By Shane Thacker

For any nonprofit thinking of putting up its own Web site, one of the primary questions is going to be, "How are people going to find it?"

A good Web address will help answer that question. If one wants to go to PNN Online, for instance, they can type in "www.pnnonline.org" and go right to the Web site. If someone wants to go to Microsoft, then "www.microsoft.com" will take them there.

Those easy-to-remember (and sometimes not so easy) addresses are called domain names, and in this Tech Notes we're going to talk about how to get one of your own.

What is a domain name?

Domain names are ways to help the human element in the Internet equation find its way around.

All of those easy-to-remember names are nice to have, but they are not necessary for the functioning of the Internet. Instead, the servers, networks and terminals that make up the Internet are programmed to recognize numbers as addresses for particular sites.

Think of that number as a virtual address, ready to receive information. Any computer hooked up to the Internet is assigned an Internet Protocol (IP) address, consisting of four numbers separated by dots. For instance, an IP address would look like the (probably) fictitious 123.4.56.123. Any information sent over the Internet to that machine would be sent to that IP address.

Since the length of each IP address could easily come to resemble the digits in an international telephone call, it was necessary to come up with a better, easier way to remember addresses. Thus domain names were born.

It usually isn't necessary to think about IP addresses, thanks to domain names, because the names are used as substitutes. When a Web browser has a domain name typed into it, it checks a Domain Name System server, which keeps track of what domain name is assigned to which IP address, and then contacts the server at that address.

Since domain names are so easy to remember, organizations that want people to come to their Web site and keep coming back usually want to have their own. As said before, it is pretty easy to get to PNN Online when all one has to do is remember "www.pnnonline.org."

How do we get one?

At one point, for most people wanting to get on the Internet as a domain, the choices were pretty basic. First, they had to have a Web site (or some IP address to which the domain name could point). Then they went to InterNIC, an entity that controlled the most popular public domains -- all the ones with .com, .org and so on. Then they paid money to register their name. Usually the process could be completed over the Internet, except for the part about paying.

In recent years that picture has gotten slightly more muddled. A company called Network Solutions has been administrating publicly-available names for a few years now, using InterNIC's databases. For a while, getting a domain name was still a matter of going to the right place, kind of like getting a phone used to mean contacting the phone company.

Much as the phone system, the Internet's domain name system is changing. In an effort to open up the field to competition, the United States government has authorized other companies to register domain names.

As a practical matter, that means rates for registering and maintaining a name have gone all over the place. When you find an Internet registrar, check the rates. It might be possible to pay less. (Domain names are pretty inexpensive, though, for many organizations. At one point, they cost $70 for the first two years and $35 a year after that.)

There has been a bit of recent controversy about who actually administrates the main domain name database. At the moment Network Solutions still does, but that primarily only affects people who try to sign up a name at almost the same time someone else does. One request might be processed before the other. The registrar companies are working to resolve the problem, however.

As for actually getting the name, that part is pretty simple. Go to one of the registrar companies on the Web and they'll offer a way to search for the desired name on the first page you see. If that name is available, then the company will only be too happy to let you sign up through them.

Another way is to let the hosting firm or Internet Service Provider involved with your site to do it for you. There are few that do not offer domain name registration services.

As far as the process itself, the main things to know are who will be named the administrator of the domain name (who gets to make changes), where it should point (the IP address) and how to pay (usually a credit card works fine).

Changes are made the same way. If the IP address for the site changes, then the old domain name can be changed to point to the new address. If a new domain name is desired, then both it and the old domain name can point to the same IP address until the old name is discontinued.

If you do not have a site set up, or an IP address to which to point, or just want to protect your chosen name for the future, it is possible to reserve the name for a certain period of time (for a fee, of course). While the Internet is full of stories about people who lost their reserved name when somebody else registered it officially, most times there shouldn't be any problem.

If you wish to reserve the name, domain name registrars also perform that service.

What's in a name?

Thinking up a name should be simple. It requires a top level domain (TLD), such as .org or .com, and a name. The whole name, including the .org, cannot be longer than 26 characters. The characters in the second level domain part of the name -- for instance, "pnnonline" -- can only include letters, numbers and hyphens, with the hyphen being invalid for the first character.

Following these rules, "pnnonline.org" is a valid name, as is "pnn-online.org" or "pnnonline1.org." However, "-pnn*online.org" just won't work.

The first part of the name, familiar to most people as the "www" part, is a third level domain and not necessary for domain name registration. It gives an indication of what kind of server is available at that name. For instance, PNN Online could have "www.pnnonline.org," indicating a Web server; "ftp.pnnonline.org," indicating an FTP file server; or "mail.pnnonline.org," showing an e-mail server.

The TLD is supposed to indicate what sort of organization owns that site. .org, for instance, is usually a good sign of a not-for-profit organization, while .com can mean a commercial entity.

To check and see if another site already has the name you've chosen, go to a Whois database and search for it. The primary one, at least at time of writing, is the database of Network Solutions, listed in the Bookmarks. A Whois search will determine if anyone already owns the name and gives contact information for the person or organization that owns a domain name.

Who's got our name?

Thinking up a name should be simple, but it often isn't. With the boom in the Internet, and more and more places registering domain names, there is a good chance that your preferred name is already taken.

If it is, then having a good second choice is ideal. However, if you really want that name, then you'll have to get familiar with the ideas of cybersquatting and bargaining.

Cybersquatting is the practice of registering a domain name for the purpose of selling it to a person or organization that wants it later. While in a capitalist society that has to be expected, governing authorities had to step in when it became clear that others were registering the best domain names for companies not yet on the Web in order to hold them hostage when the companies did want to join the wired world.

There is currently a bill dealing with cybersquatting going through the United States government, so it is not yet clear exactly what will be defined as cybersquatting or what the remedies will be. However, suffice it to say, courts have not looked with compassion upon the practice.

The gist of the most recent decisions is that holding a domain name purely for sale is a risky bet. If the name is closely identified with the organization, and the current owner is not using it for any purpose (and sometimes if they are), then the rights to the name have been going to the organization.

One of the best ways to establish that the name is closely identified with the organization is for it to be trademarked. For instance, a company would have to look askance at anyone registering one of their product names, as long as that name was trademarked and not a commonly-used word.

Up until the present, getting a name back from a cybersquatter involved the sort of litigation most would like to avoid. However, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is putting together a dispute resolution process that would simplify matters. (ICANN is a new nonprofit assigned to govern the realm of IP addresses and domain names.)

To avoid getting into the situation of being accused of cybersquatting, it would be a good idea to check and see if your chosen name is the same or close to another organization's trademark. Try searching for it on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Web site.

Now we get to bargaining. If the name you want is being used by someone else, then it will turn up on the Whois search you performed earlier. If you really want that name, use that contact information, or go to the site, and ask the owners if you can have it. A lot of places are quite willing to sell a name, depending on the offer.

If you think that the offer is fair, then go for it. If it doesn't look like you and the owner can agree, see if you have a case for cybersquatting or trademark infringement against the owner, and then decide if the name is worth all the legal and time costs of trying to get it. If not, then that idea of a good second choice is pretty invaluable.

What are we waiting for?

As many organizations have found, having the right domain name is a major part of their identity in a world increasingly turning to the online for information.

The Internet is booming. and new domain names are being registered as you read.

While the .org domain has been protected from some of the competitive pressures of .com, good names are going fast. If you have plans for a site, and want to have just the right domain name, then checking for its availability now would be a good idea.

Good hunting.

Got any questions, comments or suggestions for Tech Notes? Contact Shane Thacker at
shanethack@mindspring.com or (919)899-3746.