Abstract:
Bluesky CEO Tony Schneider revealed that the company has applied to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to set ".bsky" as the new Internet top-level domain name suffix. If the application is finally approved, users may be able to use short account names such as "alice.bsky" in the future, and will no longer be limited to the existing "alice.bsky.social" format.
ICANN plans to announce the list of applications for this round of new top-level domain names on October 7. Application announcement does not mean approval. Schneider said that the approval process may take 18 to 24 months; therefore, ".bsky" is still only a pending application, and Bluesky users will not be able to register such names in the short term.
Bluesky now allows users to set their own website domain names as account names and verify domain name control through DNS records. If ".bsky" is approved, it will allow users to apply for a name under this suffix without having to purchase other domain names first. However, this plan currently points to account identification, which does not mean that Bluesky will also provide users with website hosting services; the company has not announced specific methods for application, registration and name allocation.
Bluesky Chief Operating Officer Ross Wang told the media that the company currently has no plans to sell or profit from these domain names, saying that domain names allow users to control their online identities, rather than "renting" their online presence to a platform that may reclaim it at any time. Schneider said that if the application is approved, the ".bsky" top-level domain name will be operated by Bluesky, and the specific name can be held by registered users.
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