Editing Alternative DNS root (section)

{{short description|Unofficial alternatives to the official DNS Root Zone}}
The [[Internet]] uses the [[Domain Name System]] (DNS) to associate numeric computer [[IP address]]es with human-readable names. The top level of the domain name hierarchy, the [[DNS root]], contains the [[top-level domain]]s that appear as the suffixes of all Internet [[domain name]]s. The most widely used (and first) DNS root is administered by the [[Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers]] (ICANN). In addition, several organizations operate '''alternative DNS roots''', often referred to as '''alt roots'''. These alternative domain name systems operate their own root [[name server]]s and commonly administer their own specific name spaces consisting of custom top-level domains.

The [[Internet Architecture Board]] (IAB) has spoken out strongly against alternative roots in {{IETF RFC|2826}}.<ref>{{IETF RFC|2826}} (informational), ''IAB Technical Comment on the Unique DNS Root'', Internet Architecture Board, The Internet Society (May 2000), Quote: "There is no getting away from the unique root of the public DNS." (page 5)</ref>