Monday, May 30, 2016

Can ".mail" new gTLD cohabit with ".email"?


Last week, I referred to Singular and Plural versions of domain names but the same could be applied to multilingual versions of new gTLDs (".vin" and ".wine" for example) or similar new gTLDs such as ".bing" and ".bingo" or ".cal" and ".call".
If I strongly believe that multilingual Top-Level Domains are a good fallout of the ICANN new gTLD program, I think that allowing singular AND plural versions of the same extension is already causing confusion and will cause much more in the future.
The same applies to similar TLDs: I just checked the status of the .MAIL new gTLD which is "on-hold". This means that it could possibly go live someday and have to cohabit with the ".email" (live TLD already).
Generally speaking, very few people worry about this today because the existing generation is starting to use new domain names. But what about in a few years? Will third parties want to use a ".email" domain name with such a high risk of confusion if ".mail" has gone live too? I doubt it. I even think that allowing ".mail" to go live is a risk for ".email" to be a success.

News:
  1. Article - Hard earned lessons from Twitter on branded domain extensions;
  2. How should start-ups switch to new gTLDs?
  3. French - 1000 nTLDs et 18 millions de noms déposés:
    1. De nouveaux records ;
    2. Etat statistique des nTLDs au samedi 28/05/16;
    3. Un « toilettage » des nTLDs en vue?
    4. 2e round : pas avant 2020;
    5. Le pricing des nTLD, pierre d’achoppement des stratégies.
  4. 6 new gTLDs were just delegated:
    1. ".mattel"
    2. ".netflix"
    3. ".ott"
    4. ".locker"
    5. ".ollo"
    6. ".dtv"
  5. ART - It seems that the .ART new gTLD is here!
  6. Article - Are High Annualized Domain Name Renewal Fees a Recipe for Failure?
  7. Discussion - Can New gTLD's Boost A Start-ups’ Digital Presence?
  8. ICANN - Reconfirming Board resolution on .HOTEL and .ECO IRP Declaration;
  9. New domain name registration volumes:
    1. New gTLDs related to CITIES;
    2. New gTLDs related to CATERING;
    3. New gTLDs related to PHOTOGRAPHY.
      (the ".nikon" now has 38 domains registered)
  10. ICANN56 will not have an opening ceremony;
  11. Article - .XYZ Planning “biggest sale the domain world has ever seen”;
  12. Sunrise Period - .Store Passes 500+ Sunrise Registrations With 5 Days to Go;
  13. More coming during the day for tonight's publication in the Newsletter.
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2 comments:

Unknown said...

Excellent question, that raises a certain number of points :
- Is string confusion as it was applied in this round the best way to proceed ? Shoud email and mail have been considered as confusing? The same with plural and singular - photo or photos ? Gift and gifts ? It would actually be an interesting study to see if one is "winning" over the other.
- It also raises the point that there will be some successes and some failures. Some TLD will not be economically viable and will be stopped by their owners. Doosan is a brand but was terminated by the owner after contract was signed.

Jean Guillon said...

I think the example of the .PHOTO is a good example: the .PHOTOS was validated by ICANN before the .PHOTO and today, domain ame registration figures are more important for .PHOTO and keep increasing while the .PHOTOS loses registrations. I think singular and plural are a major mistake: fir new gTLD applicants , as well as Registrants.

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