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Line 153: − + − Alternative name systems today are clunky, hard to reach, and expensive; they put the onus on browsers, which do not want to govern.<ref>Tyler Mason, GoDaddy Blockchain Domain Names Webinar, 12/1/2021</ref>+ + +
→Blockchain Domains
* Limited audience: few people can view sites or send emails and only to those also using domains in the alternative TLDs. This could be improved through the use of special helper applications, or if a custom configuration was made to their computer, or to their nameservers, or a custom configuration at an ISP upstream in the DNS hierarchy. None of these solutions were as comprehensive as being listed in the default nameservers that are seen when an operating system starts. Whilst technically trivial to set up, actually running a reliable root server network, in the long run, is a serious undertaking, requiring multiple servers to be kept running 24/7 in geographically diverse locations. During the dot-com boom, some alt-root providers believed that there were substantial profits to be made from providing alternative top-level domains. Only a small proportion of ISPs actually use any of the zones served by alt-root operators, generally sticking to the ICANN-specified root servers. This in turn led to the commercial failure of several alternative DNS root providers.
* Limited audience: few people can view sites or send emails and only to those also using domains in the alternative TLDs. This could be improved through the use of special helper applications, or if a custom configuration was made to their computer, or to their nameservers, or a custom configuration at an ISP upstream in the DNS hierarchy. None of these solutions were as comprehensive as being listed in the default nameservers that are seen when an operating system starts. Whilst technically trivial to set up, actually running a reliable root server network, in the long run, is a serious undertaking, requiring multiple servers to be kept running 24/7 in geographically diverse locations. During the dot-com boom, some alt-root providers believed that there were substantial profits to be made from providing alternative top-level domains. Only a small proportion of ISPs actually use any of the zones served by alt-root operators, generally sticking to the ICANN-specified root servers. This in turn led to the commercial failure of several alternative DNS root providers.
====Blockchain Domains====
====Blockchain Domains====
* Blockchain websites are not yet popular, as they have unusual extensions (such as .eth), are based on complex smart contracts to form a human-readable web address, and users need to install special extensions and plugins to their browsers to access them.<ref>[https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/best-blockchain-dns-software/#What_Is_Blockchain_DNS Top 13 BEST Blockchain DNS Software, Software Testing Help, November 29, 2021]</ref>
* Blockchain websites are not yet popular, as they have unusual extensions (such as .eth), are based on complex smart contracts to form a human-readable web address, and require users to install special extensions and plugins to their browsers to access them.<ref>[https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/best-blockchain-dns-software/#What_Is_Blockchain_DNS Top 13 BEST Blockchain DNS Software, Software Testing Help, November 29, 2021]</ref>
* The [[Ethereum Name Service]] (ENS) offers users a simple, human-readable name for their cryptocurrency wallet(s), and operates in a manner similar to the [[DNS]] - converting plain language names (such as "example.eth") into an identifying hash string of characters that represents a user's wallet or identity. [[Uniregistry]]'s decision to auction its portfolio of gTLDs and include an ENS non-fungible token (NFT) for each TLD, so that the winning bidder had the "rights" to sell second-level blockchain addresses to interested users, caused a [[Uniregistry#April 2021 - Combined TLD and Etherium Name Service Token Auctions|controversy]], as ICANN delayed acceptance of assignment requests throughout 2021 as it investigated whether the combination of NFT and TLD impacted the security and stability of the [[DNS]].
Commentators note that alternative name systems today are clunky, hard to reach, and expensive; they put the onus on browsers, which do not want to govern.<ref>Tyler Mason, GoDaddy Blockchain Domain Names Webinar, 12/1/2021</ref>
===Costs===
===Costs===