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.org was created in 1984 as one of the Internet's original top level domains (TLDs). Today it is the world's sixth largest TLD, with more than 3.3 million domain names. TLDs are generic (e.g., .com, .edu or .org) and country code (e.g., .au, .cn or .de) suffixes on domain names. Domain names are names that uniquely identify sites (e.g., web sites or ftp sites) on the Internet or other TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/Internet protocol) networks and serve as user-friendly substitutes for difficult-to-remember numeric IP address. Although anyone is permitted to register a .org site, this TLD is intended primarily for use by non-commercial and non-governmental organizations, particularly those engaged in educational, cultural, charitable and religious activities. The .org TLD is also often associated with the free software movement, as opposed to proprietary (i.e., commercial) software companies, which generally use the .com TLD for their web sites. For example, Linux User Groups (LUGs) usually use the .org TLD, such as Bellevue Linux Users Group, whose URL is www.bellevuelinux.org. The .org TLD is managed by the Reston, Virginia-based Public Interest Registry (PIR) with support from its technical provider, Afilias Limited, which is based in Dublin, Ireland. PIR was established as a non-profit corporation in 2002 by the Internet Society (ISOC), and it took over responsibility for the .org TLD from VeriSign Inc, its former registry organization, on January 1, 2003. Created December 30, 2005. |