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discuss Handshake domains

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There's been talk about .eth and .crypto, but I haven't seen many posts on here about Handshake.

Handshake is a naming protocol that's backwards compatible with the existing DNS system. It does not replace the DNS protocol, but instead expands the root zone file where TLD ownership information is stored by adding a distributed and decentralized blockchain-based system that no one controls and anyone can use. This allows for a root zone that is uncensorable, permissionless, and free of gatekeepers like ICANN.

https://learn.namebase.io/about-handshake/about-handshake

This is what I believe the next step in domains will potentially be. Instead of just registering domains under new TLDs, you actually own the TLD and can sell subdomains (my.wallet/, use your TLD as a web address (synozeer/), and also use your TLD as a username on sites that allow it.

A few domain registrars already allow registrations under various Handshake TLDs, and you can bid on new TLDs along with buy/sell from the marketplace at https://namebase.io. Namecheap just bought the p/ TLD for $230,000 and they said they are looking to support Handshake. Brave browser should also be releasing an update soon that will allow for Handshake domains to be accessed using their browser.

It's really interesting technology and I can see it being adopted by a lot of big companies in the future. Of course, it's all speculative, but people have been making good money buying/selling TLDs and subdomains.

The best two TLDs I own in my opinion are .visit and .articles. Lots of end user uses (hawaii.visit/, seo.articles/, etc.) but there are some killer ones out there. The owner of .c/ has already sold several hundred domains under his TLD and some others like xr/ and defi/ are doing well.
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
Google and Apple just provide access to the content people want. If that content is on .whatever then allowing access is trivial.

My argument is that Google and (most certainly) Apple will not resolve blockchain domains, even if they gain some popularity on niche browsers. It's a legal and policy nightmare, in a time of legal and policy nightmares. Plus it's hard to see blockchain domains reaching any mainstream level of "what people want" without Google and Apple support in the first place, so it's chicken and egg there too. And even if they somehow do, Google and Apple still won't bite.

I think blockchain domains will remain a niche thing, hobby domains if you will, supported by smaller browsers looking to stand out and attract the tech-savvy community. This innocent tinkering period will last for one or two years, and then we will see a dark web emerge: drug sales, child porn, ransomware, trademark squatting, much else -- with shows like 60 Minutes airing segments called "Dark Web 2.0" and so on. (Unlike with Bitcoin, your eyes can actually see stuff on domains). This will lead to lawsuits, a reckoning and, in the end, either a crackdown or a policing effort. The policing effort, whether led by the FCC, tech giants, or both, will de-facto remove much of the so-called independence from blockchain domains (via pressure on any legal entity that makes software that resolves them), and it won't be clear just want the advantages are over regular old domains.

I don't like registrar control at all, the current system has many flaws, but I can't see any other future for blockchain domains really. I wish I could.
 
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IMO, I don't see the browsers as being the main issue. It is the overall accessibility of these domains that is in question here. Lets not lose the forest for the trees.

Browser accessibility is only relevant for human users, but a large portion of the internet traffic is used by (ro)bots, spiders, crawlers, automated API calls, IoT (internet of things) devices which don't even rely on web browsers. One of the major concerns here is the site indexing robots which are the enablers for any major search engines like Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Baidu, Yandex et al. Without the sites being reachable by any of these search engines, you are as isolated as having your own .onion address in an anonymous corner of the web, even with a fancy vanity name.

Forget about other businesses, even for a domainer, the revenue from traffic exchange from keyword related domains can significantly alleviate the cost of maintaining a large portfolio of domains. But if the domains cannot generate traffic revenue then they are just another non-performing assets. And why/how would any serious business build their brand identity in the absence of search engine visibility? Whats the point of having keyword domains then, other than vanity?

But if you are just looking at quick investment opportunities then there are other Ponzi schemes like blockchain based Earth2 and other blockchain based games that offer to multiply investment value.
 
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My argument is that Google and (most certainly) Apple will not resolve blockchain domains, even if they gain some popularity on niche browsers. It's a legal and policy nightmare, in a time of legal and policy nightmares. Plus it's hard to see blockchain domains reaching any mainstream level of "what people want" without Google and Apple support in the first place, so it's chicken and egg there too. And even if they somehow do, Google and Apple still won't bite.

I think blockchain domains will remain a niche thing, hobby domains if you will, supported by smaller browsers looking to stand out and attract the tech-savvy community. This innocent tinkering period will last for one or two years, and then we will see a dark web emerge: drug sales, child porn, ransomware, trademark squatting, much else -- with shows like 60 Minutes airing segments called "Dark Web 2.0" and so on. (Unlike with Bitcoin, your eyes can actually see stuff on domains). This will lead to lawsuits, a reckoning and, in the end, either a crackdown or a policing effort. The policing effort, whether led by the FCC, tech giants, or both, will de-facto remove much of the so-called independence from blockchain domains (via pressure on any legal entity that makes software that resolves them), and it won't be clear just want the advantages are over regular old domains.

I don't like registrar control at all, the current system has many flaws, but I can't see any other future for blockchain domains really. I wish I could.

I think you're getting too caught up in the dark web. There will always be a darkweb, Handshake or otherwise.

In reality a Handshake domain could be even more regulated than is currently offered. You could create .mytown and only allow businesses from your own postcode to register by visiting your office in person and hand signing a registration paper.

IMO, I don't see the browsers as being the main issue. It is the overall accessibility of these domains that is in question here. Lets not lose the forest for the trees.

Browser accessibility is only relevant for human users, but a large portion of the internet traffic is used by (ro)bots, spiders, crawlers, automated API calls, IoT (internet of things) devices which don't even rely on web browsers. One of the major concerns here is the site indexing robots which are the enablers for any major search engines like Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Baidu, Yandex et al. Without the sites being reachable by any of these search engines, you are as isolated as having your own .onion address in an anonymous corner of the web, even with a fancy vanity name.

Forget about other businesses, even for a domainer, the revenue from traffic exchange from keyword related domains can significantly alleviate the cost of maintaining a large portfolio of domains. But if the domains cannot generate traffic revenue then they are just another non-performing assets. And why/how would any serious business build their brand identity in the absence of search engine visibility? Whats the point of having keyword domains then, other than vanity?

But if you are just looking at quick investment opportunities then there are other Ponzi schemes like blockchain based Earth2 and other blockchain based games that offer to multiply investment value.

Indexing will happen organically. It's no different to every ngTLD struggling with ranking.

But I completely agree it certainly isn't available yet and you'd be crazy to build a business on solely a Handshake domain for many years.
 
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Indexing will happen organically. It's no different to every ngTLD struggling with ranking.

I don't suppose I made myself clear on that point. The issue with search engine indexing stems from the inaccessibility of handshake domains by third-party crawlers especially Googlebot, Bingbot, Slurp (yahoo) et al that uses root zone to lookup domain names. Its not about ranking when the bot can't even reach the handshake website while querying the root zone. At least with a ngTLD/ccTLD/sTLD one still has a chance of scoring at ranking but there is zero chance of ranking if the crawling bot can't access a handshake website in an alternate root. Say, how would you tell Googlebot to use that blockchain to resolve handshake domains?

The best one can do is to suffix .hns.to to the handshake domain to address the accessibility for bots but then that makes the handshake domain a third/fourth level domain which would be less advantageous for SEO when compared to ngTLDs or the sTLDs.
 
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I don't suppose I made myself clear on that point. The issue with search engine indexing stems from the inaccessibility of handshake domains by third-party crawlers especially Googlebot, Bingbot, Slurp (yahoo) et al that uses root zone to lookup domain names. Its not about ranking when the bot can't even reach the site while querying the root zone. At least with a ngTLD/ccTLD/sTLD one still has a chance of scoring at ranking but there is zero chance of ranking if the crawling bot can't access a handshake website in an alternate root. Say, how would you tell Googlebot to use that blockchain to resolve domains?

The best one can do is to suffix .hns.to to the handshake domain to address the accessibility for bots but then that makes the handshake domain a third/fourth level domain which would be less advantageous even compared to ngTLDs or the sTLDs.

Thanks for clarifying. The goal of Handshake is to upgrade that root zone so if Handshake does succeed then the crawlers will have an amended root zone to work from.
 
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There will always be a darkweb, Handshake or otherwise.

There is a critical difference. The current darkweb by and large does not exist on public facing ICANN domains. It exists on overlay networks that require specific software configurations and such. Human beings that work for ICANN to the national registries on down will not allow a child porn site to function as normal for long. Moreover on the IP side, ICANN and many international registrars have clear trademark dispute resolution policy and anyone that wants to claim a trademarked domain from a squatter can do so, and many have.

However for blockchain domains the darkweb is inseparable from the light web. That is absolutely key. The only separation can be made by be browsers, and the last thing Google and Apple want is that job. What that means is the drakweb can (and will) bring the light web down with it. That's not a risk with .com, .net, io, etc.

And it may not even need the dark stuff -- trademark violations alone can be enough.

So no, it's not a case of there will be a dark web either on ICANN or on Handshake. Handshake will have an "infused dark web" while ICANN does not and will not.
 
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There is a critical difference. The current darkweb by and large does not exist on public facing ICANN domains. It exists on overlay networks that require specific software configurations and such. Human beings that work for ICANN to the national registries on down will not allow a child porn site to function as normal for long. Moreover on the IP side, ICANN and many international registrars have clear trademark dispute resolution policy and anyone that wants to claim a trademarked domain from a squatter can do so, and many have.

However for blockchain domains the darkweb is inseparable from the light web. That is absolutely key. The only separation can be made by be browsers, and the last thing Google and Apple want is that job. What that means is the drakweb can (and will) bring the light web down with it. That's not a risk with .com, .net, io, etc.

And it may not even need the dark stuff -- trademark violations alone can be enough.

So no, it's not a case of there will be a dark web either on ICANN or on Handshake. Handshake will have an "infused dark web" while ICANN does not and will not.

I do appreciate your continued input. I just think our opinions fundamentally differ on this so all we can do is have a friendly wager on whether Handshake domains will resolve in major browsers or not in 10 years.

Some interesting browser stats from 10 years ago: https://www.sitepoint.com/ie6-usage-below-5-percent-browser-trends/

Firefox and IE shared 80% of all traffic. A lot can change.
 
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Firefox and IE shared 80% of all traffic. A lot can change.

I agree with you that a lot can change in 10 years. If I made a wager I'd say:

All handshake domains will resolve in major browsers in 10 years in an impossibility, given that major access points of any stripe cannot facilitate illegal activities and Handshake will never be 100% clean.

Some handshake domains will resolve in major browsers is a possibility, but if that’s the case it means either Google and Apple (or whoever else has emerged by then) will have become de-facto Handshake domain registrars, even more in control than the registrars of today in some ways. So out of the frying pan into the fire, for those against outside control of their domains.

No handshake domains resolving remains the most likely outcome in my opinion, perhaps after a fraught period of some domains resolving, and my money is there.

But you're right, one never knows, we shall see.
 
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The problem with these domains is that in a couple years when ICANN opens a second round of gTLD applications, many if not all of these are going to be applied for and delegated on the standard DNS servers, which don't require any special software or settings to resolve.

Any mainstream browser is going to resolve that version, not these alternate DNS versions, which will largely render them moot.

ICANN did not care about alternate "extensions" in the past, and won't now either. They will delegate them.

Here is one of several examples -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New.net

Brad
 
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Thanks for clarifying. The goal of Handshake is to upgrade that root zone so if Handshake does succeed then the crawlers will have an amended root zone to work from.

That is question - how do you make Google, Microsoft, Yahoo et al believe in this handshake Tinkerbell? Businesses have no motivation for adopting handshake unless the major search engine crawlers index their websites. The prospect of decentralization is not enough to urge businesses into sacrificing their marketing potential. And without the mass adoption handshake sites are going to either turn into a haven of outlaws or stagnate to dormancy before fading to extinction.
 
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The problem with these domains is that in a couple years when ICANN opens a second round of gTLD applications, many if not all of these are going to be applied for and delegated on the standard DNS servers, which don't require any special software or settings to resolve.

Any mainstream browser is going to resolve that version, not these alternate DNS versions, which will largely render them moot.

ICANN did not care about alternate "extensions" in the past, and won't now either. They will delegate them.

<can't quote links yet I guess>

Brad

We have already seen that happening with the .web TLD. And that was even with Image Online Design following ICANN process of submitting formal application and without requiring a technology as disruptive as handshake.

The whole handshake concept seems like cloak and daggers. On one hand, you setup a lure that pulls gullible prospects with the promise of decentralization. And on the other hand, you setup registrars that have full and uncontested control over manipulating supply, ownership and pricing. A quick look at the ToS of some of these registrars (such as gateway_dot_io ToS) tells the tale. I mean, how does statements like "We may be ordered by a court to cancel, modify, or transfer your domain;" hold up to the promise of decentralization? If they have the capability to exercise such terms, then the whole promise of decentralization seems like a lure for building a 3-level pyramid (Ponzi) scheme.
 
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Is this through Namebase? You need to go through Bobwallet or an alternative for a decentralized experience with no KYC.

Yeah. I was looking at Namebase. The problem for me is that I'm not into crypto currency and, unlike most of the crypto currency community, I don't want to bypass the KYC regulations. Skirting regulations is a liability for normal people, at least in my opinion.

I like the decentralized experience, but the whole crypto currency thing ruins the block chain tech IMO.
 
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Yeah. I was looking at Namebase. The problem for me is that I'm not into crypto currency and, unlike most of the crypto currency community, I don't want to bypass the KYC regulations. Skirting regulations is a liability for normal people, at least in my opinion.

I like the decentralized experience, but the whole crypto currency thing ruins the block chain tech IMO.

For most people KYC is not about skipping the law it's about not getting exposed like the Ledger.com hack, and closer to home the Epik.com saga.
 
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Google and Apple just provide access to the content people want. If that content is on .whatever then allowing access is trivial.

Unstoppable Domains (.crypto) is accessible on Opera browser so the first steps are already happening. Admittedly there are many steps between this and Chrome.
There will be a fork of a well-known browser with native handshake & DANE support shortly.

Can't say more than that right now. Sorry.

In the meantime, I would encourage ppl to investigate cos, since Porkbun joined the Namebase registry platform, registrations have really taken off - https://twitter.com/HandshakeSLDs

Also available from 101domains, Epik & gateway·io
 
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These aren’t decentralized because you still need a third party to hold the asset. I bought hns when it was .06 I believe, so it was cheap to bid and acquire a few. Today, hns is .75 and there’s more eyes on these. Not worth it IMO.
It's true... When most people see "blockchain" they automatically think that means decentralized, when it only means distributed ledger technology is in use.
 
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Handshake domains, in my eyes, are the single most revolutionary thing to happen to the domain namespace since well, the origin of domain names. Whether or not anything becomes of them, WHATEVER!, how is it as domainers we cannot appreciate the awesomeness of the potential of owning our own TLD, having them resolve, and owning them forever without ANY renewal fees?

This is what we do, plan on the future and try with minimal damage. I am part of this experience, happy for it.

The problem with these domains is that in a couple years when ICANN opens a second round of gTLD applications, many if not all of these are going to be applied for and delegated on the standard DNS servers, which don't require any special software or settings to resolve.

Any mainstream browser is going to resolve that version, not these alternate DNS versions, which will largely render them moot.

ICANN did not care about alternate "extensions" in the past, and won't now either. They will delegate them.

Here is one of several examples -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New.net

Brad
Any problem has a solution, you're either on board or not. When Handshake eventually solves these problems, it won't be because of this kind "no can-do" mindset, it will be because of positive support from early adopters and an inclination to make it work by intelligent engineers.. It's like saying back in the early 90's, "this domain thing is going nowhere it costs a hundred dollars AND we have to mail in a form oh no!"

ICANN does not care, LOL. Do you base your future investments on current protocols, or consider an option for potential change? ICANN may very well jump on the blockchain bandwagon for all we know.
 
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Handshake domains, in my eyes, are the single most revolutionary thing to happen to the domain namespace since well, the origin of domain names. Whether or not anything becomes of them, WHATEVER!, how is it as domainers we cannot appreciate the awesomeness of the potential of owning our own TLD, having them resolve, and owning them forever without ANY renewal fees?

This is what we do, plan on the future and try with minimal damage. I am part of this experience, happy for it.


Any problem has a solution, you're either on board or not. When Handshake eventually solves these problems, it won't be because of this kind "no can-do" mindset, it will be because of positive support from early adopters and an inclination to make it work by intelligent engineers.. It's like saying back in the early 90's, "this domain thing is going nowhere it costs a hundred dollars AND we have to mail in a form oh no!"

ICANN does not care, LOL. Do you base your future investments on current protocols, or consider an option for potential change? ICANN may very well jump on the blockchain bandwagon for all we know.

Yeah, everything is a game changer... Just like these "decentralized" domains.

There is nothing stopping endless companies from selling the same extensions. You can have any extension you want if you can control the servers and software.

This is one of many systems trying to "decentralize" domains.

You have others like Unstoppable Domains with their quasi domain extensions.

ICANN will roll over these with the same extension on the normal DNS root servers like they have done in the past.

Oh, and there are renewal fees with these...If you don't "renew" them every 2 years, you lose them.

How long are my names good for?


Handshake names are registered for two years at a time. Names can be renewed biannually by paying a standard network fee. There are no social or technical guarantees with the renewability or ownership, this is an experimental system, please read the code to see details of how it currently works.

If ICANN got on board, it would really kill the entire "decentralized" argument for them.

What problem do these really solve?

I am not sure what is so special about these in particular. There is nothing to stop any big player like Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and hundreds of other large companies from offering the same services to a wider audience.

To re-invent the wheel, you need a system that is clearly superior. Brands spend trillions of dollars a year marketing their normal domains under the current system. It is going to be a heavy lift to change that.

Best of luck with them.

Brad
 
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^ lol. What other systems? And if ICANN rolls over, I wouldn't blame them.

I'm not here to convince you, and obviously you didn't read my post, nor have you taken a deeper look at handshake domains, and the investors, end users and community supporting them. So thanks a lot, from all of us. :/
 
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^ lol. What other systems? And if ICANN rolls over, I wouldn't blame them.

I'm not here to convince you, and obviously you didn't read my post, nor have you taken a deeper look at handshake domains, and the investors, end users and community supporting them. So thanks a lot, from all of us. :/
Other systems...I clearly listed another in Unstoppable Domains with their quasi extensions.

In the past when this has happened ICANN has rolled over them and just delegated the actual extension on the actual DNS root servers.

One example of many -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New.net

Apparently you did not realize there were biannual renewal fees on handshake domains? That is taken straight from their website.

I am all for a system that I thought would be an improvement. I don't think this is it.

Brad
 
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Other systems...I clearly listed another in Unstoppable Domains with their quasi extensions.

In the past when this has happened ICANN has rolled over them and just delegated the actual extension on the actual DNS root servers.

One example of many -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New.net

Apparently you did not realize there were biannual renewal fees on handshake domains? That is taken straight from their website.

I am all for a system that I thought would be an improvement. I don't think this is it.

Brad
.New? right. Let's dive into .mobi too while we're at it.

Yeah, as I said not here to convince, but if you were actually involved you would see that the renewals aren't put on to the owners, the registry covers it.

I am all for hedging domain names, whether current or futures.
 
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.New? right. Let's dive into .mobi too while we're at it.

Yeah, as I said not here to convince, but if you were actually involved you would see that the renewals aren't put on to the owners, the registry covers it.

I am all for hedging domain names, whether current or futures.
It has nothing to do with ".new". At least read the article.

New.net was an alternative DNS root system which is enabled via NewDotNet, a DNS hijacker application, which is usually bundled with legitimate software. The top-level domains New.net provided include: .agent, .arts, .auction, .chat, .church, .club, .family, .free, .game, .golf, .inc, .law, .llc, .llp, .love, .ltd, .med, .mp3, .school, .scifi, .shop, .soc, .sport, .tech, and .video[1] At one point it offered .travel, .kids, and .xxx but those were removed when they conflicted with domains proposed to ICANN in the first round of creation of new domain names in the primary root since the early history of the DNS. Alternate access to domains registered under New.net's alternative TLDs is provided by third level domains under the new.net domain name space (e.g., example.shop is actually example.shop.new.net). As of early 2012, New.net seems to have ceased operation, as the web site "new.net" is no longer resolving; ICANN would allow official registrations of new, non-standard top-level domains the same year.

This is more related to Unstoppable Domains though than handshake domains, which is another option trying to "decentralize" the current system.

Alternative options are nothing new. This type of thing has happened many times in the past, and is likely to happen many times in the future. It requires a complete paradigm shift to be viable.

Brad
 
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These aren’t decentralized because you still need a third party to hold the asset. I bought hns when it was .06 I believe, so it was cheap to bid and acquire a few. Today, hns is .75 and there’s more eyes on these. Not worth it IMO.
I'm pretty sure you can hold $HNS and Handshake TLDs yourself. Most people don't, like most people don't hold the own bitcoin, but I'm pretty sure you can

There are also a few Handshake TLD that are hosting in the Etherium blockchain, like `badass` - with that the second level names are also "blockchain"

And I yes, I know it's not really a blockchain, but it's just what ppl say to mean "some kind of crypto-ledger technology"
 
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It has nothing to do with ".new". At least read the article.

New.net was an alternative DNS root system which is enabled via NewDotNet, a DNS hijacker application, which is usually bundled with legitimate software. The top-level domains New.net provided include: .agent, .arts, .auction, .chat, .church, .club, .family, .free, .game, .golf, .inc, .law, .llc, .llp, .love, .ltd, .med, .mp3, .school, .scifi, .shop, .soc, .sport, .tech, and .video[1] At one point it offered .travel, .kids, and .xxx but those were removed when they conflicted with domains proposed to ICANN in the first round of creation of new domain names in the primary root since the early history of the DNS. Alternate access to domains registered under New.net's alternative TLDs is provided by third level domains under the new.net domain name space (e.g., example.shop is actually example.shop.new.net). As of early 2012, New.net seems to have ceased operation, as the web site "new.net" is no longer resolving; ICANN would allow official registrations of new, non-standard top-level domains the same year.

This is more related to Unstoppable Domains though than handshake domains, which is another option trying to "decentralize" the current system.

Alternative options are nothing new. This type of thing has happened many times in the past, and is likely to happen many times in the future. It requires a complete paradigm shift to be viable.

Brad
> It requires a complete paradigm shift to be viable

I think there's a greater than zero chance that by putting the ROOT in a crypto-ledger & distributing it that way, that could achieve the paradigm shift necessary.

ICANN ROOT servers are stressed to capacity & they're now talking about slaving the ROOT zone into all resolvers using a hierarchy of slaves in a similar way to how NTP works, but I'd think using a crypto-ledger distribution would actually be better. Same for updates to the ICANN ROOT, which are currently not handled particularly slickly.

But you're absolutely right alt-roots have come & gone so many times over the years there's even a wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_DNS_root - somebody needs to add new.net !
 
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> It requires a complete paradigm shift to be viable

I think there's a greater than zero chance that by putting the ROOT in a crypto-ledger & distributing it that way, that could achieve the paradigm shift necessary.
Nice. Personally I don't need a "paradigm shift" to hedge on the future of domain names, but maybe that's just me.

La la la love Handshake TLDs.
 
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This may be a game changer for anyone who has invested in Handshake domain names.

Impervious Creates A Privacy and Security-Focused Browser That Can Resolve Handshake TLDs Natively.

"ICANN, registries, registrars, DNS providers, web browsers - the gatekeepers to the internet no more. Introducing Beacon, a privacy and security-focused browser to replace certificate authorities with decentralized p2p naming systems, DNSSEC and DANE"

You can also visit https://impervious.com/beacon to download the browser to your iPhone. Android is coming soon. Possibly for desktop in the works, but we will have to wait and see.

Great first step. Congrats to Mike Carson and the Engineers at Impervious.
 
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