You may be familiar with some of the shorter internet domains used by large companies, such as m.me and the fb.me from the Facebook (Meta) and the address shortener URL t.co of Twitter.
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However, it is possible that live domain names are even shorter than these options - and do not contain dots, known as dotless domains.
The software engineer James Williams based in London has turned everyone's attention to domains that are even smaller than the widely known g.co or m.me.
Although the vast majority of internet domains contain TLD separated by one or more dots, it turns out that it is not necessary for a domain.
In theory, for example, it would be possible for Internet regulators to allow top-level domains (TLDs) such as com to be valid on their own and have valid registrations. DNS resolved on a server. If this were the case, navigation to the address http://com/ would present the user with a web page.
"Nothing prevents TLD registry operators from providing A records at the tops of their TLD zones", explains Williams in a summary of the blog post last month.
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Williams compiled a list of TLDs that have valid DNS A records. website when introduced in web browser, some of them do.
The visit to the address http://ai/ at Google Chrome shows for example a valid website, which you can otherwise go to from the address: http://offshore.ai/.
In internal networks usually implemented by enterprises, it is not uncommon to have Dotless domains that are accessible from within the company. For example, going to http://intranet/ or at http://company/ may present valid websites visible only by staff and their users in the corporate network.
But when it comes to the web, this practice is neither widespread nor encouraged.
In 2013, the internet regulator ICANN adopted a resolution banning dotless domains and stating that their use could be harmful, as these domains are usually expected to be resolved in a local (i.e. corporate network) context.
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“Dotless domains would require the inclusion of, for example, an A, AAAA or MX record at the top of a TLD zone in DNS (i.e., the record is associated with the TLD string itself)", says the earlier ICANN announcement.
“Dotless domains would not be universally accessible and their use is not recommended. As a result, the SSAC recommended that the use of DNS resource records such as A, AAAA and MX at the top of a top-level domain (TLD) should be contractually prohibited where appropriate and strongly discouraged in all cases.“
