Changing the Domain

20 February 2003 BELGRADE, Serbia and Montenegro--“A state that doesn’t have its domain on the web does not exist.” That statement, from one of the computer engineers who participated in the creation of the first official Internet site of the U.S. State Department, is now over two decades old. Then an international agreement provided that each country would have its two-letter domain, most frequently created from the first two letters in its name, or the two most characteristic.

This enables easier web searches, because the last two letters of the address show you the origin of the company whose site you’re visiting. Having a recognizable domain on the Internet has become a matter of prestige, because it secures recognition in the world. Yugoslavia was one of those countries, thanks to its long-known .yu domain, which came into existence some ten years ago.

But the new official name for the state of Serbia and Montenegro has confused and distressed Internet puritans, as well as those who value the importance of good Internet presentation. “There are still no signs that the .yu domain will change. I think that no one has seriously assessed this, and the fact is that changing the domain will be very complicated,” Aleksandar Glisovic, webmaster of Infosky, one of the largest domestic Internet Service Providers (ISPs), told the daily Danas.

Changing the domain would not only affect web presentations (for example www.danas.co.yu), but would also entail a change in users e-mail addresses (danas@sezampro.yu). Experts say that the change of the address would annoy users the most. “It would be the same as if you all moved and then didn’t know how you can contact each other,” one webmaster said.

The biggest problem is finding a replacement for the domain. All the two-letter endings that would be appropriate for the new state are already taken. “The best probable solution would be .sc, but that’s already the sign for the Seychelles. Also, .sm, standing for Serbia and Montenegro, is already taken by San Marino. Sweden has .se, Saudi Arabia, .sa,” Glisovic explained. His colleagues added that the current domain may be replaced with the international sign .com if there are no other solutions.

Certain sites belonging to state institutions already have additional two-letter names for each republic: www.mup.sr.gov.yu for the Serbian Interior Ministry or www.mip.cg.yu for the Montenegrin Foreign Ministry. But these names .sr and .cg are just sub-domains, which stand for smaller entities--in this case republics. They can not be used for the international Internet domain.

Even if the change occurs, says Glisovic, it would have to be gradual otherwise there would be a great deal of confusion among domestic users and foreigners who visit our web sites or have opened e-mail accounts in Belgrade or Podgorica. The ISP, EUNet said that they had not received any official information on the domain change. Those in the know explained that changing the domain is not necessary since there are no international obligation for the state, except the “ridiculous situation where the country is named Serbia and Montenegro, while its domain is still .yu.”

FROM .SU TO .RU

“Russia had the same problem a few years ago when it was supposed to transfer from .su to .ru,” says Glisovic. He pointed out that Russia solved that problem with a gradual change--old addresses were not issued anymore, while the addresses with the new domain were given to new users. There is also a possibility of parallel addresses, meaning that the two domains would co-exist for some time until people get used to the new one.

Domestic ISPs say that the process of issuing addresses and domains here remains “primitive,” because it is still unknown who exactly can use which domains. “Right next to its name, the letters split up with periods show who the site belongs to: state, government, or non-governmental institution. We’ve often had cases with people wanting to “graft” the .gov ending to their addresses in order to make their web sites ‘more serious’. Some domestic users did not understand the most basic things, and if the change occurs it will be a real mess,” one provider said.

“The domain change requires a lot of consultations and a lot of time. A large number of issues have to be solved, and only one of them is the two-letter domain. As we know, the most appropriate Internet domain would be .sc, but it is already taken,” Andrija Bednarik, an assistant at the Serbian Telecommunications Ministry explained.

In the meantime, regular web surfers have noticed that many foreign sites have updated their sections and links and changed “Yugoslavia” into “Serbia and Montenegro”. Some of them are treating Serbia and Montenegro as separate countries.

It is understandable that those who came up with the name of the new state did not think about its new domain on the web. Especially when the issues of a national anthem, flag, and passport remain unsolved. Perhaps, after those, the domain will be next. Until then, the .yu domain, well-loved by many, will remain on line.

By Vesna Sekerezovic. Translated by Dragan Stojkovic.