Editing Generic top-level domain (section)

{{Short description|Top level domain without country association}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2017}}
{{Redirect|Domain extension|the mathematical concept|Extension of a function}}
{| class="wikitable"  style="width:30%; float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;"
|-
! colspan=2|Historical generic TLDs
|-
! Domain
! Intended use
|-
| <code>[[.com|com]]</code>
| Mainly for commercial entities, but unrestricted
|-
| <code>[[.org|org]]</code>
| Originally for organizations not clearly falling within the other gTLDs, now unrestricted
|-
| <code>[[.net|net]]</code>
| Originally for network infrastructures, now unrestricted
|-
| <code>[[.edu|edu]]</code>
| Educational use, but now primarily for third-level colleges and universities
|-
| <code>[[.gov|gov]]</code>
| Governmental use, but now primarily for US governmental entities and agencies
|-
| <code>[[.mil|mil]]</code>
| Military use, but now primarily for US military only
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| [[List of Internet top-level domains#ICANN-era generic top-level domains|Full list of gTLDs]]
|}
{{Internet history timeline}}

'''Generic top-level domains''' ('''gTLDs''') are one of the categories of [[top-level domain]]s (TLDs) maintained by the [[Internet Assigned Numbers Authority]] (IANA) for use in the [[Domain Name System]] of the [[Internet]]. A top-level domain is the last level of every [[fully qualified domain name]]. They are called generic for historical reasons; initially, they were contrasted with country-specific TLDs in RFC 920.

The core group of generic top-level domains consists of the <code>[[.com|com]]</code>, <code>[[.net|net]]</code>, <code>[[.org|org]]</code>, <code>[[.biz|biz]]</code>, and <code>[[.info|info]]</code> domains. In addition, the domains <code>[[.name|name]]</code> and <code>[[.pro|pro]]</code> are also considered ''generic''; however, these are designated as ''restricted'', because registrations within them require proof of eligibility within the guidelines set for each.

Historically, the group of generic top-level domains included domains created in the early development of the domain name system, that are now sponsored by designated agencies or organizations and are restricted to specific types of registrants. Thus, domains <code>[[.edu|edu]]</code>, <code>[[.gov|gov]]</code>, <code>[[.int|int]]</code>, and <code>[[.mil|mil]]</code> are now considered [[sponsored top-level domain]]s, along with other themed top-level domains like <code>[[.jobs|jobs]]</code>. The entire group of domains that do not have a geographic or country designation (see [[country-code top-level domain]]) is still often referred to by the term ''generic'' TLDs.

The number of gTLDs as of March 2018 exceeds 1,200.<ref name="newgtlds.icann.org">{{cite web|url=https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/program-status/delegated-strings|title=Delegated Strings|publisher=ICANN|access-date=3 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://gtldresult.icann.org/application-result/applicationstatus/viewstatus|title=New gTLD Current Application Status|publisher=ICANN|access-date=3 March 2018}}</ref>