Fictitious domain name

A fictitious domain name is a domain name used in a work of fiction or popular culture to refer to an Internet address that does not actually exist. This is similar in concept to 555 telephone numbers. RFC 2606 specifies particular reserved domains. Essentially, all versions of "example," among several others, are to be reserved, such as .example, example.com, example.org, example.edu, example.us, etc. for the purpose of providing a fictional domain name that is not actually used by anyone.

However, domain names that become popular in works of fiction have a tendency to become registered in real life (if possible). So it is difficult for any particular domain to be both popularly known and fictional. (Even example.com, mentioned above, is actually registered to the IANA, [ [http://reports.internic.net/cgi/whois?whois_nic=example.com&type=domain WHOIS data for example.com] ] although not used for anything.) This phenomenon prompted NBC to purchase the domain name Hornymanatee.com after talk-show host Conan O'Brien spoke the name while ad-libbing on his show. O'Brien subsequently created a real website based around the concept and used it as a running gag on the show. [" [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/12/arts/television/12mana.html So This Manatee Walks Into the Internet] ", New York Times, December 12, 2006. Accessed April 12, 2008.]

IP addresses

When IP addresses are called for in a script, some TV shows, like "24", use numbers that are over 255 (which are invalid addresses). The movie "Swordfish" uses an IP of 293.xx.xxx.xx in one scene, and the comic strip "Narbonic" referenced the fictitious IP 132.513.151.319. In "Antitrust", several addresses in the 10.x.x.x range are shown; this is an RFC 1918 private network area. The "" series uses addresses in the 5.xxx.xxx.xxx range, which, as of 2008, is currently unallocated by IANA. [http://www.iana.org/assignments/ipv4-address-space] The IP address range 192.0.2.x is called "TEST-NET" and designated by RFC 3330 as being "for use in documentation and example code".

References