How did early network designers govern the internet before internet governance? With archival research, this article shows how designers conceived of the Domain Name System (DNS) as a solution to the problem of governing future network users.
News and Research articles on Domain Name System (DNS)
After the announcement that the United States will cease to play a role as steward of the internet's core resources, the community has to come to grips on who and how the replacement will be. The 49th meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) was designed to take first - albeit wobbly - steps.
The debate around internet governance is at full steam in advance of the Brazil's NetMundial conference in April. Especially so since academics have suggested privatising the management of critical internet resources and removing US oversight.
Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff sent a stern warning to the US over its spy activities and announced counter-measures. Will this lead to real change in infrastructure, legislation and participative proccesses?
gTLDs are the highest level of domain names in the domain name system, including .com, .net and .org; their number has been restricted to twenty-two for several years. This will change, as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) - the organisation responsible for managing and coordinating the system - rolls out a new gTLDs programme. Businesses and organisations are now able to apply for their own customised top-level domain names. But ICANNs move is mired in controvery, as Francesca Musiani reveals.