The internet will ring in the New Year with a slew of new and highly specific suffixes, including .clothing and .plumbing.
Politico reports that after eight years of debate, ICANN, the not-for-profit that oversees new domain names, will put the new suffixes up for sale this January. Proponents say the expansion will relieve overcrowding around popular domain names. Critics fear it will carve the worldwide web into a labyrinth of forgettable domain names.
Both sides will be watching January’s rollout closely, as businesses and users adjust to the new domains. If it goes smoothly, ICANN’s list of approved suffixes, now at 20, may steadily expand to 1,000.
[Politico]