Definitions

• What is a domain registrar?

  is a domain registrar. A domain registrar is a company that has a direct connection with central registries so they can offer domain registrations on various top-level domains (TLDs). For example, in order to offer registrations on , a domain registrar has to be accredited with the central registry of that TLD - in this case, .Although it is not a requirement for a domain registrar to also be accredited, it is something we recommend when choosing a registrar. Dynadot is proud to be an accredited registrar. Getting accredited by ICANN requires the registrar to meet certain qualifications including security and financial ones. You can find out more about what Dynadot's ICANN accreditation means for you on our blog.Want to know more about the difference between a registry, a registrar, and a reseller? Check out our blog on The 3 R's of the Domain Industry.

• What are zone name servers?

  Zone name servers (also known as root name servers) are servers that maintain a list of every domain's name servers. In summary, they tell web browsers where to find a certain domain's name servers. Then the domain's name servers tell the browser where that domain's website is located by returning an IP address.When you set or change your name servers, all of the zone name servers around the world must update their lists, which takes time. This is why it might take some time for your name server changes to propagate.

• What is a name collision?

  According to ICANN, "a name collision occurs when an attempt to resolve a name used in a private name space (e.g. under a non-delegated Top-Level Domain, or a short, unqualified name) results in a query to the public Domain Name System (DNS). When the administrative boundaries of private and public namespaces overlap, name resolution may yield unintended or harmful results.Name collisions are not new. The introduction of any new domain name into the DNS, whether a generic TLD, country code TLD or second-level domain name, creates the potential for name collision. However, queries for un-delegated TLDs at the root level of the DNS have received renewed attention because certain applied-for new TLD strings could be identical to name labels used in private networks. A secure, stable and resilient Internet is ICANN's number one priority. Therefore, we've made a commitment to the Internet community to launch a substantial effort to mitigate and manage name collision occurrence."You may have noticed that many of the new TLD Registries have recently been releasing their domain name collisions. This is being done after working with ICANN to deal with any potential issues that could arise from these domain names.Keep an eye on our blog for any upcoming announcements on name collision releases.

• What is a ccSLD?

  A ccSLD is a country code second-level domain. Second-level domain (SLD) refers to the part of the domain name that is to the left of the dot and, in this case, what is to the right of the dot is a ccTLD, or country code top-level domain. For example, , the ccTLD for the United Kingdom allows registrations on , , and - all of which are ccSLDs.Dynadot supports the following ccSLDs: What is a third-level domain?What is a subdomain?

• What is a domain investor or domainer?

  A domain investor, also known as a domainer, is someone that registers domains as an investment. Domains are Internet real estate and there is only one of each domain name available per top-level domain (TLD), i.e. there is only one dynadot.com. Since we own dynadot.com, the only way for someone else to own this domain is to purchase it from us or to try and register it if we don't renew it and it becomes available again.A domain investor registers domains they deem valuable with the hope to resell them for more money to an interested party. There have been many valuable domains sold over the years - some for millions. The most expensive domain sold (as of this writing) is CarInsurance.com for $49.7 million. If you're interested in learning more about domain investing or potentially getting into the domain investing world, check out our detailed guide on domain investing that covers the topic in much more detail.

• RDAP Help

  What is RDAP? The Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) allows the lookup and search of domain, nameserver, and entity objects within a registry. RDAP is similar to WHOIS in that it will return information about objects within a registry. Unlike WHOIS however, RDAP responses are returned in a structured, machine readable format. Rdap responses are returned in the form of JSON.Example Usage Domain Lookup:https://rdap.dynadot.com/domain/name.tld

• What is the Internet?

  The Internet is a network of computers which send and receive information from each other. These computers are located all over the world.The two principal name spaces in the Internet are Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and the Domain Name System (DNS). Both of these are maintained by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

• What is a brand TLD?

  A brand TLD is a top-level domain that is a brand or corporation name. With the launch of ICANN's new gTLD program, they allowed brands to apply for their own TLD. For example, Visa has .VISA, Ferrari has .FERRARI, McDonalds has .MCDONALDS, and many, many more.In most cases, brand TLDs will be restricted to brand usage only (though this is up to the individual brand). As a result, Dynadot does not support any brand TLDs. We do, however, support over 500 TLDs (including many new TLDs). See our full list and find your dream domain today!

• What is a historical ccTLD?

  A historical ccTLD is a country code top-level domain whose two letter code is withdrawn from the ISO 3166-1 standard country code list that the ccTLDs are based on. This is usually due to the country the ccTLD was connected to either changing its name or being split up and no longer existing as it was. When this happens the ccTLD is often phased out and then deleted from the Domain Name System (DNS), meaning it can no longer be used.The following is a list of historical ccTLDs: was the ccTLD for Czechoslovakia. Today is used for the Czech Republic and for the Slovak Republic. was the available ccTLD for East Germany, though it was never officially assigned to it. Following the reunification of Germany, , which already existed, became the only ccTLD used. was supposed to be the ccTLD for the United Kingdom based on the ISO 3166-1 standard country codes; however was created and delegated as its ccTLD before the completion of the ISO list. After was created, it never caught on and today, it is no longer possible to register domains under it. was originally assigned as Australia's ccTLD. After was delegated as Australia's ccTLD instead, the namespace on was moved to ; however today this is no longer actively used and is considered a historical second-level domain (SLD). was the ccTLD for the Soviet Union; however, unlike the others on this list, this historical ccTLD is still in use today. was the ccTLD for East Timor. Today, is used because the ISO 3166-1 standard country code was changed to "TL" for East Timor. was the ccTLD for Yugoslavia. Today there are six different ccTLDs that are used to represent six different countries: for Bosnia and Herzegovina, for Croatia, for Montenegro, for Macedonia, for Serbia, and for Slovenia. was the ccTLD for Zaire, which is now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo with the ccTLD of . There are also some ccTLDs based on the ISO 3166-1 country code list that were created, but have not been used for various reasons.

• What is a community TLD?

  A community TLD is a top level domain that is operated for the benefit of a clearly delineated community. Community TLDs were first introduced as an application type during ICANN's New gTLD Program. According to the program, applicants could apply as a "Community-Based Delegation" and they would be given priority for their TLD if there were to be an auction due to multiple applicants.An example of a new TLD that was applied for as a community TLD is , which represents Scottish people, businesses, and culture online (Scotland is considered part of the United Kingdom and does not have its own ccTLD and is under ).Please note that although there were many community TLD applicants, not all were successful as "Community-Based Delegations" due to ICANN's strict requirements for what that meant. All TLDs that might be considered community TLDs are also considered gTLDs.