Domain Registry History

Although the Internet did not gain widespread popularity until the mid-1990s, the history of the domain registry extends back much farther. The Network Information Center (NIC) keeps a record of every domain ever created.

Domains

• A domain is an individual Internet protocol (IP) address where information available to Web users is stored.

IETF

• The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a worldwide group of engineers with the goal of making the Internet easier to use. Together, its members designate issues, and vote regularly on methods of improving the way the Web works.

DNS

• The domain name system (DNS) was implemented by IETF in 1983 as a means of keeping the Internet more organized, and more easily accessible to its users. It changed Web addresses from a series of numbers separated by periods to the recognizable words and phrases we see today.

ICANN

• The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a non-profit and public-benefit corporation that formed in 1998. Through its involvement in the Internet's naming system, it plays an important role in the expansion of the Internet. Today, its website, ICANN.org, allows public voting for 30 days on new issues with relevance to the domain registry and broader Internet topics.