The top-level domain (TLD) .FEEDBACK is a generic TLD (gTLD) intended for use by businesses, organizations, and individuals who want to incorporate the concept of feedback or user reviews into their online presence. By its inherent implication, it is planned to make it easier for customers and visitors to share their suggestions, reviews, and other forms of feedback directly via a .FEEDBACK webpage.
One high-profile example of a website using the .FEEDBACK TLD is Facebook. According to a Motherboard article, Facebook maintains fb.feedback as a site that hosts a form for users to report bugs and other issues. This is a good demonstration of how the .FEEDBACK TLD can be employed – it’s clearly a destination for users to leave their feedback on Facebook’s platform.
Similarly, companies like Amazon could potentially use a .FEEDBACK site to collect and respond to customer concerns, creating a more direct and open channel for communication. This TLD makes it clear to anyone who sees the URL that the site is a place where their voice could be heard.
As suggested in an article published by DomainIncite, the .FEEDBACK TLD is marketed as the very first to free speech standards. This means that the domain is an open place where real and unedited customer feedback could be hosted.
This TLD is managed by Top Level Spectrum, Inc., the same registry behind other eclectic TLDs like .sucks and .guitars. As such, they follow the same standards and procedures established by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees all TLDs.
An opportunity with .FEEDBACK domain for companies, products and services is to own their feedback platforms as owning a niche TLD such as .FEEDBACK would mean that the companies would be able to control the flow of complaints and praise in a manageable, organized domain.
However, it is worth noting that just like any other gTLD, the .FEEDBACK TLD isn’t without its controversies. According to Ars Technica, there were concerns with how some of these .FEEDBACK domains were registered, possibly infringing on some brands’ trademarks.
Sources Used:
1. “Dodgy .feedback Claims Punished by ICANN.” (Article by Kevin Murphy, DomainIncite)
2. “How John Oliver Forever Tainted the .feedback TLD” (Article by Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica)
3. “Facebook Now Owns a Trademark on ‘FB’ and You Won’t Believe What It Costs” (Article by Louise Matsakis, Motherboard)
4. “Identifying Challenges and possible solutions in the DNS ecosystem” (Workshop Organized by ICANN)
5. “Facebook Creates First ‘Free Speech’ Platform with its fb.feedback Website” (Press Release, PR Newswire).
