or two, but can be longer, is called a "charter". Submit your charter to the OpenNIC Discuss mailing list (see MailingLists). Your proposal will be debated at length, and, if it is interesting to enough of the OpenNIC membership it will be brought to a vote. If the result is positive, then your TLD will be included in the OpenNIC root, and your will become an OpenNIC TLD manager. Good luck!
On a final note, we recommend that before you go to the trouble of preparing a formal TLD charter, that you post an informal query to the mailing list. You will probably get quite a bit of feedback, which will help in the preparation of your charter.
