OpenNIC (also referred to as the OpenNIC Project) is a user-owned and -controlledAlt URL
/ref> top-level

Network Information Center The Network Information Center (NIC), also known as InterNIC from 1993 until 1998, was the organization primarily responsible for Domain Name System (DNS) domain name allocations and X.500 directory services. From its inception in 1972 until Oc ...

that offers a non-national alternative to traditional

top-level domain A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet after the root domain. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in ...

(TLD) registries such as

ICANN The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN ) is an American multistakeholder group and nonprofit organization responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several databases related to the namespaces ...

. As of January 2017, OpenNIC recognizes and peers all existing

TLDs, for compatibility reasons. However, OpenNIC has not yet evaluated and does not hold a formal position on future ICANN TLDs. In addition to resolving

hostname In computer networking, a hostname (archaically nodename) is a label that is assigned to a device connected to a computer network and that is used to identify the device in various forms of electronic communication, such as the World Wide Web. Hos ...

s in the

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

, OpenNIC also resolves hostnames in OpenNIC-operated

namespace In computing, a namespace is a set of signs (''names'') that are used to identify and refer to objects of various kinds. A namespace ensures that all of a given set of objects have unique names so that they can be easily identified. Namespace ...

s, as well as within namespaces with which peering agreements have been established. Some OpenNIC recursive servers (Tier 2 servers) are known for their high speeds and low latency, relative to other more widely used DNS recursors, as well as their anonymizing or no-logging policies. Many servers offer

DNSCrypt DNSCrypt is a network protocol that authenticates and encrypts Domain Name System (DNS) traffic between the user's computer and recursive name servers. It was originally designed by Frank Denis and Yecheng Fu. Although multiple free and open so ...

. Tier 2 servers are operated by community volunteers across a multitude of geographic locations. Like all alternative root DNS systems, OpenNIC-hosted domains are unreachable to the vast majority of

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

users, because they require a non-default configuration in one's DNS resolver.

History

On June 1, 2000, an article was posted on kuro5hin.org advocating a democratically governed

domain name system The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It associates various information with domain names assigned to ...

. The first OpenNIC servers went into operation July of that year.

OpenNIC TLDs

OpenNIC namespaces

These TLDs are currently served by OpenNIC and were constructed with the approval of the OpenNIC community.

Peering agreements

OpenNIC provides resolution of select other alternative DNS roots.

New Nations

New Nations provides TLDs for

nation-states A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...

that are not recognized by the

ISO 3166-1 ISO 3166-1 (''Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions – Part 1: Country codes'') is a standard defining codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. It ...

alpha-2 standard, and therefore haven't received their own

ccTLD A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, sovereign state, or dependent territory identified with a country code. All ASCII ccTLD identifiers are two letters long, and all t ...

. Currently they provide .ku (''Kurdish people''), .te (''Tamil Eelam''), .ti (''Tibet''), and .uu (''Uyghur people'').

FurNIC

FurNIC aims to bring a unique identity to

Furries The furry fandom is a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters. Examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and wearing clothes. The term ...

, Furry Fandom, and other

Anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

interest websites across the internet. FurNIC and OpenNIC work closely, with .fur (''Furry fandom'') generally being treated as part of OpenNIC for most purposes, rather than a separate peer entity.

Emercoin

On January 15, 2015, domains registered in Emercoin's

blockchain A blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology (DLT) that consists of growing lists of records, called ''blocks'', that are securely linked together using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, ...

became accessible to all users of OpenNIC DNS. Emercoin DNS supports the domain zones .bazar, .coin, .emc, .lib, .ness and .sky. However, Emercoin DNS records can be registered/maintained from within the Emercoin software, and not as part of OpenNIC's management system.

Technical zones

OpenNIC operates some special-use TLDs, which are meant for technical or organizational purposes.

Suspended peering

Namecoin

In July 2019 the OpenNIC community voted 13-2 for dropping support for

.bit Namecoin (Abbreviation: NMC; sign: \mathbb) is a cryptocurrency originally forked from bitcoin software. It uses proof-of-work algorithm. Like bitcoin, it is limited to \mathbb21 million. Namecoin can store data within its own blockchain ...

domains due to them "being used as malware hubs" as a result of their "anonymous nature". A similar proposal was made in December 2018 but it did not reach the voting stage. Until then OpenNIC resolved .

bit The bit is the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communications. The name is a portmanteau of binary digit. The bit represents a logical state with one of two possible values. These values are most commonly represented ...

(''

Namecoin Namecoin (Abbreviation: NMC; sign: \mathbb) is a cryptocurrency originally forked from bitcoin software. It uses proof-of-work algorithm. Like bitcoin, it is limited to \mathbb21 million. Namecoin can store data within its own blockchain ...

'') domains through the use of a centralized server which generated a DNS zone from the Namecoin

. Access was provided through a Tier 1 server which

bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

the OpenNIC system and Namecoin. Some OpenNIC DNS servers made use of a

Spamhaus The Spamhaus Project is an international organisation based in the Principality of Andorra, founded in 1998 by Steve Linford to track email spammers and spam-related activity. The name ''spamhaus'', a pseudo-German expression, was coined by Lin ...

-maintained blacklist of malicious .bit domains.https://api.opennicproject.org/acl/filter/

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Opennic Domain Name System Alternative Internet DNS services