Improving the Internet (X - Re: I love IP Tables....)

[Mike Wright]

Les Mikesell wrote:
> stan wrote:
> 
>> On Wed, 30 May 2007 14:56:40 +0930
>> Tim <ignored_mailbox at yahoo.com.au> wrote:
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>>> There isn't really a generic "internet" one, that fills in the missing
>>> purposes.  e.g. If only you could register "nicename.inet" and not
>>> have to care whether it was commercial, personal, had content
>>> logically related to the domain name, was somehow local or generally
>>> world-wide.
>>>
>>
>> Why are domains needed at all?  Why can't there just be a requirement
>> for a unique name?
> 
> 
> That is the requirement.  The domain system fulfills it by establishing 
> a hierarchical system where authority to assign names can be granted and 
> subdivided at the '.' levels.  There is no requirement to have your own 
> top/second level domain, you just have to have someone that has some 
> existing level grant you naming authority below (to the left of) any 
> existing subdomain.  This can be done either by that person maintaining 
> the names you assign in their DNS zone file or by delegating DNS lookups 
>  to nameservers you provide for that subdomain.  I don't know if there 
> is any limit to the depth you can go, but the top level stuff is more 
> cosmetic than a practical requirement.
> 

You can have some real fun and run your own root nameserver and make 
whatever tld's you want.  My experience is that the "official" tld 
servers readily accept and propagate poison.  This is really more 
appropriate for private networks though, where you might have tld's 
suchas .sales, .marketing, .engrg, .staff, .students, etc.

(Gawd, that felt evil ;)