Dot Chaos

ICANN is planning to accept applications for a bunch of new top-level domains this year. The problem lies in what they are apparently willing to allow as domain identifiers:

When it comes to certain string combos, though, the organization says that it has given considerable thought to whether certain popular file extensions should be prohibited. GNSO points out that browsers would need to be able to identify the difference between a domain ending in, for example, .pdf and a link to a file that has the extension of .pdf, but says that this would need to be a function of the application and not the DNS system.

That sounds like it's custom-made for virus propagation... and thus a Really Bad Idea. So what are ICANN going to do about it?

"If ICANN wished to prevent potentially significant problems in the application layer or avoid user confusion issues resulting from a string like .EXE, it would need to do so based on a defined list of extensions that were disallowed, a list maintained outside of ICANN and internationally recognized as the authoritative source for 'commonly used file extensions,'" wrote the organization. "Additionally, a mechanism for maintaining and updating such a list would need to be in place, because new file extensions could become prevalent at any time. To date, staff has not been able to locate a list of common file extensions that is generally acknowledged to be authoritative."

Translation to non-bureaucratese: "We're a bunch of cowardly, paper-shuffling needledicks who demand power but shun responsibility. Therefore, even though we know that allowing such domain names could quite possibly trigger a disaster of biblical proportions, we're going to stick our fingers in our ears and shout 'NANANANANANA' at the top of our lungs."

Fuckers.