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OT: Why does CERN need a TLD? I'm not complaining, it just seems like an odd (and expensive) thing to have.
by markovbot 8y ago
OT: Why does CERN need a TLD? I'm not complaining, it just seems like an odd (and expensive) thing to have.
- fermienrico 8y agoPerhaps you can consider it as a marketing expense. Think about all of the communications that CERN deals with external parties. It could be that they justified it as a recruiting tool - “You get your very own name.cern webpage” to attract candidates. Or, they just thought it’s cool :-). Companies spend all kinds of money on things without ROI: fancy decors and furniture, landscaping and fancy buildings.
- krapp 8y agoI assume it has something to do with the World Wide Web having basically started at CERN.
- empath75 8y agoThey sort of invented the www.
- themodelplumber 8y agoAre we sure they have to pay for it? Edit: It appears that they do, though it was at least in the past based on a reallocation of savings on operational expenses. It seems like they might be filing it under "outreach" which makes sense. I'll authorize it. ;-) Source: https://cds.cern.ch/record/1407874/files/fc-e-5578-Budget2012.pdf https://cds.cern.ch/record/1407874/files/fc-e-5578-Budget201... Ctrl+F "level domain" Edit 2: Additional cool source: https://cds.cern.ch/record/2296678/files/pdf.pdf https://cds.cern.ch/record/2296678/files/pdf.pdf "3. Motivation for gTLD .cern The motivation for CERN to acquire its own generic top level domain was to be able to better support its Web communication strategy. In addition to the traditional CERN domain .cern.ch, that is used for all IT infrastructure and also for internal Web sites, other benefits of owning its own TLD are in the area of conveying: - Branding - Recognition - Innovation - Trust"
- anyfoo 8y agoGiven that the literally first web server was at CERN, I hope they get a special price for their TLD.
- kgwgk 8y agoDomain names, even .com, predate the web by many years. We could be using gopher in our smartphones instead if things had happened differently :-)
- anyfoo 8y agoOh, I remember gopher, and I wasn't implying that CERN invented the domain name system. Just that they deserve their own TLD.
- XorNot 8y agoThe most amazing thing I've ever seen is probably the original manuscript proposed hypertext with the hand scribbled comment at the top "Vague but interesting!"
- feral 8y agohttps://home.cern/about/updates/2015/10/welcome-cern https://home.cern/about/updates/2015/10/welcome-cern "As such, a domain that limits CERN to one country doesn’t acknowledge the international, and increasingly global, nature of the organization, nor that its science and values transcend geographical and political boundaries." CERN has all sorts of stuff going on, I don't know the details but its not just like a normal lab in a single country, there's special tax rules and diplomatic treatment for people who work there etc.
- kgwgk 8y agoThe United Nations seem to be ok with having just a .org
- saagarjha 8y agoThe UN isn't a science and technology organization, though.
- dragonwriter 8y agoThe UN also has funding issues and the cost of changing domains (even to an .int, which is probably more appropriate than an .org, much less acquiring a TLD as well) is probably not going to fly. CERN has friendlier funders.
- kgwgk 8y agoYou overestimate the willingness of the member countries to keep throwing money at it.
- dragonwriter 8y agoI don't think I do: more willing than is the case with the UN is a very low bar.
- 8y ago
- ashleyn 8y agohttps://www.iana.org/reports/c.2.9.2.d/20140815-cern https://www.iana.org/reports/c.2.9.2.d/20140815-cern It's just part of a wider range of branded TLDs, some of which include .walmart and .mcdonalds