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The [[Domain Name System|domain name system]] allows users to refer to websites and other Internet resources using names rather than the all-numeric IP addresses assigned to each computer on the Internet. Each domain name consists of a series of character strings separated by dots. The right-most string is the '''top-level domain (TLD)'''. Every TLD is managed by a single registry.

The [[Domain Name System|domain name system]] allows users to refer to websites and other Internet resources using names rather than the all-numeric IP addresses assigned to each computer on the Internet. Each domain name consists of a series of character strings separated by dots. The right-most string is the '''top-level domain (TLD)'''. Every TLD is managed by a single [[:Category:Registries|registry]].

A central part of [[IANA]]'s function is to establish baseline standards for eligible TLDs. These standards are largely unchanged since the inception of ICANN, and are based on Jon Postel's [[RFC 1591]].<ref>[https://www.iana.org/domains/root IANA.org - Root Zone Management]</ref> A central value of the Internet, and organizations dedicated to its maintenance, is the stability and security of the root zone; as a result, the policies and principles memorialized in RFC 1591 are largely followed today.<ref>See, for example, the Internet Society's [https://www.internetsociety.org/ianatimeline/ IANA Timeline], covering the development of the RFC in 1994, and the subsequent "New Registries and the Delegation of International Top Level Domains," drafted by Postel in 1996.</ref><ref name="rfc1591">[https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1591 IETF.org - RFC 1591]</ref><ref name="iana01">[https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-postel-iana-itld-admin-01 IETF.org - IANA-ITLD-Admin-01]</ref>

[[IANA]] currently lists the following eligible categories of TLDs:<ref>[https://www.iana.org/help/eligible-tlds IANA.org - Eligible TLD strings]</ref>

 

IANA currently lists the following eligible categories of TLDs:<ref>[https://www.iana.org/help/eligible-tlds IANA.org - Eligible TLD strings]</ref>

*Approved [[Generic Top Level Domain|generic TLDs]];

*Approved [[Generic Top Level Domain|generic TLDs]];

*Two-letter country codes based on the [[ISO 3166-1]] alpha-two code ([[ccTLD|country code top level domains]]);

*Two-letter country codes based on the [[ISO 3166-1]] alpha-two code ([[ccTLD|country code top level domains]]);

*[[IDN Fast Track]] approved strings;

*[[IDN Fast Track]] approved strings;

*Strings eligible under under ICANN Board Resolution 00.74 (currently this category applies to only one domain, .eu);<ref>[https://features.icann.org/2000-09-25-delegation-cctlds ICANN - Board Resolution on the Delegation of ccTLDs]</ref>

*Strings eligible under ICANN Board Resolution 00.74 (currently this category applies to only one domain, .eu);<ref>[https://features.icann.org/2000-09-25-delegation-cctlds ICANN - Board Resolution on the Delegation of ccTLDs]</ref>

*"Grandfathered" TLDs from prior to 2000, based on "exceptionally reserved" codes in the ISO 3166-1 standard (this category currently applies to two TLDs - .uk and .ac);

*"Grandfathered" TLDs from prior to 2000, based on "exceptionally reserved" codes in the ISO 3166-1 standard (this category currently applies to two TLDs - .uk and .ac);

*Infrastructure domain (.ARPA); and

*Infrastructure domain (.ARPA); and

 

| November 3, 1988 || [[.int]]  || Limited; sponsored || For organizations, offices, and programs endorsed by a treaty between two or more nations || In response to a request by NATO

| November 3, 1988 || [[.int]]  || Limited; sponsored || For organizations, offices, and programs endorsed by a treaty between two or more nations || In response to a request by NATO

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| May 2000 || [[.arpa]] || Limited; sponsored || All Internet infrastructure databases || one of the original TLDs, .arpa was re-designated at this time as an Address and Routing Parameter Area, critical to maintaining the [[SSR| stability of the Internet]]

| May 2000 || [[.arpa]] || Limited; sponsored || All Internet infrastructure databases || one of the original TLDs, .arpa is re-designated at this time as an Address and Routing Parameter Area, critical to maintaining the [[SSR| stability of the Internet]]

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| November 16, 2000 || [[.aero]], [[.biz]], [[.coop]], [[.info]], [[.museum]], [[.name]], [[.pro]] || Sponsored gTLDs ||  ||  

| November 16, 2000 || [[.aero]], [[.biz]], [[.coop]], [[.info]], [[.museum]], [[.name]], [[.pro]] || Sponsored gTLDs ||  ||  

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| 2005-2007 || [[.cat]], [[.eu]], [[.asia]]|| Sponsored [[geoTLD|specifically for a cultural, ethnic, or regional group]] || Represents Catalan language and culture, the countries in the European Union, and the Asian continent, respectively || The first TLDs to denote geographical, geopolitical, ethnic, social, or cultural representation

| June 29, 2006 || || Test domains || per [[ICANN Board]] Resolution 07.47 || eleven such domains have been delegated thus far

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| || [[.jobs]], [[.mobi]], [[.tel]], [[.travel]] || limited to entities having something to do with the phrase comprising the TLD in question ||  

| || [[.jobs]], [[.mobi]], [[.tel]], [[.travel]] || limited to entities having something to do with the phrase comprising the TLD in question ||  

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| April 2011 || [[.xxx]] || Sponsored gTLD ||  || [[ICM Registry]] had submitted proposals for this sTLD for pornographic sites since 2000  

| April 2011 || [[.xxx]] || Sponsored gTLD ||  || [[ICM Registry]] had submitted proposals for this sTLD for pornographic sites since 2000