Latest news of the domain name industry

Recent Posts

.gay gets rooted

Kevin Murphy, August 12, 2019, 12:55:08 (UTC), Domain Registries

The new gTLD .gay, which was often used as an example of a controversial TLD that could be blocked from the DNS, has finally made it to the DNS.
While no .gay domains are currently resolving, the TLD itself was added to the root zone over the weekend.
Its registry is Top Level Design, which currently also runs .design, .ink and .wiki.
The company won the string in February, after an auction with three other applicants.
While Top Level Design had planned to launch .gay this October on National Coming Out Day in the US, but had to postpone the release so as not to rush things.
It’s now eyeing a second-quarter 2020 launch, possibly timed to coincide with a major Pride event.
The registry is currently hiring marketing staff to assist in the launch.
It’s the first new TLD to hit the internet since February, when South Sudan acquired .ss.
But it’s been over a year since the last 2012-round new gTLD appeared, when .inc was delegated in July 2018.
There are currently 1,528 TLDs in the root. That’s actually down a bit compared to a year ago, due to the removal of several delegated dot-brands.
.gay was, prior to 2012, often used as an example of a string that could have been blocked by governments or others on “morality and public order” grounds.
But that never transpired. The protracted time it’s taken to get .gay into the root has been more a result of seemingly endless procedural reviews of ICANN decision-making.


If you find this post or this blog useful or interestjng, please support Domain Incite, the independent source of news, analysis and opinion for the domain name industry and ICANN community.

Tagged: , , , , ,

Add Your Comment