Single Character .com Domains? X.com, Q.com, Z.com

[loscocco]

There are only 3 single character .com domains that are active:

Q.com Qwest Communications
X.com Paypal
Z.com Nissan USA Z cars

How did just these 3 names get permission to be registered and used. Why are they relatively under used and not marketed very prominently. I wonder what the value of a single char .com is? Whats the reasoning for not allowing the rest of the alphabet and numbers to be used. (not that any of us would ever stand a chance of getting such a domain.)
Just kinda curious

 

[jmweb]

Because ARIN changed its mind and said they are not going to allow single letter domains to be registered. The above domains were registered before the ARIN ruling.

 

[loscocco]

Because ARIN changed its mind and said they are not going to allow single letter domains to be registered. The above domains were registered before the ARIN ruling.

it seems to me like some corporation(s) these days would slip someone a few cargo ships full of cash to change their minds about that. what was the reason they didn't want them? To easy to typo? lol

 

[jmweb]

The IANA obtained the registration for d.com and most other
single-character names under .com in 1993 to implement its policy designed to
enhance the extensibilty of the domain-name space. Since
then, these names have been continuously under registration
by the IANA. The IANA has received many inquiries from people
seeking to register these names. As required by the existing
policy, the IANA advises those inquiring that these names are
already registered to the IANA and reserved for infrastructure
purposes to help ensure stable operation of the Internet.
The IANA has uniformly turned down all offers by third parties
to purchase the right to register these names.

Four of the single-character names under .com were registered
by other parties before the IANA entered its registration of
these names. The registrations of these names have been (and
are) grandfathered for the time being. Recently some of these
registrations have been transferred from one third party to
another. Those transfers are consistent with the grandfathering
policy.

Having assumed the responsibility for operating the IANA, and
for overall technical management of the Internet, ICANN is
following the same policies for the operation of the IANA as
were followed by Dr. Postel and his colleagues at the Information
Sciences Institute. ICANN's charter and bylaws, together with its
obligations under its various agreements with the United States
Government, establish consensus-based procedures for modification
of existing policies, fostering participation by affected parties.
Until the policy is changed by the established procedures, ICANN
is required to continue its registration of the single-letter
.com domain names for the benefit of the Internet community.

Best regards,

Louis Touton
ICANN Vice President

Heres the email from Louis Touton on this subject.

 

[legend2]

unfair policy don't you think not that i can afford buying such domains, but erm.. lol

 

[FusunMedia]

I wonder how much the IANA paid for some of the one character .com's they acquired back in 1993. They'd all surely go for millions right now.

 

[Didoz]

hmm, you think they can transfer it ? becouse some registrar also don't 2 letters!

 

[TheWatcher]

hmm, you think they can transfer it ? becouse some registrar also don't 2 letters!

Of course, but these companies preferred netsol and they don't mind to pay $25 to $35 renewal for their domains.

Cheers,
em

 

[jmweb]

According to that letter then are allowed to transfer them.

 

[rxmr]

Also, if I remember correctly, in the early nineties, there were some single number .com's that were in use. For example, 1.com , but I don't remember who had them. Of course, I could be wrong.

 

[TheWatcher]

I saw Z.com commercial for Nizzan Z sport car.