Domain names in timelines

Several timelines on this wiki include domain name registration information as events. This page explains what these events are doing in the timelines.

Case for inclusion

The basic case for including domain name information is:

• It is easy to find information for these events. Domain name registration information can be easily queried on the ICANN website.
• Domain names, especially those of an organization's main website, are an important part of the organization's online presence and branding.
• This aspect of entities is already paid attention to in certain contexts: for instance, in the early history of bitcoin, the manner in which and date on which Satoshi Nakamoto signed up for bitcoin.org is much discussed. The name change of Facebook from the original "The Facebook" as well as the acquisition of facebook.com, are also much discussed.
• During organization renames, domain juggling often takes place, and looking at domain registrations here gives insight into pinpointing how/when the renaming/rebranding came about.
• Where archive.org snapshots of websites are not available, domain name registrations provide some of the earliest evidence possible for a website having existed, and help with the reconstruction of the early days of some organizations.

Potential issues

These events might "clutter" the timeline in some cases.

Examples

The following timelines make use of domain name information:

• Machine Intelligence Research Institute § Full timeline – see the "Domain" event type
• Niskanen Center § Full timeline – see the "Domain" event type

See also

• Representativeness of events in timelines