Introduction to domain naming

A complete domain name is a series of "labels" separated by periods, called "dots". Each label designates a subdomain level, numbered from right to left:

fourthlevel.thirdlevel.secondlevel.toplevel

The top-level domain is not referred to by number and is abbreviated, TLD. The second-level is abbreviated, SLD, and each lower level by number as 3LD, 4LD, etc. A complete domain name may be described either in terms of the lowest level that it contains, or the number of labels or dots that it contains; all mean the same thing. The preceding example would most correctly be called a fourth-level domain, but could also be described as a four-label or three-dot name.

The naming conventions for the .museum TLD allow individual registrants to use domain names containing as many labels as they wish subject to a few basic requirements. When selecting a name within this domain it is important to consider three equally important objectives:

The .museum name must be clearly derived from the well-known name of the organization, institution or museum professional registering the domain.

The .museum name must contain sufficient information to provide users with an idea of the museum's disciplinary focus, its location, or both.

The .museum name must be specific enough to minimize the potential for confusion with other museums.

Using at least three labels, MuseDoma suggests that museums consider the following name structure:

Top-Level - .museum
Second-Level - location or discipline or generic term
Third and Lower Levels - specific name of institution using one or more labels

If more than three labels are used, it may be purposeful to use both the second and third levels to indicate location, discpline, or other generic attributes.

Following this principle a complete third-level domain name might be:

uniquename.science.museum

uniquename.cityname.museum

The unique name may, for example, be an abbreviation or acronym by which the museum is well-known, or some similarly unique concatenation of the museum's name, as for example,

onlyoneofitskind.art.museum

ooik.art.museum

In practice, the notion of uniqueness is not expected to be absolute. The important point is keeping the risk of confusion about the identity of domain name holders at an acceptably low level. There is likely to be some degree of first-come first-served competition among applicants, although this will not be permitted to become an overriding principle.

If the name of the institution is used by many other museums a fourth-level domain name might be more suitable, as:

sharedname.history.cityname.museum

sharedname.cityname.history.museum

If desired, the uniqueness of a museum may be indicated by using additional subdomain labels. It may also be necessary for more specific information about the location of the museum to be provided in this manner. For example, a fifth-level domain name might be:

sharedname.culture.cityname.countyname.museum

Virtual museums that are not associated with organizations operating physical museums will all register under the dedicated .virtual.museum second-level domain or other unambiguous equivalents that may be proposed:

name.art.virtual.museum

Individual museum professionals will similarly use .professional.museum or equivalent designations.

As you will note, the naming conventions do not permit individual museums to register second-level domains. Although such names are likely to be regarded as desirable, .museum policy must balance this factor against the purpose of providing the public with as much information about the registered museums as can be done with their domain names. However happy the single successful applicant for national.museum might be, little further purpose would be served by having several hundred unhappy institutions which would be equally qualified for that name, plus a public that has no idea which national museum the name identifies.

It should also be noted that individual museums will both be permitted and encouraged to register multiple domain names if they feel it purposeful to be located in, for example, both disciplinary and location hierarchies. The latter includes .virtual.museum for physical museums that also operate virtual museums.

22 November 2001 - 1230 UTC