In a remarkable about face regarding the introduction of gTLDs – new top level domains that consist of approved, generic strings – ICANN declared the end of its three month long experiment at a gathering of its members today.
“We regret to say that there will be no more active gTLDs after April 1st, and we will be returning all fees to the applicants,” said ICANN CEO, Fadi Chehadé, looking very dejected.
“Millions of dreamers around the world, myself included, will now have to resort to using old school TLDs, such as .com, .net, .org and regrettably, .mobi. It was good while it lasted, please keep us all in your prayers!” added Chehadé, addressing the ICANN crowds.
It is not yet clear what would happen to the 200,000 or so registrations of gTLD domain names; there is a chance that would be converted to .com by adding the keyword “gtld” before the .com.
“We cannot predict the future, and I stand behind this 100%, all the wonderful people that worked hard to make this happen – you are all wonderful!” said Fadi Chehadé, wiping tears from his eyes.
The anticlimactic ending of the gTLD era raises several questions about what the future of domain names entails.
