Non-profit proposes .ngo top level domain name.
A U.K. charity wants to create a secure .org top level domain name at .ngo.
Non-profit Article 25 has set up a web site at dotNGO.net describing its plan:
There is currently no secure version of .org that can give any public reassurance that your donation is going to a registered charity. .ngo will fill that need. We belive(sic) that .ngo will become the single secure and trusted domain of legitimate charities and NGOs worldwide.
Given the number of typos on its web site, I hope it’s still under construction.
The idea is that a secure top level domain name would verify the charitable status of all organizations using it, so that anyone who’s at a .ngo domain name would know it wasn’t a scam. In particular, .ngo hopes to shut down disaster relief scams that pop up after earthquakes, tsunamis, etc. Currently, anyone can register a .org domain name.
It makes sense, but would the typical person who gets duped by an online charity scam know the difference between .ngo and .org, and know not to make a donation at a .org site?
Article 25 is looking for donors to pitch in £500,000 to help it complete the new top level domain name application.
VeriSign appears to be involved. Its logo is on dotNGO’s home page, but a note on the FAQ reads only “VeriSign, as part of its corporate” and then cuts off.
Shaun says
Sigh.
Jothan Frakes says
Confirmed: VeriSign presented this at the ICANN Studienkreis in Barcelona in February.
iBusiness says
It will only add more confusion for the average/casual user of the NET.
I can see organizations being strong arm’d.
Will an outside financial firm do the evaluation?
Or, will they do it internally and charge a fee?
And, what happens when an organization using .ngo turns out to be a scam which will happen?
Yes, it is diluting the importance of .org.
chandan says
another hype coming soon
Andrew Allemann says
Thanks Jothan. Article 25 really needs to spend a few minutes cleaning up its web site.