Moderation - FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Please contact the lead agencies directly to enquire about the SP contracts below. Most contain a common use provision clause. They will email a confidentiality agreement to you for signing, before forwarding your details onto the supplier. The supplier will then arrange to send or meet regarding the contract details, and you can evaluate the suitability for your own agency.

1. What is a domain name?
A domain name is a label for a unique numeric IP address. Domain names are easier to remember than numbers like 192.168.0.5 and were developed to make it easier to manage IP addresses (see RFC 1034 - http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1034.html). They are typically used to identify the organisation responsible for the domain.

2. How is the Internet organised in New Zealand?
The .nz country code Top Level Domain (or ccTLD) is one of 243 country-based areas of operation (see http://www.iana.org/cctld/cctld-whois.htm) and 15 generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs – see http://www.iana.org/domain-names.htm). The ccTLDs are managed by various entities (public and private) on behalf of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN - http://www.icann.org/). In New Zealand, ICANN has delegated the management of the .nz namespace to InternetNZ (http://www.internetnz.net.nz/) through the Domain Name Commissioner’s office (http://www.dnc.org.nz/). InternetNZ owns the Registry company, which actually runs the technical systems that manage the namespace.

The New Zealand Government recognises this situation as being appropriate at this time.

The .nz space currently contains twelve Second Level Domains (2LDs), of which eight are open and four (.cri, .govt, .iwi and .mil) are closed and moderated. These are:

Although each open 2LD has an identified community of interest, no checks are undertaken to ensure that registrants are members of the community. There are no restrictions; anyone can register in any of the open 2LDs.

3. What is domain name moderation?
Moderation, for the .govt.nz namespace, is about ensuring that registrants of a closed 2LD meet the requirements of that domain and that the domain is managed for the benefit of registrants, end users and Government as a whole. This includes initial registration of names and may include monitoring and management of the space to ensure that registrants remain appropriate for the space. The level of management is defined by the community of interest in the moderation policy for that 2LD.

4. What do all the acronyms and names mean?
There are many acronyms and abbreviations that serve as short hand for the people who manage the Internet. Most of them are about technical standards and protocols and people don’t need to know what they mean, just what they do. The key ones for domain name registration are DNS (Domain Name Service), DNC (Domain Name Commissioner) and NZRS (New Zealand Registry Services). A list of acronyms used in this document is available in the Appendix.

A couple of key words to know are registrant (which is the holder of a domain name) and registrar (the company that enables a registrant to obtain a name).

5. What is the ‘govt.nz namespace’?
The ‘.govt.nz namespace’ is another name for the moderated .govt.nz 2LD. The policy for the .govt.nz 2LD says that any local or central government agency with a statutory basis or function is entitled to register names within the namespace.

6. Why is it .govt and not .gov like everybody else?
In the late 80’s, when .nz came into being, there was a naming convention that 2LDs within a ccTLD would not be the same as a gTLD. So, .govt instead of .gov, .co instead of .com and .ac instead of .edu. This convention disappeared later on and we now have .org and .mil within the .nz namespace. Additionally, .gov is by no means universal. In Canada, the government uses .gc.ca while in France .gouv is the 2LD. Some ccTLDs have no second level hierarchy (e.g. .ie – Ireland; .at – Austria; .to - Tonga) and register names directly off the ccTLD.

7. Why is .govt.nz moderated?
The namespace is moderated so that users of web sites in the .govt.nz namespace can have confidence that they are dealing with a government agency.

8. Why is it the State Services Commission that does this?
The moderation of .govt.nz has been through many hands, starting with Victoria University, the Ministry of Commerce and the State Services Commission. In 1998, in response to the changing use of the Internet by government agencies and the need to refocus the moderation to suit the needs of individual government agencies, the Chairs of GOVIS and ALGIM jointly petitioned the Internet Society of NZ (then known as ISOCNZ, later InternetNZ) to change the moderation of govt.nz from the SSC to their own organisations, partly to allow a better understanding of local government issues to be used, and partly for matters of timeliness. Local government names are still moderated by ALGIM but, in October 2000 after the E-government Unit had been set up, GOVIS offered to transfer the role back to the SSC as the appropriate agency and SSC determined that the newly instituted E-government Unit was the best place for this role as it deals in cross-agency infrastructure. ALGIM and SSC collaborate on matters of policy.

9. Can I have a govt.nz name?: Only organisations can register govt.nz names, not individuals. Organisations listed on the SSC website (http://www.ssc.govt.nz/state_sector_organisations) and on the Local Government NZ website (http://www.lgnz.co.nz/lg-sector/maps/index.html) are eligible to register govt.nz names. Agencies that are more that 50% owned (not funded) by central or local government are eligible. Eligibility does not guarantee approval, as each application is considered on its own merits.

10. What are the rules for having a govt.nz name?: As per the 2LD Policy:

• You must be a government agency (central or local)
• You must be able to demonstrate a need for the name (business case)
• The name chosen must have a clear relationship with the entity or service it represents
• The name should not be an acronym unless the acronym has existing public recognition
• The name must not be able to be easily confused with an existing name or with another agency of Government
• The name should not be generic
• The name must not bring the Government into disrepute inadvertently or otherwise. Particular care should be given to acronyms that might be pronounced as a word
• Users of a name should ensure that the use is in accordance with all appropriate governance requirements (e.g. legislation and Government strategies and policies)

11. Can I have more than one?
Yes, but “cluster registration” is not encouraged in the govt.nz namespace.

12. How long does it take to get a .govt.nz name?
That would depend on the case at hand. Generally, the Moderator will turn the application around within 5 working days. Some applications may take longer, if there is discussion required.

13. What’s the difference between local and central government?
Local Government organisations are governed by different legislation and different circumstances. The dual moderation aspect of .govt.nz respects and reflects that difference.

14. Why can’t I have a particular name that I want?
There may be a number of reasons, as each application is assessed on its merits. You will be informed of the reason if your application is declined. Decisions by the Moderator can be appealed to the Director of the E-government Unit if you disagree.

15. What if I’ve already told the Minister and printed the stationery?
This will not be accepted as a reason for granting a particular name. If there are valid reasons not to permit a name, it will not be approved regardless of other circumstances. Make sure you apply for a domain name well in advance of preparing publicity materials.

16. How do I register it?
You (or your agent) will apply through http://www.dns.govt.nz/ and follow the prompts.

17. Why can’t I register it through an ISP?
SSC has decided that only one registrar will allowed to operate in the .govt.nz namespace. This is for technical reasons, as there are not safeguards within the registry – once an entity is authorised to operate in a namespace, it can do so without further reference. Thus the system safeguards we had relied on when Domainz ran the Registry as well are replaced by business rules within commercial registrars. We decided we could not risk the possibility of confusion or ignorance within a registrar creating a conflict or permitting a non-qualified registrant within the namespace.

18. Why doesn’t the Government control all of .nz?
Essentially, the Government is happy with the way things are, in the .nz namespace. The official government position on this boils down to “there are issues we need to consider, but it’s not broken so why ‘fix’ it?” (see question 2)

Certainly, there is a need for government to be aware of the issues and the environment, but there is currently no market failure in this area and, so, no need for government to intervene.

19. Do I have to put “www” in front of my domain name?
No, this is a convention that has developed over time. The nameholder or registrant determines what domains will be registered at the fourth level and “www” is only one alternative.

The convention developed that the level up from the base name (in NZ that’s the 4th level, in the US it’s the 3rd) would have names that described the function of the server and indicate what protocol should be used to communicate with it. So “www” would designate a web server, which would accept http requests, “ftp” a file transfer server and so on.

Technically, however, you could call your server “george” and it will function properly. As long as the name you choose is registered in a DNS nameserver, it will be able to be found.

20. What’s the ‘fourth level' all about?
The gTLD or ccTLD is the first level. In the gTLD and some ccTLD cases, the second level is the unique name that an individual, company or organisation wishes to register. In a hierarchically structured ccTLD like New Zealand’s, the second level is a category (like .co.nz or .org.nz). Individual nameholders register unique names at the third level.

The diagrams below explain the structure of the levels and the differences between a global name and a country code name.

The act of successfully registering a name means that authority over any subsequent levels under that name is delegated to the nameholder. Thus, the fourth level is under control of the nameholder at the third level.