The top-level domain (TLD) “.TALK” doesn’t officially exist in the DNS Root Zone Database, which is maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) at the time of writing. IANA is a department of ICANN, a nonprofit organization that coordinates the world’s domain name system (DNS). According to the IANA’s Root Zone Database, only around 1,500 TLDs are delegated in the root zone system, with “.com”, “.org”, “.net” being the widely known, as well as new generic TLDs (gTLDs) like “.app”, “.music”, “.book” etc. but “.talk” is not one of them.
New TLDs can only be introduced through a formal and far-reaching process controlled by ICANN. During ICANN’s New gTLD Program, organizations were allowed to apply for new top-level domains, costing from $185,000 USD to apply, plus yearly fees once it was obtained. As per the ICANN website, as of the last application round in 2012, “.talk” was not one of the TLDs that had been applied for.
The TLD “.talk” could hypothetically be used in a wide variety of contexts – social networking sites, online forums, blogging platforms, telecommunication companies, streaming platforms etc., to name a few. As the term ‘talk’ evokes the concept of communication, it could also be handy for applications such as chatbots, business conference software, language learning applications, radio podcasts and much more.
However, anyone seeking to use “.talk” as a TLD would have to wait for the next gTLD application round, put forth a comprehensive application (including a careful consideration of its potential impact on existing namespaces, users, and Internet infrastructure), and be prepared to pay substantial application and yearly fees to ICANN.
Sources:
- IANA Root Zone Database (https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db)
- ICANN New gTLD Program (https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/)
Please note that the content provided above was accurate at the time of writing. With the dynamic nature of the internet and domain names, it is always recommended to check the official website of ICANN (https://www.icann.org/) and IANA (https://www.iana.org/) for the most updated and accurate information.
