What’s in a domain name?

I read today that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is taking another step towards its goal of bringing new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) online with the launch of a public consultation on a key report from ICANN’s Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO).

The top-level domain arena, of course this is the part of the domain name that comes after the last dot, could soon new hundreds of new internationalised options introduced. Bringing in new domain names is all about satisfying competition from the market, but (says ICANN) it’s also about preserving the security, stability and interoperability of the Internet.

The report raises some interesting questions – like how to deal with proposals that may be considered controversial by some groups or individuals. Where will it all end I wonder? Will we see ‘dot roof’ introduced for roofing contractors? How about ‘dot slice’ for pizza parlours? Or will that see plastic surgeons done out of the top-level domain they had been hoping for?

Is this is PR disaster and political correctness battle waiting to happen do you think?