.so

:".so is also the filename extension for a shared object file, a type of dynamic library file."Infobox Top level domain
name=.so
background=#CCF


introduced=1997
type=Country code top-level domain
status=Suspended due to lack of recognized government
registry=None in current operation
sponsor=World Class Domains, c/o Monolith Innovation Group
intendeduse=Entities connected with Somalia
actualuse=Not currently in use
restrictions=No registrations being taken at present
structure=Had former second-level registrations, but those addresses do not function now. Zone effectively non-functional.
document=
disputepolicy=
website=formerly [http://www.nic.so/ Nic.so]

.so is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Somalia.

Somalia currently does not have a recognized central government; the operations of this domain had therefore been officially delegated to Monolith Innovation Group, a company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is now defunct. There are therefore no *.so domains currently in active use.

As of 2008, the .so zone lists three non-functional name servers: ns1.granitecanyon.com does not have data for the .so domain, ns2.granitecanyon does not respond and mercury.ml.org only sporadically is able to resolve the nic.so site (as 209.68.0.85).

The webpage at the http://nic.so URL contained a short message stating that "As Somalia has no internationally recognized government, this domain is not currently used. We simply have parked this top level domain till an official government is implemented. If you are looking for information about Somalia, please visit Yahoo's Somalia category." [ [http://www.nic.so NIC.SO ] ] As of July 2008, the nic.so site merely returns "This is a private server hosting the following domains: BASE.ORG, ML.ORG and DATTA.NET. These domains are in use and not for sale. -- admin at datta.net"

The demise of Monolith (ml.org)

Monolith Innovations, as a domain name server, was popular in the mid-1990's,

Second-level domain registrations at the time were (by modern standards) relatively expensive. Monolith operated various projects which allowed small sites to obtain an Internet address of the form "example.ml.org" at effectively no cost instead of paying full price ($50US in the first year) for a domain like "example.com", "example.org" or "example.net" [ [http://web.archive.org/web/19980122215353/http://www.ml.org/ml/about/projects.html ml.org projects] ]

The domain name record for .so was initially created on 28 August 1997, at or near the peak of the ml.org service's popularity. At the time, the potential benefits seemed more than apparent. By taking responsibility for a country code domain, Monolith could have become able to issue *.so domains at second-level for little or no cost, providing a viable alternative to the higher Network Solutions pricing of that era.

According to ml.org's founder, Aveek Datta, in 1998, "I've personally been trying to create a global FREE top level domain. Whether or not this becomes a reality is another question; money talks and big bucks are being waved about in the registry battles." [ [http://web.archive.org/web/19980122215843/www.ml.org/ml/about/future.html ml.org's future plans, as of Jan '98] ]

However, the ml.org service ceased operations at the end of 1998 due to "technical and organisational problems" which included major server failures [ [http://web.archive.org/web/19981201221025/http://www.ml.org/status.html ml.org status page (archived)] ] . Its second-level domains remain registered to Aveek Datta, president of the former Monolith Innovations Group, but appear not to be in active use. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/19981212031041/http://www.ml.org/ 12 December 1998 - Monolith Internet Services] would like to announce its SHUTDOWN due to technical and organizational problems, including a complete server failure.]

o what happens to .so?

While free third-level domains were ultimately offered by many others (such as *.dyndns.org), *.so effectively rests abandoned.

With no one clearly in charge in Somalia itself, the task of revoking and re-delegating the *.so domain becomes politically far more complex. Normally, ICANN would seek the opinions of affected parties, including the government of the area which the domain is delegated to serve, before attempting delegation. This is no longer an option.

A one-page placeholder site at the nic.so address therefore claims that "no .SO domains are available and we are not looking for any registrar partners." [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20001024003521/http://www.nic.so/ Archived copy of nic.so, 2000] ] [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20050220091125/http://www.nic.so/ Archived copy of nic.so, 2005] ]

ee also

* Communications in Somalia
* Politics of Somalia

References

External links

* [http://www.iana.org/root-whois/so.htm IANA .so whois information]