# & domain names **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 13, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domain-names/316905 "2005-08-13T22:33:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dauerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@dauerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dauerbach)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domain-names/316905/1 "2005-08-13T22:33:56Z")
Can an ampersand or other top row number figures be used in domain names, ie www.straight&[dope.com](http://dope.com)? ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domain-names/316905/2 "2005-08-13T22:39:57Z")
I don’t have a cite but I’m pretty certain special charaters cannot be used in a domain name, only alpha and numeric characters. FWIW [www.straightdope.com](http://www.straightdope.com) is not a domain name but a website URL that points to a partcular computer on the [straightdope.com](http://straightdope.com) domain where the com part is the top level domain. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domain-names/316905/3 "2005-08-13T22:42:57Z")
I was going to say no, but apparently for some you can [link](http://www.worldnames.net/unicode/Unicode.htm) which was news to me. Though I do not think it is possible for top level domains. (.com .org .net) ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domain-names/316905/4 "2005-08-13T22:53:32Z")
[News article](http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2005/06/20/210501/Domainnamedebategetsunderway.htm) > [@](#): > > Domain names worldwide are currently limited to using the letters A-Z, digits 0-9 and hyphens. The naming system currently excludes accented letters and other character sets or symbols. This can lead to difficulties in creating local domain names in Asian or Eastern European languages, for instance, where symbols are frequently used. The .nu confused me but looks like you have to associate that name “I-L♡ve-NY.nu” with an actual A-Z name. For now anyway. I found out because when I tried to register i♡♬.nu, i♡u.nu, and i♡NY.nu and none where taken I knew something was up. ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domain-names/316905/5 "2005-08-13T23:48:45Z")
The current system allows only letters A-Z, digits 0-9 and hyphens. There are proposals to allow more than that, but they are just proposals. The biggest problem with changing this is that all the software out there only allows the letters A-Z, digits 0-9 and hyphens. If that is changed, then ALL software handling DNS resolution worldwide will need to be modified. This would NOT be trivial. Also, there are a few other restrictions. straightdope-.com or -straightdope.com aren’t allowable. There is also a length limit. Thus skjfhkjsadfhufhsbxnvfiuersjksdjsdjkfjskdhkjscfhksdjfhsdjdshweiuhfschbvuhgsdvsyfgwguskchzxjkhcvuisdvhsckjzfhsdiufhsdihscsdfhuisfhsiuhuihcsddnczncshiusdfhvcuasdifisfuisdhciusfsdhsduihsduihsdsdfhdsijsdfhsdhigsdiohsdhsdiosgiosdhigsi.com is NOT a possible domain name. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domain-names/316905/6 "2005-08-15T14:08:19Z")
> [@rfgdxm](#): > > The current system allows only letters A-Z, digits 0-9 and hyphens. There are proposals to allow more than that, but they are just proposals. And only one hyphen in a row, IIRC (I used to work for a large registrar), and the first character must not be a hyphen. Yes, there have been proposals to allow Unicode characters for DNS, which have been proposed by factions who criticize the DNS system as being English (read “American”) centric. In the last couple of years before I left Large Registrar (2000-2003) they were selling “multilingual” domain names using some kind of encoding, it’s been a long time since I’ve looked at this, so I’m a little fuzzy on it. Unicode can be encoded into A-Z 0-9 characters for use as a domain name. When you register the name, you provide the Unicode characters, the Registrar encodes them to get the name into DNS. You input the Unicode characters at the browser, which encodes them to standard characters and resolves them in DNS. This system requires a plug-in for the browser, and is not supported in any way by the DNS system. I think we were registering encoded names in Chinese, for example. It was a bitch to do lookups on these names in the system because you had to type in the encoded name for lookups, and it was very easy to make a mistake typing in something like [ciwmsklckrikuj3jmdivc9878fnqu49013y8rtkxje873uhwnxcjmc8.com](http://ciwmsklckrikuj3jmdivc9878fnqu49013y8rtkxje873uhwnxcjmc8.com). One of the controversies around this was trademark infringement. You could register, for example, [Microsoft.com](http://Microsoft.com) where the o was not the English o but some character from some obscure Baltic language that looks like an o. So in the most technical sense it was not Microsoft but in all practical sense it was. Network Solutions comes in a Google search but the referenced page no longer exists. They may have dropped this. [http://www.networksolutions.com/promotions/offers/multilingual/faqs.html](http://www.networksolutions.com/promotions/offers/multilingual/faqs.html) They do have this wording on their [T&C site](http://www.networksolutions.com/legal/static-service-agreement.jhtml), I do not know if this is current: > [@](#): > > SCHEDULE E TO NETWORK SOLUTIONS SERVICE AGREEMENT > > SPECIAL NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER FOR MULTILINGUAL DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATIONS > > In addition to the terms set forth in Schedule A, the following terms shall apply to Multilingual Domain Names (“MDN”). We currently are making MDN registration services available to you as part of our participation in a test bed (“Test Bed”) being conducted by VeriSign Global Registry Services for the purpose testing proposed standards for deployment of MDN technology and to provide operational experience with those proposed standards. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domain-names/316905/7 "2005-08-15T14:11:38Z")
Since the referenced page is gone, I intended to show the full URL just to show this was offered at one time but no longer. However, the Board truncates long URLs and automatically links them. Let me try this wtih \> instead of slashes [www.networksolutions.com](http://www.networksolutions.com)\>promotions\>offers\>multilingual\>faqs.html ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domain-names/316905/8 "2005-08-15T15:04:30Z")
Nope. I used to work for a company that has an ampersand in it’s name. When they bought the domain name, they replaced the ampersand with the word “and” Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/domain-names/316905/9 "2005-08-15T17:06:47Z")
> [@rfgdxm](#): > > Also, there are a few other restrictions. straightdope-.com or -straightdope.com aren’t allowable. There is also a length limit. Thus skjfhkjsadfhufhsbxnvfiuersjksdjsdjkfjskdhkjscfhksdjfhsdjdshweiuhfschbvuhgsdvsyfgwguskchzxjkhcvuisdvhsckjzfhsdiufhsdihscsdfhuisfhsiuhuihcsddnczncshiusdfhvcuasdifisfuisdhciusfsdhsduihsduihsdsdfhdsijsdfhsdhigsdiohsdhsdiosgiosdhigsi.com is NOT a possible domain name. No wonder my cousin, Michael Skjfhkjsadfhufhsbxnvfiuersjksdjsdjkfjskdhkjscfhksdjfhsdjdshweiuhfschbvuhgsdvsyfgwguskchzxjkhcvuisdvhsckjzfhsdiufhsdihscsdfhuisfhsiuhuihcsddnczncshiusdfhvcuasdifisfuisdhciusfsdhsduihsduihsdsdfhdsijsdfh sdhigsdiohsdhsdiosgiosdhigsi, (we call him “Skjiee” for short) was so pissed when he tried to register a domain.