gTLDs That Didn’t Make The Cut

Hundreds of alternate web address endings are successfully spreading across the internet. Take a look at a few that didn’t make it to the finish line…
We all have that gTLD that we have been keeping our eye on. Midphase has been watching .club for years now just because it is so exciting to watch new web address endings succeed. The domain world loves to speculate how far an ICANN approved gTLD can go, and every registration milestone is a celebration. But what about the gTLDs that never make it to open registration?

To refresh your knowledge on gTLDs read this blog post.

Now I know that you are thinking that if .sucks and .wtf can make it then they all should, but that’s not the case. Many applications to ICANN don’t make the grade, much to the dismay of the applicant. Applying for a gTLD is an expensive and drawn out process, so in this post we will be tipping our hats to the web extensions that didn’t make it.
The trumpets can begin playing Taps now…
.music
Who doesn’t like music? This application was recently denied because of a lack of community within the domain. ICANN felt that the .music extension would primarily be used as a business tool rather than a unifying domain. There may be an appeal in the process, but we won’t be registering .music domain in the near future.
.amazon
The .amazon struggle has been brewing for over a year and has even included members of the US Congress to try to push this domain to registration. The problem lies in the fact that Amazon the company and Amazon the geographical area disagree as to who should own the gTLD. The governments from Brazil and Peru have gotten involved and have arrived at a stalemate.
.gay
You can imagine that this alternate web address ending might stir up some controversy, but the amount of support this gTLD received made for a hard decision for the ICANN committee. To the disappointment of many, the application was turned down February 3, 2016, but the appeals process might revive the .gay gTLD.
.mail
The .mail extension was one of the first to pull its application after being denied. The plan was to use the domain to squash spammers, but the United States Postal Service thought that internet users would feel that the USPS was somehow linked. Owners of the .mail extension decided to move to greener pastures and leave the gTLD behind.
.bawston
If you like accents, this gTLD might be a disappointment to you. The .bawston applicant tried for the approval of .bawston (Boston with an accent) to bring together a community of Bostonites. ICANN felt that it was too similar to .boston (an unapproved geographic domain) and would lead to confusion.
This list is only the tip of the unapproved gTLD iceberg and there are many others that have not covered here. Applying for a gTLD is not an easy process and constitutes as a big loss when applications are dismissed. For now we will remember the gTLDs that have been left behind, but will look forward to more new and exciting web extensions that we have not yet seen.

Do you have a gTLD that you wish had made it to registration? Let us know on Twitter @Midphase