Alternative domains: Just say no

When ITWeb conducted a vox pop last week regarding the industry`s positions on alternative domain names, no one was as surprised as I at the results. The general consensus is that alternative domain names - in essence, names not supplied by the current industry body ICANN - are acceptable provided that there is enough industry support for the new names.

[VIDEO]Personally, alternative domain names rub me up the wrong way. Sure, ICANN hasn`t done the best job. Trying to contact it for media comment is like speaking to a very disinterested mute; its policies are not nearly transparent enough, and it seems to serve its own interests before that of the Internet. But I am yet to meet anyone satisfied by standards bodies. In the end they always disappoint, but they are a considerable improvement from no standards.

I get very nervous when envisioning an Internet where ICANN is merely one of many domain name bodies. Just having AOL`s keywords next to Internet URLs in adverts has caused enough market confusion. The great thing about the Internet is that it is pretty easy to navigate once you`ve got the basics down. It opened up computing to the masses. It was a great front door to get people interested in the new information economy.

In the world of alternative domain names, I see public confusion. This will lead to fear, and inevitably result in a slow-down of Internet adoption. An ITWeb advert will have to read: "ICANN: www.itweb.co.za; New.net: www.itweb.news; Altern.com: my.itweb.itnews; AOL: itweb. Please contact your service provider to find out which domain you should use."

Personally, alternative domain names rub me up the wrong way.

Jason Norwood-Young, technology editor, ITWeb

When I get in a car, I`m fairly certain that the clutch is on my left, my accelerator is on my right, and the break is in the middle. The steering wheel is in front of me. If it is an automatic, there is no clutch. The gear stick is on my left or right, depending on whether it is a left- or right-hand drive. There is very little deviation from this standard. I can get into just about any car and drive it.

Alternative domain names suddenly put the steering wheel under my butt, which I can turn by swivelling my body. The break is a little lever I pull from the roof. The accelerator is controlled by my other arm, and is a stick that I can swivel forward and back. I don`t particularly want to drive this car; I know how the other one works. Many months of driving practice taught me the nuances of that standard, and I don`t want to change now.

For the PC masses out there, new domains will be as confusing as driving the car described above. Most of them have just figured out the basics of a normal car, and now we`ll be asking them to learn an entirely new system. They will also have to regularly pop back into the normal car without preparation and remember how to drive that one. Pretty soon they`ll remember how easy it was just catching the bus, riding a bike, or walking, and go back to their old form of transport.