Changes

ICANN's history and the history of the Internet are interlinked, and the mission of ICANN was carried out prior to its formation by volunteers, governmental actors, and academic institutions. The following is an attempt to categorize the history (and prehistory) of ICANN and the Domain Name System into eras. Some eras are defined by technical and technological advances, while others are defined by policy initiatives, structural or operational changes to ICANN org, or a broader thematic push. For instance, the present era involves the globalization of access to and use of the Internet; despite ICANN being committed to the global Internet community from its inception, several trends are converging to make the present moment a fight for global and universal access and acceptance: the [[BRIC]] countries will represent the vast majority of Internet growth in the coming decade; [[Internationalized Domain Name]]s are growing in prominence and the effort to ensure [[universal acceptance]] of alternate language scripts is as well; efforts to nationalize the DNS by China and Russia are forcing a broader conversation about the value and impact of a global Internet; and ICANN itself is aggressively seeking to improve its presence in and outreach to under-represented parts of the world.

[[ICANN]]'s history and the history of the [[Internet]] are interlinked, and the mission of ICANN was carried out prior to its formation by volunteers, governmental actors, and academic institutions. The following is an attempt to categorize the history (and prehistory) of ICANN and the [[The Domain Name System|Domain Name System]] into eras. Some eras are defined by technical and technological advances, while others are defined by policy initiatives, structural or operational changes to the [[ICANN Organization|ICANN org]], or a broader thematic push. For instance, the present era involves the globalization of access to and use of the Internet; despite ICANN's commitment to the global Internet community from its inception, several trends have converged to make the present moment a fight for global and universal access and acceptance: [https://www.statista.com/topics/3116/internet-usage-in-bric/#dossierKeyfigures Internet usage in BRIC] will represent the vast majority of growth in the coming decade; [[Internationalized Domain Name]]s are growing in prominence, and the effort to ensure [[universal acceptance]] of alternate language scripts is as well; efforts to provide [[Alternative Roots|alternatives to the DNS by China and Russia are forcing a broader conversation about the value and impact of a global, interoperable Internet; and ICANN itself is aggressively seeking to improve its presence in and outreach to under-represented parts of the world.

==Overview==

==Overview==