* the follwoing paragraph confuses me:
"Prior to November 2000, the list of valid TLDs very seldom changed, and only a few ccTLDs were added to the list, including Palestine (.ps) and Afghanistan (.af)."
In fact, prior to November 2000 the list changed much more than after that date... even if it was quite stable since late 1997. The reference to .af is in any misleading, as it was created in 1997, among many, many others. In fact, as far as I can remember, the only ccTLD effectively added duing ICANN existance is .ps (with .eu in the pipeline, but not yet active, as .tl which should replace .tp, but which is apparently in a limbo somewhere between ISO and IANA....). .af had a difficult life, including disappearences and redelgations, but it was created well before 2000.
Amadeu
Good evening, As the person taking snapshots of cc-IANA since 1999, I confirm that .af have been delegated on 16 Oct 1997 - extract from Old Internic is attached below (Old Internic was whois -h rs.internic.net). The ccTLD delegations in chronological order of Top Level Domain creation at the Old Internic are at: http://www.ccwhois.org/ccwhois/cctld/ccTLDs-by-date.html The number of ccTLD created per annum is recorder at: http://www.ccwhois.org/ccwhois/cctld/ccTLDs-created.html YYYY Nb ccTLDs created Total 1985 3 3 1986 8 11 1987 9 20 1988 8 28 1989 8 36 1990 11 47 1991 22 69 1992 17 86 1993 23 109 1994 22 131 1995 29 160 1996 31 191 1997 47 238 1998 2 240 1999 1 241 2000 1 242 -- 1 ccTLD created in 1999 .BD (Bangladesh), 1 ccTLD created in 2000 .PS (Palestinian Territory). 1 ccTLD removed in 2001 .ZR (Zaire) and 1 ccTLD removed circa 1993 (.CS, Czechoslovakia). ToDo: Keep record for .SU and .GB. -- Kind regards, Elisabeth Porteneuve ccTLD liaison to GNSO -- Afganistan: http://www.ccwhois.org/ccwhois/snapshots/AF12-DOM.990511.html ccTLD Constituency of the DNSO World Wide Alliance of Top Level Domain-names IANA Internic whois database Custodianship cc-whois | IANA snapshots ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Changes over time in the IANA Internic whois database initially: whois -h rs.internic.net mid-1999 to mid-2000: whois -h whois.networksolutions.com since 18 June 2000: http://www.iana.org/cctld/cctld.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Registrant: Afghanistan top-level domain (AF12-DOM) Maktab Ad Daftariyya AF 14-1-1 Makrian 3 Kabul AF Domain Name: AF Administrative Contact: Razeeq, Abdul (AR2591) abdul@JANNAH.NET +93 62752 Technical Contact, Zone Contact: NetNames Hostmaster (NH45-ORG) hostmaster@NETNAMES.NET +44 171 291 3900 Fax- - +44 171 291 3939 Record last updated on 06-Apr-99. Record created on 16-Oct-97. Database last updated on 10-May-99 13:26:24 EDT. Domain servers in listed order: NS1.NETNAMES.NET 195.40.151.1 NS2.NETNAMES.NET 195.40.150.1 To see this host record with registered users, repeat the command with a star ('*') before the name; or, use '%' to show JUST the registered users. The InterNIC Registration Services database contains ONLY non-military and non-US Government Domains and contacts. Other associated whois servers: American Registry for Internet Numbers - whois.arin.net European IP Address Allocations - whois.ripe.net Asia Pacific IP Address Allocations - whois.apnic.net US Military - whois.nic.mil US Government - whois.nic.gov You agree that you will not reproduce, sell, transfer, or modify any of the data presented in response to your search request, or use of any such data for commercial purpose, without the prior express written permission of Network Solutions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ © ccTLD Constituency Page updated : 2000-12-18 00:55:39