Graphic by Felixart05
We’ve gotten far past the early internet days when registering a domain name usually meant choosing between .COM, .ORG, and .NET. The number of top level domains (TLD) has exploded, and you can now grab names ending in .BAND, .BEER, .BARGAINS, .BEST, .BLOG, .BOO, .BUZZ, and .WTF (really!), to name just a few. The full list of new additions is here.
Two new TLDs are of particular interest to nonprofits. Next week, you’ll have the option of registering a .NGO domain (Non Govermental Organization). Should you? I’d say that it depends on the scope of your nonprofit. Is it international? Do you work outside of the US? Non-Governmental Organization isn’t a meaningful distinction here in the states (where I work at what is casually called a quasi-governmental nonprofit), but it’s much more common everywhere else. If your org is focused on a local U.S. community, it probably makes no sense to pay for a domain name that your constituents might not even understand, much less expect. Otherwise, it seems really prudent to be accessible using the standard terminology in the countries that you work with. Just register it and point it to the same site as your .ORG.
Update: actually, there might be a few reasons to invest in .NGO, even if you don’t have an international presence. The article “Four Reasons Why Your Nonprofit Should Register .NGO and .ONG” was pretty enlightening. One key point is that, unlike with .ORG, .NGO/ONG registration requires proof of your nonprofit status, which will increase the trust level of potential donors. Another is that a large, potentially considered “definitive”, directory of nonprofits will be based on .NGO/ONG registration. Thanks to Chris Tuttle for this heads up!
The other up and coming TLD is the new .SUCKS extension. While .WTF is pretty funny, .SUCKS is a bit of a threat. Many of us register the .COM equivalent of our .ORG domain name to protect our brands from impostors or critics (if you don’t, and it’s available, you should). So who wants to see a .SUCKS variant of their domain name out there? None of us. So, should you grab this one as a stopgap too? I say, no way.
First, there’s already a complaint filed with ICANN against Vox Populi, the company offering .SUCKS registrations, rightly claiming that their policy of famous people and brands and offering them a $2500 (annually!) first shot at registering the .SUCKS variant of their name prior to chopping down the price to $10 for anyone else is equivalent to extortion.
But my case is that, extortion attempts aside, even $10 a year is too much to pay, because owning the .SUCKS equivalent of your brand won’t protect you from anything. Anyone can register a “yourorgsucks” domain with a .COM or .NET or .WTF extension. and nobody is going to think that a techcafeteria.sucks domain lobbing grammar critiques of my blog is something that I created or endorse…
…because 
.
So .NGO is go if you go beyond the borders, but .sucks sucks. Just say no!
