.com
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| Verisign | |
| Introduced | 1985 |
|---|---|
| TLD type | Generic top-level domain |
| Status | Active |
| Registry | Verisign |
| Sponsor | None |
| Intended use | Commercial entities (worldwide) |
| Actual use | Used for all sorts of sites, commercial or not |
| Registration restrictions | None |
| Structure | Registrations at second level permitted |
| Documents | RFC 920; RFC 1591; ICANN registry agreement |
| Dispute policies | UDRP |
| Registry website | Verisign COM NET Registry |
.com is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) used on the Internet's Domain Name System. It was one of the original top-level domains, established in January 1985, and has grown to be the largest TLD in use. It is currently operated by VeriSign. It is consistently pronounced as a word, dot-com, and has entered the common language this way. This is in keeping with the pattern that has emerged for most gTLDs; they are commonly pronounced as words, such as 'dot-net' (.net), 'dot-ed-yoo' (.edu), 'dot-info' (.info), and so on, although, since they have not entered the popular language to the extent of "dot-com", they are still sometimes spelled out when such addresses are read out loud, for instance in radio commercials. However, country code top-level domains are normally spelled out, such as .uk, .ca, or .au, to cite just a few examples.
Although .com domains have always been intended specifically to designate commercial entities (as opposed to other sorts of entities such as government agencies and educational institutions which have different top-level domains assigned to them), there has not been any restriction on who can register .com domains since the mid-1990s. In the 1990s, .com became the most common top-level domain for websites, especially commercial ones, and gave its name to dot-com companies. The introduction of .biz, which is restricted to businesses, has had little impact on the popularity of .com.
An alternative use of the phrase dot-com is in the context of companies which use it as part of its name - or which flourished in the period between 1997-2001 (the time known as the "dot-com bubble"); these are called dot-coms or dot-com companies. This naming practice has reduced in frequency since 2001, however, due to a backlash against this boom and its subsequent bust.
Although companies anywhere in the world can register .com domains, many countries, with the exception of the United States, which have always used TLDs such as .edu, .gov and .mil, have a second-level domain with a similar purpose under their own ccTLD. Such second-level domains are usually of the form .com.xx or .co.xx, where xx is the ccTLD. Australia (.com.au), the United Kingdom (.co.uk), Brazil (.com.br), Mexico (.com.mx), New Zealand (.co.nz), People's Republic of China (.com.cn), Japan (.co.jp), South Korea (.co.kr), and India (.co.in) are all examples. This has led some Americans to believe that .com is the US company domain - reinforced by the common practice of global companies using .com as an equivalent US country specific domain. Such practice of using .com as a US country specific domain can cause confusion - for example, Microsoft has its .com domain fudging a global and US specific site together, leading to cases where English speakers reading their website under the premise that the website is for a global audience, find that the website is very US focussed, whilst their country specific website is rather thin on information.
Often, noncommercial sites such as those of nonprofit organizations, governments, and so on will use .com addresses, which some find to be contrary to the domain's original purpose. A .org, .gov, or other more specific TLD might be more appropriate for such sites. It is also common for sites to register a .com domain in order to reserve it and prevent scams.
Registrations are processed via accredited registrars and internationalized domain names are also accepted (see details).
List of oldest .com domains
The following are the 100 oldest still-existing registered .com domains: [1]